Oglala Lakota

From NativeWiki

The Oglala Lakota or Oglala Sioux, meaning "to scatter one's own" in Siouan, live in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota bordering Nebraska and 50 miles east of Wyoming, the second largest reservation in the United States. The reservation has broadly three parts, pine covered hills and ridges, grassy plains and a desert area. All three parts are noted for natural beauty. The Oglala Sioux see themselves primarily as part of the Lakota or Sioux people.

1 History
2 Sex Roles
3 Traditional Culture
4 Bands
5 Famous Oglala
6 Reference

History

The Oglala Sioux, along with the six other groups of Lakota, had separated from each other by the early 19th century. By 1830, the Oglala had around 3,000 members. In the 1820s and 1830s the Oglala, along with the Brules (another division of Lakota) and three other Sioux sects, formed the Sioux Alliance. This Alliance caused much warfare between the Western Sioux and surrounding tribes for territorial and hunting reasons.

Sex Roles

Typically, in the Oglala Sioux society, the men are superior to the women and are in charge of the politics of the tribe. The men are always the chiefs, leaders, and warriors. However, women are and always have been highly regarded and respected in the tribe. Any forms of violence against women are extremely looked down upon. Similar to non-Indian outside cultures, women are beginning to participate more in leadership roles such as superintendents of reservations, community leaders, and teachers.

Traditional Culture

Family was and still is of utmost importance to the Oglala Sioux, with loyalty to the tribe coming in close second. Each family had one or more tipi households, usually one for each of the man's polygamous relations, a highly practiced tradition. When two husbands joined their families' tipis together, it was called a camp, and when two or more camps joined together, it was called a band, or a tiospaye, in Siouan. The Oglala tribe was formed when multiple bands joined together.

Bands

Writing in 1875, the Indian agent at the Red Cloud Agency, Dr. John J. Saville, noted that the Oglala were divided into three main bands or tiyospaye: the Kiyuksa, the Oyuhpe and the head band or True Oglala. "Each of these bands are subdivided into smaller parties, variously named, usually designated by the name of their chief or leader." These were known as tiwahe or family bands.<ref>Saville to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Aug. 31, 1875, published in Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1875), p. 250. Dr. Saville actually listed four bands, however, one of these (the Wajaje) while closely associated with the Oglala, still considered themselves to be Brulé)</ref>

By the 1870s, the Hunkpatila tiyospaye included a number of smaller bands, including the Payabya, Ite Sica (Bad Face), and the Soreback Band.