Featured Tribe Welcome
Welcome to the Featured Tribe
A special feature of this bright new BuffaloGrande Website will be our highlighting of a Native American Tribe. We will feature one tribe explaining their own history, what’s going on with the Reservation, Tourist Opportunities for visitors, buffalo herds if they have one and future expectations.
The tourism groups of several states tell us they want to explain this in their own voices—and of course that’s what we want too!
And tourists love it. We did this when we participated in the Bismarck State College Bison Symposium in June 2022, during which we brought some 80 people to our Historic Buffalo Sites near Hettinger in two big travel buses.
Two Lakota storytellers, Dakota Goodhouse and Kevin Locke rode the buses from Bismarck, pointing out historic buttes and telling stories about events they knew had happened there—and a few legends too.
It was a great hit with our visitors. After all, the ancestors of some of our Native people had travelled and hunted on foot in these lands for at least 7,000 years—according to the geologists.
Our plans are to start with the Plains Buffalo Hunting Tribes in the US and Canada—and perhaps reach out to other tribes if they are willing to join us.
Some more distant tribes, even though they may have no history of Buffalo hunting, have invested in their own buffalo herds for the culture of it.
Below is some general information for visitors, from the Guide to Tribal Nations, that applies to wider areas than just one tribe.
RICH CULTURE & HERITAGE
Source: A Guide to Tribal Nations, Oceti Sakowin Homelands, South Dakota
From rolling plains to majestic mountains, a variety of distinct landscapes decorate South Dakota. These lands also hold a diverse population.
As of 2022 Native Americans make up more than 15% of South Dakota’s population. The nine tribal nations’ land base encompasses 6.8 million acres of land.
Traditional creation stories place the nation’s birth in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
After being displaced in the 1700’s, people of the Seven Council Fires migrated west from the woodlands of Minnesota to the Great Plains. Lakota, Dakota and Nakota customs hold the forces of nature as holy, emphasizing the importance of balance among all things in the universe.
This balance remains an instrumental piece of life, as do the cardinal virtues of “woksape” (wisdom), and “woohitika” (bravery), “wowacinanka” (fortitude) and “Wacantognaka” (generosity).
THE BUFFALO NATION
The Great Spirit Scan made us with bones from Stone, bodies from Earth and souls from himself, Wind and Thunders. The gifts of Sun, Wisdom, Moon and Revealer gave us life. A council of the spirits named us Pte Oyate (Buffalo Nation) and told us to care for the spirits.
On day Spider sent Wolf to the Underworld to tell Tokahe that life would be easier on the surface of the earth. Tokahe ignored to warnings of the holy man Tatanka, and led the people up through Wind Cave.
Life there was hard, so Tatanka came to help—as a great, shaggy beast. Since then the people have lived here with the buffalo.
POWWOWS & CELEBRATIONS
Colorful finery, elaborate feather-work and intricate beadwork describe the visual atmosphere of a powwow or “wacipi” (Lakota, Dakota and Nakota for “they dance,” pronounced wah-CHEE—pee). Spirited drumming and singing fill the air as dancers complete their fancy footwork.
Many of today’s powwows feature competitions in categories such as traditional, fancy and jingle-dress dancing. During the intertribal dance, spectators have a chance to enter the dance ring.
Vendors at powwows provide an opportunity for visitors to sample foods like Indian tacos, fry breat and “wojapi,’ a fruit sauce or jam.
The waciipi as practiced in the Plains region is a social event which can last from one to several days. It is a time when Lakota, Dakota and Nakota tribal people conduct honorings, giveaways and family gatherings.
Friends meet, camp, visit and reconnect as tribal nations. During the summer months, the celebration is usually held outdoors, with a shade or covered area where the audience and dancers sit. The center area or arena is reserved for the dancing.
Dances are eiher for men or women and competitions are divided into age categories.
The dancers move in a clockwise direction, which represents the circle of unity and the never-ending cycle of life. Singers are usually under or adjacent to the shade or covered area between he audience and the dance arena.
Powwow singers and drummers play a very important part of the celebration, proving rhythm for the dances. They sing many types of songs including honor & family, war & conquest, joy, encouragement, humor and mourning.
Attire worn by a dancer is called “regalia” and should not be referred to as a costume. Development of a dancer’s regalia often takes years to create and may include gifts which have deep meaning.
Catch the spirit at one of these or many other wacipi celebrations across the state. When attending, please remember to be respectful.
REGIONAL TOURISM ASSOCIATIONS
The 4 SD Regional Tourism Associations are also a source of information concerning travel on reservations and tribal lands.
BLACK HILLS & BADLANDS
1851 Discovery Circle
Rapid City SD 57701
605 355-3600
BlackHillsBadlands.com
GLACIAL LAKES & PRAIRIES
1200 33RD St SE #314
Watertown SD 57201
605-886-7305
SDGlacialLakes.com
SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA
317 Broadway, Suite 7
Yankton, SD 57078
605-665-2435
SoutheastSouthDakota.com
SOUTH DAKOTA MISSOURI RIVER
20207 South Dakota Highway 1804
Pierre SD 57501
605-224-4617
SDMissouriRiver.com
WHAT DOES “SIOUX” Mean?
When visiting Native communities you will experience genuine hospitality, discover authentic art and hear about the fascinating history and unique culture of the people known by many as “Sioux.”
The US government officially recognized the Lakota as “Sioux” in 1825 and has applied this name to the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota in official documents ever since. The term “Sioux” is a fragment of the French and Ojibwa word “nadouessioux,” which is believed to be a derogatory term meaning “little snakes.”
The name may have resulted from a history of territorial conflicts between the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota and the Ojibwas. People of the Great Sioux Nation prefer the terms Lakota (meaning “Friend,” “Ally” or “Brother People), Dakota and Nakota when referring to themselves as a people and a nation. These are the names of the group’s different dialects, regions and economies.
The word “Sioux” appears in this publication when necessary, but efforts were made to use the more accepted terms of Lakota, Dakota and Nakota. Information contained in this guide was taken from many sources. Because of that there are inconsistencies in the spelling of Lakota, Dakota and Nakota words.
BuffaloGrande Foundation’s First Featured Tribe will be Standing Rock.
Tribal Headquarters:
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
PO Box D, Fort Yates ND 58538
701-854-8500