Chief of the Sioux Nation – Responsibilities for safety of the group, make decisions and settle

disputes

Teton Tribe Chief – Make decisions about hunting, war, or moving camp

Band Chief – chosen from family and hunting group

Who was in charge?

Each tribe also had a special medicine man,

who many people argue was second only to the

chief.

He was in charge of all the ceremonies and was believed to have strong

magical powers. An older married woman

could become a Medicine Woman if she

showed magical abilities, but this was much rarer.

The Sioux Indians did not have written laws. They had a Council instead. The Sioux Indians would select from among the tribe people who were quiet and honest to be councilmen or leaders. These councilmen would sit on the Council and discuss things that were important to the Sioux tribe. This could be anything from murder to war with another tribe. These leaders would often dress in ceremonial clothes when making decisions.

The talking stick was used by Native Americans to

show who had the right to speak. The chief would hold the talking stick and begin the discussion, We would

pass the talking stick to the next speaker. Only the

individual holding the stick could speak.

Who was in charge?

BeliefsThe Sioux were a deeply spiritual people, believing in one god, Wakan Tanka, or the Great Mystery.

Religious visions were important to them and the people communed with the spirit world through music and dance.

Rituals of self-sacrifice, by inflicting slashes upon themselves or other self-inflicted wounds, were carried out by warriors. This was also practiced by mourners during burial ceremonies.

Native American Proverb“They are not dead who live in the hearts

they leave behind.”

The Medicine Man was expected to predict the future, advise the tribe, cast love spells, heal the sick and protect the tribe from evil spirits. For example, Medicine Men explained thunderstorms by telling ancient legends about the Thunderbird, which shot deadly arrows of lightning from its clawed feet.

Medicine Men claimed they spoke with the spirits and received help and guidance from them. They used music, fasting and, occasionally, herbs to fall into a trance. They left their bodies behind and moved into the shadowy land of the spirits. While they were in trances, the medicine men spoke strange words, which were carefully listened to and followed as good advice.

When people fell ill, Medicine Men asked the spirits to send down the power to make them well. Most Medicine Men tried remedies based on herbs and plants. They had a good knowledge of plants which could cure sickness - so it wasn't all based on some magical power!

Native American Proverb“When we show our

respect for other living things, they respond with

respect for us.”

Health and Medicine

Native American Medicine Wheel

The Native American medicine wheel was used for healing almost any illness.

The Native Americans believe that the basis for most illnesses is spiritual, and focused on treating the source of the problem rather than symptoms.

The medicine wheel focuses on balance and how everything is connected. The Native American Medicine wheel consists of four sections with four colours representing certain properties. The colours are Blue, Red, Green and White representing the North South East and West, and each section has a different aspect connected with it a certain animals.

Health and Medicine

BeliefsThe Native American 10 Commandments

1. The Earth is our Mother; care for her.2. Honour all your relations.3. Open your heart and soul to the Great Spirit.4. All life is sacred; treat all beings with respect.5. Take from the Earth what is needed and nothing more.6. Do what needs to be done for the good of all.7. Give constant thanks to the Great Spirit for each new day.8. Speak the truth; but only of the good in others.9. Follow the rhythms of nature; rise and retire with the sun.10. Enjoy life’s journey but leave no tracks.

LifestyleThey also had to be houses that were easy to build because they moved around so much. They were normally made up of buffalo skin and sticks. They had simple but beautiful art on them.

There were many different types of American Indian houses in North America. Each tribe needed a kind of housing that would fit their lifestyle and their climate. Since North America is such a big continent, different tribes had very different weather to contend with.

Indians ate many different kinds of food (again depending on where they lived) such as buffalo, corn, nuts, beans and squash. Indians in Alaska and Canada were fishers and hunted deer and other wild animals in the forests. They cooked their food in ovens that they made with hot stones. They preserved meat by smoking or drying it in the sun.

The Northwest Coast region had many forests. The Native

Americans in this region used wood from the forests to carve tall

totem poles.

The carvings on each totem pole told about a family’s

history.

Native Americans in the California Inter-mountain region were expert

basket weavers.

They made beautiful baskets out of grasses and plants.

Depending on where they lived, the Native Americans had different customs:

Lifestyle

Because the Native Americans were nomadic and moved around to find food and follow the buffalo, they often left symbols to communicate with each other.

When a person was too old to keep up with the tribe, she or he was left behind to die. This custom was known as exposure and was considered perfectly normal by the Sioux Indians.

Lifestyle

A wealthy man might have more than one wife. The number of wives a man could have was only limited by his ability to support them. If a man was a successful hunter he might bring home a great deal of work. The more able bodies to do the work, the more the family could get done. Having more wives meant that the work could be shared. Many men were killed in war and hunting, so there were more women than men. If a man’s brother died, he would be expected to marry the widow to take care of her children. To the Sioux Indians, Polygamy seemed a perfect solution. It meant one wife did not have too much work, and everyone could be properly looked after.

Polygamy = having more than one wife at the same time

The wife was highly honoured because she did all the work except hunting, fishing and fighting. She was well treated. However, if the marriage was not working, divorce was easy for either partner. To be divorced the man would announce publicly that he had “thrown away his woman” - men usually did this by banging a drum. The woman could divorce her husband simply by moving all her belongings back to her parent’s tepee.

“Who was in control in the Sioux Indian marriage?”

Family Life

The Sioux married young - between 12-15 years old. Sioux women usually gave birth to around 3 or 4 children. The birth took place in the woman’s own tepee. The risks of childbirth were high, but the hard working women were fit and coped well. The children were given a name by a respected older woman or man of the tribe.

Children did not go to school. They learnt by copying adults. Girls played with deer skin dolls and toy tepees, boys played with miniature bows and arrows. As they got older, they began getting more involved. By the time they were 13 they learnt all that they needed to be an active member of the tribe.

The Sioux Indians lived in largefamily groups that included allgenerations - young and old.A child would call aunts anduncles ‘mother’ and ‘father’ aswell as his parents!

Family Life

They were very fond of their children, whom they spoilt, and

never punished, except in extreme cases, when they

would throw a bucket of cold water over them. Many white

people slap their children, snatch them by the ears, or beat them with straps and

sticks, but not the Sioux Indians. When boys needed

discipline they were denied the right to play war games and go hunting. Girls were denied the privileges of playing with their dolls, or helping their mothers.