Synopses & Reviews
A CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title.
Amos E. Oneroad moved in two worlds. Educated in traditional Dakota ways, he also earned a divinity degree from Columbia University and become a Presbyterian minister. In 1914 he began working with Alanson B. Skinner, a student of anthropology whom he met in New York City. Oneroad wrote these stories; Skinner planned to edit and publish the work. But Skinner's untimely death in 1925 thwarted their plans, and the manuscript languished for seventy-five years in a California library. Laura L. Anderson, who teaches anthropology at the University of Oklahoma, has edited this unusual document, which offers a fresh look at what it means to be Dakota.
Review
"This important book is a cultural gem."--Choice
Synopsis
At the beginning of the twentieth century, a few members of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota community in northeastern South Dakota, while living in the white world, quietly worked to preserve the customs and stories of their ancestors in the face of federal government suppression and the opposition of organized religion.
Amos E. Oneroad, a son of one of those families, was educated in the traditional ways and then sent east to obtain a college education, eventually becoming a Presbyterian minister. For most of his life, he moved in two worlds. By fortunate coincidence he met Alanson B. Skinner, a student of anthropology and kindred soul, in New York City. The two men formed a bond both personal and professional, collaborating on anthropological studies in various parts of the United States. The project closest to Oneroad's heart was the collection and preservation of the stories and traditions of the Sisseton and Wahpeton. Oneroad wrote down the stories and gave them to Skinner. The men intended to polish the resulting manuscript and publish it, but Skinner's untimely death in 1925 thwarted their plans.
Oneroad and Skinner collected descriptions of everyday life, including tribal organization, ceremonies that marked the individual's passage from birth to death, and material culture. Several of the folk tales included relate the exploits of Iktomi, the trickster, while others tell of adventures of such figures as the Child of Love, Star Born, and the Mysterious Turtle.
Laura L. Anderson, who teaches anthropology at the University of Oklahoma, found the neglected manuscript among Skinner's papers in a California library and has edited it for publication. Being Dakota succeeds in fulfilling its authors' original intent by conveying these long-ago stories and traditions to the children and grandchildren, and being true to Amos Oneroad's voice.
Synopsis
A unique collection detailing the customs: traditions: and folklore of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota at the turn of the twentieth century: with descriptions of tribal organization: ceremonies that marked the individual's passage from birth to death: and material cu
Table of Contents
Preface 000 Introduction 000 The Sisseton-Wahpeton Community 000 Amos Enos Oneroad (Mahpiyasna) 000 Alanson Buck Skinner 000 The Manuscript 000 Sisseton and Wahpeton Traditions and Customs 000 Civil and Military Organization 000 Tribal Divisions 000 Officers, Government, Warriors, and War Customs 000 Social Life and Organizations 000 Societies and Ceremonies 000 Life of the Individual 000 Dakota Naming Customs 000 Puberty Fasting and Dreaming 000 Courtship, Marriage, Polygamy, and Divorce 000 Mortuary Customs and the Hereafter 000 Material Culture 000 Houses, costumes, etc. 000 Dress 000 Dwellings 000 Household utensils 000 Games 000 Sisseton and Wahpeton Tales and Folklore 000 Introduction 000 The Adventures of Iktomi 000 1. Iktomi and His Member 000 2. Iktomi and the Bathing Girls 000 3. Iktomi and the Mysterious Raccoon 000 4. Iktomi and the Gopher 000 5. Iktomi Is Caught in a Skull 000 6. Iktomi and the Elk 000 7. Iktomi and the Nighthawk 000 8. Iktomi and the Turkey Buzzard 000 9. Iktomi Has Revenge Upon the Buzzard 000 10. Iktomi and the Ducks 000 11. Iktomi and the Artichoke 000 12. Iktomi and the Roseberries 000 13. Iktomi and the Two Girls 000 14. Iktomi and the Raccoon Family 000 15. Iktomi and the Fox 000 16. Iktomi and the Hare 000 17. Iktomi Visits the Squirrel 000 18. Iktomi and the Beaver 000 19. Iktomi and the Buffalo 000 The Adventures of Masti@a, the Hare 000 1. Hare and His Grandmother 000 2. Hare and the Bear Hunt 000 3. Hare and the Early Riser 000 Other Stories 000 1. The Child of Love 000 2. The Mouse and the Buffalo 000 3. The Legend of Hoop Ravine 000 4. The Raccoon and the Crawfish 000 5. Turtle and His Warparty 000 6. The Woodpecker and the Crane 000 7. The Mysterious Man 000 8. The Man Who Was Changed to a Pickerel 000 9. The Mysterious Turtle 000 10. The Toad Who Stole a Boy 000 11. The Flying Man 000 12. Star Born 000 13. The Origin of the Medicine Dance 000 Tales 000 14. A Migration Tale 000 15. How the Heyoka Got His Medicine 000 16. A Boy Joker 000 17. Contest Between Thunder-bird and Monster 000 18. A Witch Story 000 19. A Berdache Story 000 20. A War Story 000 Notes 000 Bibliography 000 Index 000