One of the main things that you will hear people talk about whenever they mention this group of people is the fact that their stories are passed down orally without many exceptions. This is something that people in the Lakota culture take very seriously, and it is easy to understand that when you've grown up around people your whole life who do things this way, you're going to follow that same tradition. You have probably heard of or even seen this tradition in action when an elder or a group of elders are telling the younger people a story so that they can learn it and one day pass it on to their children, and that is how the oral tradition perpetuates itself for as long as the people who tell the stories are around for.
When Europeans were setting in many different places across North America, they encountered a lot of Native Americans who they didn't know how to deal with. One of the common ways was to try and convince them to abandon their ways, which would be all that they'd known all their lives, and get them to start doing things the way they were done over in Europe. For obvious reasons, this did not always work out, but it definitely succeeded in stamping out so much of this beautiful culture that is now lost to us 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.
When it is the wintertime, it is often too cold to get much done outside that is productive, and it is often too cold to even play or have fun outside. It is also darker for longer during this time of the year, so one of the only things to do is sit around the fire and hear what the elder folks have to say. This is the best time to hear the stories that these people will tell time and time again.
When a story is told to you over and over again, you tend to remember it a lot better. This is definitely the theory behind the oral tradition. The elders will repeatedly tell the same stories, much like most people's parents do, but in this case, it is intentional.
One of the older ways that these people would record a year in the life is with pictorial diagrams. Unfortunately, this was one of the many things that were destroyed by European settlers. It just goes to show how traditions other than oral ones are more vulnerable.
An amazing thing about the stories of these people is that they have been keeping track of their histories and beliefs as far back as their people go. This means they can have some pretty hard-to-find historical information. It is interesting to hear things from their perspective.
One story that these people tell us is that the first people to come to earth were turned into buffalo. This is because they were tricked into coming to early. It really makes you think about buffalo in a different way.
When Europeans were setting in many different places across North America, they encountered a lot of Native Americans who they didn't know how to deal with. One of the common ways was to try and convince them to abandon their ways, which would be all that they'd known all their lives, and get them to start doing things the way they were done over in Europe. For obvious reasons, this did not always work out, but it definitely succeeded in stamping out so much of this beautiful culture that is now lost to us 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.
When it is the wintertime, it is often too cold to get much done outside that is productive, and it is often too cold to even play or have fun outside. It is also darker for longer during this time of the year, so one of the only things to do is sit around the fire and hear what the elder folks have to say. This is the best time to hear the stories that these people will tell time and time again.
When a story is told to you over and over again, you tend to remember it a lot better. This is definitely the theory behind the oral tradition. The elders will repeatedly tell the same stories, much like most people's parents do, but in this case, it is intentional.
One of the older ways that these people would record a year in the life is with pictorial diagrams. Unfortunately, this was one of the many things that were destroyed by European settlers. It just goes to show how traditions other than oral ones are more vulnerable.
An amazing thing about the stories of these people is that they have been keeping track of their histories and beliefs as far back as their people go. This means they can have some pretty hard-to-find historical information. It is interesting to hear things from their perspective.
One story that these people tell us is that the first people to come to earth were turned into buffalo. This is because they were tricked into coming to early. It really makes you think about buffalo in a different way.
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