ElvishPenguin12

Hello everyone. I really need some help with finding information. I'm looking for good sources for Native American customs, particularly Lakota and Pawnee. I've found some info, but I would really like to do more in depth research before being completely satisfied with the authenticity. Ideally, I would like to talk to members of these particular tribes, but I have no idea how to go about doing that. If anyone has any advice they could give as far as books or websites I could go to, I would greatly appreciate the help. Thanks for taking the time to consider my dilemma.

Jess

evil octavia

go to a library and look at the cultural books; that's where i found some things, but my grandma was also into native americans and that's where i got most of my information, but you can also go online and find websites pertaining to these tribes.

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journyman161

I've seen comment from Kane & Freebird that they are of NA descent, not sure which tribes. Perhaps PM them & ask if they can point you at help?

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mammamaia

i've lived with the hopi, but not the lakota or pawnee... have you tried googling?... you'll find lots of info and connections that way, if you're patient and can google creatively...

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ElvishPenguin12

I've tried google a couple of times, but I'm not sure what exactly to look for. Looking under "traditions" or "customs" doesn't really turn up anything useful. I'm not sure what other terms to use. Either way, thanks for the help, guys. I really appreciate it.

Jess

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journyman161

I googled 'lakota, culture' & got 200,000 hits. 'Pawnee, culture' only got 69,000

__________________
*He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)
*Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? - Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)
*Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it - Moses Hadas
*He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know - Abraham Lincoln

Philo

I've been doing a little bit with Native American Languages and the site I've been using also has some other useful links. Here's a page from that site with a list of Lakota language links and at the bottom of the page is a list of cultural and history links. http://www.native-languages.org/dakota.htm

and from the same site, a page on Pawnee, although with not as many links. http://www.native-languages.org/pawnee.htm

-Philo

ElvishPenguin12

Awesome, Philo! Thank you for the info. I will definitely check out those links.

Jess

__________________
Brian: You're really going to take back donated presents on Christmas Eve?
Peter: Yup. Now here's the plan. You'll enter through the air conditioning duct here. Now, there'll be an invisible laser grid three inches from the floor, so you'll have to compress your body to the size of an ordinary household sponge and slide underneath like some kind of weird amphibious dolphin.
Brian: Can I buy some pot from you?

Kimberly Bird

Hi Elvish, there are some good sites out there.
One of the ones I frequent is

http://www.crystalinks.com/nativeamer.html

Best of luck

Kimberly

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river-wind

I would recommend both "Black Elk Speaks" and "Crazy Horse: Strange Man of the Ogalas" for a good look at customs and modern history of the tribes now collectively known as the Sioux.
There is a distinct divide that must be considered in the cultural history of Northern Native Americans - pre-contact with European culture, and post - contact. The divide between the two varies between tribes, but occured from the early 1600's to the late 1700's.

Pre-contact was just as violent and difficult as post-contact, don't let the fantasy of the idyllic, peacefull natives fool you. Constant skirmishes and full-on warfare between tribes resulted in never-ending worry of attack for every person. Post-contact was a shift in who native peoples focused their anger on, and also in the numbers lost - it was still a violent, difficult, and IMO, rewarding way of life.

New religious variations, new ceremonies (like the classic example, the ghost dance) were invented during this time; also the heavy and often forced influence of christianity colored even the "original" stroies.
The post-contact religions and cultures are markedly different from 400 years ago. Some of it still remains in a pure form, but good luck finding it.

I have a close friend who has studied with an elder named Uncle Alex - a Lokota Medicine man - if you have any specific questions, I will ask her for you, and pass back the information. I can't speak for the Pawnee, but if you have any other questions on the Haudenosaunee (Iroquios), Lenape, or the more modern history of the Cherokee, I'll try and help.