Learning About The Lakota Culture

By Ruth Ross


The beliefs and history of these amazing people is something that is always passed down in the form of oral tradition. This means that people in the Lakota culture will pass down these life lessons and vital information by telling stories, often around the fire, and usually it will be the elders telling the stories to the young ones. This might sound like a strange way to learn things for those of us who are more used to reading books or reading about them online, but when you consider how long these people's ways have endured for, there must be something to it that works well.

It is an unfortunate thing that when Europeans were settling across North America, they were trying to get Native Americans to live the way they do. This led to countless cases of genocide and stamping out a beautiful culture. Because of these settlers' actions, many great pieces of history have been lost forever.

An encouraging fact for those who are proponents of oral traditions is that this is one that has withstood the test of time. Since it is brought to life by actual people rather than artifacts, the tradition stays alive as long as the people do. It is amazing how well this simple yet effective tradition has been.

If you want to hear a story like this, it is probably best to be on the lookout when winter comes around. Traditionally speaking, this was the best time to hear stories because everyone would be huddled around a fire against the harsh cold. Since that's how tradition went, many people still like to do things the same way.

The key to having an oral tradition is that you repeat the same stories time and time again. That way, all of the tiniest details of the tale will sink into the memories of the young ones. This is essential for the stories to be properly passed down, otherwise, their histories and legends might degenerate or mutate over time.

There was a time when it was more common to record the events of the year in the form of pictures. This is still done in some cases, and they can be very beautiful as well as informative. Unfortunately, many of these were lost due to European settlers.

These people's oral tradition dates back as far as they do. This is the benefit of having a system that cannot be broken or lost. This is thanks, of course, to the devoted people who carry on the tradition.

An interesting story from these people is that the first of them to arrive in this world were actually tricked by a divine force. They were then turned into buffalo. It is an interesting origin story for an iconic creature.




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