Chief Sitting Bull

[larson1951]

if this is in the wrong part of this great forum then will the moderators please move to the proper place?
when I was 6 or 8 years old my mom and dad used to take me to visit Chief Sitting Bull's grave
his grave was stolen and moved from north dakota to south dakota a few times but I am not sure of the exact history
I remember standing in front of his grave and my mom and dad telling me story's about him and that his grave had been ransacked and moved back and forth

[Tnmountains]

One bad looking dude. I bet he was a man to have on your side. Nice picture.

[larson1951]

Thank you Tn,
I appreciate and agree with your comment
Larson1951

[godisnum1]

My great-grandfather traced our family tree back to Chief Sitting Bull on his side...

Bran <><

[larson1951]

are you Sioux nation?

[godisnum1]

I'm part Cherokee, and part Lakota...

Bran <><

[watercolor]

What a wonderful experience. . . history is always more meaningful when you're there.

BTW, is that an Edward Curtis photograph? (sorry to digress)

[larson1951]

yes I think it is a edward curtis picture

for those of you that are interested the Sioux Nation
is made up of Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota
Sitting Bull was Dakota -Standing Rock, Eagle Butte
Lakota-Pine Ridge
Nakota-Sisseton, Fort Thompson, Lower Brule
This refers to dialect, D, L, or N
my wife is Nakota- Sisseton she came from the Blue Dog name, her Mom was the last of the Blue Dog name
there is a lake by Sisseton named Blue Dog Lake
these are all located in North and South Dakota

[coteau]

About a month ago someone from Standing Rock (originally) explained to me a lot about the Sioux culture, including the different dialects you mentioned. One thing that I found interesting is that some people still participate in the Sundance. I had no idea that people still did that! Sounds like torture, but like he told me it's a sacrifice for others (similar to Jesus dying on the cross). He mentioned that they use eagle bird bone whistles in the ceremony. I wonder if the whistles you find were used in sundances?

He also stated that some of the elders criticize that the young people aren't doing the ceremony correctly (sounds familiar)

[larson1951]

yes thanks runt,
I have seen the scars on some of my Indian friends from the sundance
both on the chest and on the back
my friend Walter is about 50 yrs old and has done it at least twice
he also showed me that some of the pieces in my collection are not bone awls but skewers used in the sundance
he said it is very painful but not as painful and long (time wise) as the older ways

I dont know if my whistles were used in the sundance but it is very possible
kids used them for toys also
I cant get a sound out of them except for one of them and that was only one time
I read something once that said when the white traders first saw kids with these whistles that they were amazed at all the different sounds

that could come from these kids playing them, but the white traders could not get any kind of a sound out of them
In the movie "a man called horse" the whistle used in the sundance looked like one that I have, but who knows?