THE ROLE OF THE SHAMAN

                                                                                                   Black Elk, Oglala Sioux Holy Medicine Man, Black Hills of South Dakota, circa 1939.

The shaman used appropriate words, objects and rituals to protect men from evil spirits - his role is that of opponent to the bad spirits and of guardian to the ordinary man. The role of the Shaman differs from tribe to tribe as there are some regional and tribal variations to their beliefs in Shamanism. There are, however, several common roles that are shared by every Shaman. A Shaman was a healer, communicator, educator, prophet and mystic:

Who are the Lakota Indians?

A division of the Sioux, the Lakota represented the largest band of the tribe. Their domain included a giant swath of land that ran from the Missouri River to the Big Horn Mountains in the west. Their contact with whites was minimal, and by the 1840s the Lakota were at the peak of their power. Crazy Horse's birth had come during a great time for the Lakota people.

In the 1850s, life for the Lakota began to change considerably. As white settlers began pushing west in search of gold and a new life out on the frontier, competition for resources between these new immigrants and the Lakota created tension. Military forts were established in parts of the Great Plains, bringing in even more white settlers and introducing diseases that took their toll on the native Indian populations.

Crazy Horse (b. in 1840), was an Oglala Sioux Indian Chief who fought against the removal of Indians to a reservation in the Black Hills. Years after his death, Crazy Horse is still revered for being a visionary leader who fought hard to preserve his people's traditions and ways of life

                                                                                                    Red Horse. A Dakota Chief. 1880s. Photo by D.F. Barry.