Bear Butte is a geological butte feature located near Sturgis, South Dakota, United States, that was established as a State Park in 1961. An important.

Bear Butte, South Dakota

Bear Butte is a geological butte feature located near Sturgis, South Dakota, United States, that was established as a State Park in 1961. An important landmark and religious site for the Plains Indians tribes long before Europeans reached South Dakota, Bear Butte is called Mathó Pahá,[2] or Bear Mountain, by the Lakota, or Sioux. To the Cheyenne, it is known as Noahȧ-vose ("giving hill") or Náhkȯhe-vose ("bear hill"),[3] and is the place where Ma'heo'o (God) imparted to Sweet Medicine, a Cheyenne prophet, the knowledge from which the Cheyenne derive their religious, political, social, and economic customs. The mountain is sacred to many indigenous peoples, who make pilgrimages to leave prayer cloths and tobacco bundles tied to the branches of the trees along the mountain’s flanks. Other offerings are often left at the top of the mountain. The site is associated with various religious ceremonies throughout the year. The mountain is a place of prayer, meditation, and peace.The park includes a campsite south of South Dakota Highway 34 where horseback riding, fishing, and boating are permitted. On the summit side of Highway 34, a moderately sized herd of buffalo roams the base of the mountain. An education center and a summit trail are available. Official park policy advises visitors to Bear Butte to respect worshipers and to leave religious offerings undisturbed. Park fees are waived for those undertaking religious activities.In 2007, Gov. Mike Rounds of South Dakota announced a proposal to use state, federal and private money to buy a perpetual easement in order to prevent commercial and residential development of some land on the western side of Bear Butte. This would cost more than $1 million, but would prevent development of nuisance businesses (such as potentially lucrative biker bars) on ranch land near the mountain on the northern edge of the Black Hills.

Crazy Horse TribeOglala LakotaBornCha-O-Ha ("In the Wilderness" or "Among the Trees")

c. 1840DiedSeptember 5, 1877Fort Robinson, NebraskaNative nameTašúŋke WitkóNickname(s)Curly, Light HairKnown forLeader at the Battle of the Little BighornCause of deathBayonet woundResting placeUndisclosed locationSpouse(s)Black Buffalo Woman

Black Shawl Nellie Larrabee (Laravie) ChildrenThey Are Afraid of HerParentsCrazy Horse (the elder), also known as

Waglula (Worm), Rattling Blanket Woman (born 1814).RelativesBrother, Little Hawk, uncle by same name Little Hawk, Sister, Laughing One. Cousins, Touch the Clouds, Flying Hawk, Kicking Bear, Black Fox II, Eagle Thunder and Walking Eagle. Grandparents, Black Buffalo and White Cow (also called Iron Cane). Uncles, Spotted Tail, Lone Horn. Aunts, Good Looking Woman, Looks At It (later called They Are Afraid of Her), Father's wives, Iron Between Horns, Kills Enemy, and Red Leggins

Badlands national park

The Lakota gave this its name, "mako sica," meaning "land bad."  Located in southwestern South Dakota, Badlands National Park consists of 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the largest protected mixed grass prairie in the United States. It is desolation at its truest, where you can look for miles and see no sign of civilization.

Mount Rushmore Mount Rushmore, the President's Mountain, is

located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It was the brainchild of Doane Robinson, known as the “Father of Mount Rushmore.” His goal was to create an attraction that would draw people from all over the country to his state.

Falls Park

Falls Park is a public park located in north central Sioux Falls, South Dakota, surrounding the city's falls. Through it runs the Big Sioux River, and it includes a café, observation tower, and the remains of an old mill.

Sundance

The Wi-wanyang-wa-c'i-pi (Sundance Ceremony): The only participants allowed in the center will be Native People. The non-Native people need to understand and respect our decision. If there have been any unfinished commitments to the sundance and non-Natives have concern for this decision; they must understand that we have been guided through prayer to reach this resolution. Our purpose for the sundance is for the survival of the future generations to come, first and foremost. If the non-Natives truly understand this purpose, they will also understand this decision and know that by their departure from this Ho-c'o-ka (our sacred altar) is their sincere contribution to the survival of our future generations.

Tribes of the Lakota Sioux

The Lakȟóta people (pronounced [laˈkˣota]; also known as Teton, Thítȟuŋwaŋ ("prairie dwellers"), and Teton Sioux ("snake, or enemy") are an indigenous people of the Great Plains of North America. They are part of a confederation of seven related Sioux tribes, the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ or seven council fires, and speak Lakota, one of the three major dialects of the Sioux language.

The Lakota are the westernmost of the three Siouan language groups, occupying lands in both North and South Dakota. The seven bands or "sub-tribes" of the Lakota are:

Sičháŋǧu (Brulé, Burned Thighs) Oglála ("They Scatter Their Own") Itázipčho (Sans Arc, Without Bows) Húŋkpapȟa ("End Village", Camps at the End of the Camp Circle) Mnikȟówožu ("Plant beside the Stream“, Planters by the Water) Sihásapa ("Black Feet") Oóhenuŋpa (Two Kettles)

Chief SittingBull

Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake in Standard Lakota Orthography,[2] also nicknamed Slon-he or "Slow"; c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during an attempt to arrest him, at a time when authorities feared that he would join the Ghost Dance movement.[3]

Before the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull had a vision in which he saw the defeat of the 7th Cavalry under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer on June 25, 1876. Sitting Bull's leadership inspired his people to a major victory. Months after their victory at the battle, Sitting Bull and his group left the United States for Wood Mountain, North-West Territories (now Saskatchewan), where he remained until 1881, at which time he and most of his band returned to US territory and surrendered to U.S. forces. A small remnant of his band under Chief Waŋblí Ǧí decided to stay at Wood Mountain.

After working as a performer with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, Sitting Bull returned to the Standing Rock Agency in South Dakota. Because of fears that he would use his influence to support the Ghost Dance movement, Indian Service agent James McLaughlin at Fort Yates ordered his arrest. During an ensuing struggle between Sitting Bull's followers and the agency police, Sitting Bull was shot in the side and head by Standing Rock policemen Lieutenant Bull Head (Tatankapah) and Red Tomahawk (Marcelus Chankpidutah) after the police were fired upon by Sitting Bull's supporters. His body was taken to nearby Fort Yates for burial. In 1953, his Lakota family exhumed what were believed to be his remains, reburying them near Mobridge, South Dakota near his birthplace

Red Cloud

Red Cloud was a very strong war leader and a chief of the Oglala Lakota. He led as a chief from 1868 to 1909. One of the most capable Native American opponents the United States Army faced, he led a successful campaign in 1866–1868 known as Red Cloud's War over control of the Powder River Country in northeastern Wyoming and southern Montana.

Lakota Sioux clothing

Moccasins, war shirt, beaded dress

Lakota Sioux Weapons

War club, tomahawk, war lance all used in times of war and self defense.

Pow -Wow

The Pow-wow dance is believed to have originated when the American-Indians were forced by the US government to settle in what are now know as Indian Reservations. Others believe that this type of dance has been around for many generations, and is their way of communicating to other distant tribes. Any which way it started, the Pow-wow dances and songs are now part of the rich American heritage that draws a large number of crowds from all walks of life each year.

Drum Medicine Drum The medicine drum can be found in many Native American societies. An animal skin is usually stretched across the

drum to serve as a head, and completely covers the drum ring to form a type of hand drum. It is laced into the four directions. A Medicine Man or Woman, playing the medicine drum or hearing the beat played by an assistant, would enter into a trance, brought on by the rhythm. From within the trance, they become an intermediary between the natural world and the spirit world for whatever people were seeking--rain for crops or the healing of a sick relative or a good hunt.

Ceremonial Drum Ceremonial drums were used by many tribes and in most instances each drum was unique, and the design followed

the vision of the individual creating that particular instrument. The ceremonial drum was used in many instances to call the people together for an event and continued to beat throughout the ceremony. Among ceremonies where the drum might have been used, and in some instances is still used, are the Ghost Dance, Pipe Ceremony, Purification Ceremony, Vision Quest, Sundance, Naming Ceremony, Smudging and Making of Relations Ceremony.

Sponsored Links Silva Mind Control Download The Famous Silva Mind Centering Exercise. For Free. www.silvalifesystem.com Floor Drum Pedestal drums or floor drums are the type of drum typically thought of as the "tom tom" and are small bass drums.

The floor drum was used both in ceremony and in daily life. Often made from a hollowed log, the floor drum might have been 12 inches to 42 inches in size. During daily life, the floor drum might be played for therapeutic or spiritual purposes. In many societies, this drum was the symbolic heartbeat of the home and was considered to be a member of the family.

Hand Drum The hand drum was usually a hoop drum and had a head of rawhide. These were played by ordinary people in times of

festivals, events, and ceremonies or to call the people together at other times. The hoop drum was usually 7 inches to 28 inches wide and the head of the drum might be decorated with various symbols. In most designs of hoop drums, the drum was held by a rawhide handle on the lacing while it was played, either with a beater or the palm of the hand.

Powwow Drum The powwow drum is the largest of Native American drums and creates the deepest tones. These drums were used for

celebrations, festivals and drumming circles. Often, the drum is played while men stand in a circle around it, singing to the beat of the drum. The powwow drum is said to contain the spirit of a woman in many Native American societies because legend says it is a woman who brought the drum to the people.

Sweat lodge

The I-ni-pi ceremony (lakota: ini- from inyan, rock + -pi, lodge), a type of sweat lodge, is a Lakota purification ceremony, and one of the Seven Sacred Rites of the Lakota people. It is an ancient and sacred ceremony of the Lakota people and has been passed down through the generations of Lakota.

The full ceremony is not taught to non-Lakotas, but in rough detail it involves an I-ni-pi lodge - a frame of saplings covered with hides or blankets. Stones are heated in a fire, then placed into a central pit in the lodge. Water is then poured on the stones to create hot steam. Traditional prayers and songs are offered in the Lakota language.

Original Lakota Sioux food

LAKOTA CREATION A long time ago, a really long time when the world was still freshly made, Unktehi the water monster fought the people and

caused a great flood. Perhaps the Great Spirit, Wakan Tanka, was angry with us for some reason. Maybe he let Unktehi win out because he wanted to make a better kind of human being.

Well, the waters got higher and higher. Finally everything was flooded except the hill next to the place where the sacred red pipestone quarry lies today. The people climbed up there to save themselves, but it was no use. The water swept over that hill. Waves tumbled the rocks and pinnacles, smashing them down on the people. Everyone was killed, and all the blood jelled, making one big pool.

The blood turned to pipestone and created the pipestone quarry, the grave of those ancient ones. That's why the pipe, made of that red rock, is so sacred to us. Its red bowl is the flesh and blood of our ancestors, its stem is the backbone of those people long dead, the smoke rising from it is their breath. I tell you, that pipe, that *chanunpa*, comes alive when used in a ceremony; you can feel power flowing from it.

Unktehi, the big water monster, was also turned to stone. Maybe Tunkshila, the Grandfather Spirit, punished her for making the flood. Her bones are in the Badlands now. Her back forms a long high ridge, and you can see her vertebrae sticking out in a great row of red and yellow rocks. I have seen them. It scared me when I was on that ridge, for I felt Unktehi. She was moving beneath me, wanting to topple me.

Well, when all the people were killed so many generations ago, one girl survived, a beautiful girl. It happened this way: When the water swept over the hill where they tried to seek refuge, a big spotted eagle, Wanblee Galeshka, swept down and let her grab hold of his feet. With her hanging on, he flew to the top of a tall tree which stood on the highest stone pinnacle in the Black Hills. That was the eagle's home. It became the only spot not covered with water.

If the people had gotten up there, they would have survived, but it was a needle-like rock as smooth and steep as the skyscrapers you got now in the big cities. My grandfather told me that maybe the rock was not in the Black Hills; maybe it was the Devil's Tower, as white men call it , that place in Wyoming.

Both places are sacred. Wanblee kept that beautiful girl with him and made her his wife. There was a closer connection then between people and animals, so he could do it. The eagle's wife became pregnant and bore him twins, a boy and a girl. She was happy, and said: "Now we will have people again. *Washtay*, it is good." The children were born right there, on top of that cliff. When the waters finally subsided, Wanblee helped the children and their mother down from his rock and put them on the earth, telling them: Be a nation, become a great Nation – the Lakota Oyate."

The boy and girl grew up. He was the only man on earth, she the only woman of child-bearing age. They married; they had children. A nation was born.

So we are descended from the eagle. We are an eagle nation. That is good, something to be proud of, because the eagle is the wisest of birds. He is the Great Spirit's messenger; he is a great warrior. That is why we always wore the eagle plume, and still wear it. We are a great nation.

Custer's Last Stand The Battle of the Little Bighorn, commonly referred to as Custer's

Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes, against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. The battle, which occurred June 25–26, 1876, near the Little Bighorn River in eastern Montana Territory, was the most prominent action of the Great Sioux War of 1876. It was an overwhelming victory for the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, led by several major war leaders, including Crazy Horse and Chief Gall, inspired by the visions of Sitting Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake). The U.S. 7th Cavalry, including the Custer Battalion, a force of 700 men led by George Armstrong Custer, suffered a severe defeat. Five of the 7th Cavalry's twelve companies were annihilated; Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, a nephew, and a brother-in-law. The total U.S. casualty count, including scouts, was 268 dead and 55 injured.

Rosebud Sioux Tribe In the 1880's, the Tribes of the Great Sioux Nation signed treaties with the United States establishing

the boundaries of the Tribes and recognized their rights as a sovereign government. The Sioux Tribes consist of the Seven Original Council Fires, one of which is known as the Lakota. The Sicangu (Rosebud) people are from that Council Fire. The Rosebud Sioux Tribal lands were originally reduced to a reservation by the U.S. Congress in the Act of March 2, 1889 which identified all the Lakota/Dakota /Nakota reservations in what is known as the Great Sioux Settlement. The boundaries were further reduced by subsequent Homestead Acts. The Sicangu people were moved five times before the Rosebud agency was finally established. Previous agencies were located on the Whetstone Agency near the Missouri River, White River Agency along the Big White River, Spotted Tail Agency at Rosebud Creek, and the Ponca Agency located near the west bank. The Sicangu Lakota (Rosebud Sioux) have the status of a sovereign nation which gives them the right to elect their own officials, regulate their own territory, manage tribal affairs, and create and enforce their own tribal laws.

The Tribal governments maintain jurisdiction within the boundaries of the reservation including all rights-of-way, waterways, watercourses and streams running through any part of the reservation and to such others lands as may hereafter be added to the reservation under the laws of the United States. The Tribal government operates under a constitution consistent with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and approved by the Tribal membership and Tribal Council of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Harold Ickes, the Secretary of the Interior of the United States approved the constitution and the by-laws on December 20, 1935. The Tribal Council consists of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, a Sergeant-At-Arms, and twenty additional Council members that are elected by the Tribal members.

The Rosebud Sioux Reservation is located in south central South Dakota and borders the Pine Ridge Reservation on its northwest corner and the State of Nebraska border to the south. The reservation is located in Todd County, however, the Rosebud Service Unit includes Gregory, Mellette, Todd, Lyman and Tripp Counties in South Dakota. The Reservation has a total area of 922,759 acres (1,442 sq. mi.) whereas the Unit covers some 5,961 sq. mi. The Tribal headquarters is located in Rosebud, SD. There are twenty communities within the Reservation including Ideal, Winner, Butte Creek, Okreek, Antelope, Ring Thunder, Soldier Creek, St. Francis (Owl Bonnet), Spring Creek, Two Strike, Grass Mountain, Upper Cut Meat, Swift Bear, Parmelee,, Rosebud, Black Pipe, He Dog, Corn Creek, Horse Creek, Bull Creek, & Milks Camp.

Traditional Lands and Culture’s of The Black Hills & Lakota Sioux Tribes

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