The proper name for the people commonly known as the “Great Sioux” is Oceti Sakowin, (Och-et-ee Shak-oh-win) meaning Seven Council Fires.
The Seven Council Fires are:
Mdewakantonwan – Nation by the Sacred Lake
Sinsintonwan – Nation of the Marshland
Wahpetonwan – Nation Among the Leaves
Wahpekute – Nation of Shooters Among the Leaves
Ihanktonwan- Nation at the End of Horn
Ihanktowana- Nation at the Little End of Horn
Tintatonwan – Nation of the Plains
The Seven Council Fires were conceived by Seven Brothers. These Seven Brothers made an agreement to always take care of, be true to and be there for each other and their families. They therefore are the Fathers of the Seven Council Fires Nation. Today descendents of the Seven Council Fires People can be located on reservations and reserves in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
Oyate People
According to our history, the Oceti Sakowin came from the Black Hills, literally emerging from the Earth at a place called Wind Cave in the Paha Sapa or Black Hills of Unci Maka (Grandmother Earth). The Oceti Sakowin considers the entire Black Hills region sacred and also refers to this place as “the heart of everything that is.” This creation story reveals the strong kinship and inherent sense of belonging and shared origins with their lands. When a child is born, they are not only born to parents and a family, but they are born into a relationship with Wakan Tanka (God), into a relationship with the Oyate (People), and with the land, thus one’s duties to kin are equal to one’s duties to the spiritual and natural world. This bond with nature and responsibility for all living things can be found in the saying “Mitakuye Oyasin”, “We Are All Related!”
The Seven Council Fires People believe that all of creation is a part of the circle of life. Every act has an effect on everything within the circle. A virtuous act has a positive power that is multiplied through the circle benefiting all creation. This is in essence Wolakota which is the foundation of Wotitakuye (Kinship).
The purpose of Wotitakuye or kinship lies in Wolakota, a spiritual way of life, based on the Seven Sacred Laws and Seven Sacred Ceremonies that were given to our People by Wakan Tanka or God. Wolakota is a life of peace, friendship, brotherhood and sisterhood, integrity, and wholesome, healthy relationships between and among the relatives within and of the Nation, within and of each family circle (Tiwahe), within and of each extended family (Ti-ospaye), within and of the Bands/Tribe (Ospaye), and within and of the Seven Council Fires (Oceti Sakowin) as a whole. Wolakota is a wholesome relationship and respect between human beings and all forms of life and the spiritual connection with God and their surroundings.
Oceti Sakowin Wotitakuye
Seven Council Fires Kinship
Wotitakuye or in English “kinship”, it is central to the way of life of the Oceti Sakowin Oyate or Seven Council Fires People and one of the greatest most endearing customs of our nation. The ways of the Seven Council Fires teaches that kinship is of great importance and extensive in terms of caring and responsibility. As children we are taught, one must obey kinship rules; one must be a good relative to his/her people… This conception of relatives influences the way home, family and community social relations work. Where aunts are often considered mothers, uncles called father and cousins are considered brothers and sisters. The Seven Council Fires people teach that there is strength in relationship to each other, relationships within the council fires will remain true to each other and their relatives. Even in severe difficulty the people of the Seven Council Fires will come together and help each other. The phrase Mitakuye Oyasin, translated means “All My Relations”, is said at the end of prayers and or speeches. Mitakuye Oyasin means that you have to learn to be a relative of all living things and all things of the earth. Thus there is a strong allegiance to each other as relatives of the Seven Council Fires People.
Wakanyeja
Children
Central to the Seven Council Fires way of life is Wakanyeja, in English Child or Children. The word Wakanyeja has a much deeper meaning then the English word Child or Children; “Wakan” is “sacred” and “yeja” is translated to mean “a gift”. Thus the Oceti Sakowin Oyate believes strongly that our children are a “Sacred Gift” from the Creator and must be protected and nurtured at all times. They are our hope for the future and the most precious of our treasures. Children are the future of the Nation; the security and well-being of the Nation is ensured by providing security and well-being to the Children. Children represent renewal, laughter, joyfulness of heart and love. By nurturing and supporting them by providing for them in all areas of their lives and through a well rounded education in our way of life, language, culture, history and spiritual traditions of the Seven Council Fires, the People shall be continually renewed and revitalized; this will insure our survival into the future.
Tiwahe
Family
Family to the Oceti Sakowin Oyate is the measure of wealth. To be an honorable person living amongst a well respected and beloved family is very valuable to our society. Family in our language is expressed as Tiwahe. To think like the Seven Council Fires People one has to understand the language of the people, for example to truly understand or define Tiwahe one has to understand the different components of the word, Ti means, “living or dwelling;” wa, means “snow”, “sacred” or “purity”, he means “stands.” Therefore, Tiwahe is “the sacred dwelling or home that stands pure,” and refers to the family. Thus the Tiwahe is a sacred element of relationship between individuals within a home of the Seven Council Fires Nation.
Ti-ospaye
Extended Family
Ti-ospaye in the language of the Seven Council Fires People means “Relatives that Dwell Together” or in the English language “Extended Family”, “ti” meaning “dwelling” and “ospaye” meaning “host of relatives”. Within the Ti-ospaye, bonds of relationship and acknowledgment of responsibilities for one another are very strong. The Ti-ospaye gives our children multiple parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and siblings. The Ti-ospaye model offers to children and their parents a larger variety of corrective factors for problems within their immediate families, this allows for positive order and constructive discipline within the Seven Council Fires People. If the family, children or parents become difficult, there are other adults/parents around to diffuse the situation. It is from the Ti-ospaye that one learns how to live as a human being, from the examples set by both the achievements and mistakes of all its members. Every act and judgment is considered in terms of its duty and benefit to the extended family, which often includes hundreds of people and a great many families. It is said that the Seven Council Fires Nation consists of 343 Tiospaye.
Ospaye
Band/Tribe
When members of one host of extended families are related to another host of extended families, wherein one Tiospaye is related to another Tiospaye, this extends the kinship to what is called Ospaye (band or tribe) or a host of relatives who come together to live as one. In the latter part of the 1800’s James Owen Dorsey an Americanethnologist, linguist, and missionary recorded approximately 49 Ospaye (Bands or Tribes) dwelling within the Seven Council Fires Nation. It is quite possible each Ospaye consisted of seven Tiospaye, seven being a cardinal number of the Seven Council Fires People.
Tonwan
Nation
In life of the Seven Council Fires People, responsibility towards relatives, sacredness and sovereignty, extend outward in networks of extended relationships, ultimately reaching the notion of “Tonwan” (Nation). The Seven Brothers who constitute “The Seven Council Fires” were taku-kiciyapi (consider-one-another-kindred), because they are all Otonwe (of-one-blood), or Otonweya (considered-of- same -blood)… they aligned themselves into seven Otonwepi (Nations), people of the same blood i.e. Tintatonwan, Ihanktonwan, Mdewakantonwan etc. and into 49 Ospayepi (Bands/Tribes) i.e. Itazipchola, Hunkpapa, Sicangu etc…. subsequently each individual Ospayepi separate into seven Ti-ospayepi ( Extended Families); each Ti-ospaye is composed of one or more Wico-tipi (villages), and each Wico-tipi is composed of several Ti-ognakapi (homes) or Tiwahe (Families)… Thus the strength of the relationship of one person to another within the Seven Council Fires People is in the following order: 1. Tiwahe/Ti-ognaka (Family/Home); 2. Ti-ospaye/Wico-Tipi (Extended Family/Village); 3. Ospaye (Band/Tribe); 4. Otonwe/Oyate (Nation/People). Therefore the Seven Council Fires People relationship with one another range from family/home, extended family/village, Tribe/Band, to relatedness alliance on the “nation” level, with otonwe (by blood) and oyate (common society). Every level commands greater attention to being a “good relative” and person, so that political relations with oyate unma or “other people” follows these ordering principles.
History of the Council Fires
Oceti Sakowin Oyate
Seven Council Fires People
The proper name for the people commonly known as the “Great Sioux” is Oceti Sakowin, (Och-et-ee Shak-oh-win) meaning Seven Council Fires.
The Seven Council Fires are:
The Seven Council Fires were conceived by Seven Brothers. These Seven Brothers made an agreement to always take care of, be true to and be there for each other and their families. They therefore are the Fathers of the Seven Council Fires Nation. Today descendents of the Seven Council Fires People can be located on reservations and reserves in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
Oyate
People
According to our history, the Oceti Sakowin came from the Black Hills, literally emerging from the Earth at a place called Wind Cave in the Paha Sapa or Black Hills of Unci Maka (Grandmother Earth). The Oceti Sakowin considers the entire Black Hills region sacred and also refers to this place as “the heart of everything that is.” This creation story reveals the strong kinship and inherent sense of belonging and shared origins with their lands. When a child is born, they are not only born to parents and a family, but they are born into a relationship with Wakan Tanka (God), into a relationship with the Oyate (People), and with the land, thus one’s duties to kin are equal to one’s duties to the spiritual and natural world. This bond with nature and responsibility for all living things can be found in the saying “Mitakuye Oyasin”, “We Are All Related!”
The Seven Council Fires People believe that all of creation is a part of the circle of life. Every act has an effect on everything within the circle. A virtuous act has a positive power that is multiplied through the circle benefiting all creation. This is in essence Wolakota which is the foundation of Wotitakuye (Kinship).
The purpose of Wotitakuye or kinship lies in Wolakota, a spiritual way of life, based on the Seven Sacred Laws and Seven Sacred Ceremonies that were given to our People by Wakan Tanka or God. Wolakota is a life of peace, friendship, brotherhood and sisterhood, integrity, and wholesome, healthy relationships between and among the relatives within and of the Nation, within and of each family circle (Tiwahe), within and of each extended family (Ti-ospaye), within and of the Bands/Tribe (Ospaye), and within and of the Seven Council Fires (Oceti Sakowin) as a whole. Wolakota is a wholesome relationship and respect between human beings and all forms of life and the spiritual connection with God and their surroundings.
Oceti Sakowin Wotitakuye
Seven Council Fires Kinship
Wotitakuye or in English “kinship”, it is central to the way of life of the Oceti Sakowin Oyate or Seven Council Fires People and one of the greatest most endearing customs of our nation. The ways of the Seven Council Fires teaches that kinship is of great importance and extensive in terms of caring and responsibility. As children we are taught, one must obey kinship rules; one must be a good relative to his/her people… This conception of relatives influences the way home, family and community social relations work. Where aunts are often considered mothers, uncles called father and cousins are considered brothers and sisters. The Seven Council Fires people teach that there is strength in relationship to each other, relationships within the council fires will remain true to each other and their relatives. Even in severe difficulty the people of the Seven Council Fires will come together and help each other. The phrase Mitakuye Oyasin, translated means “All My Relations”, is said at the end of prayers and or speeches. Mitakuye Oyasin means that you have to learn to be a relative of all living things and all things of the earth. Thus there is a strong allegiance to each other as relatives of the Seven Council Fires People.
Wakanyeja
Children
Central to the Seven Council Fires way of life is Wakanyeja, in English Child or Children. The word Wakanyeja has a much deeper meaning then the English word Child or Children; “Wakan” is “sacred” and “yeja” is translated to mean “a gift”. Thus the Oceti Sakowin Oyate believes strongly that our children are a “Sacred Gift” from the Creator and must be protected and nurtured at all times. They are our hope for the future and the most precious of our treasures. Children are the future of the Nation; the security and well-being of the Nation is ensured by providing security and well-being to the Children. Children represent renewal, laughter, joyfulness of heart and love. By nurturing and supporting them by providing for them in all areas of their lives and through a well rounded education in our way of life, language, culture, history and spiritual traditions of the Seven Council Fires, the People shall be continually renewed and revitalized; this will insure our survival into the future.
Tiwahe
Family
Family to the Oceti Sakowin Oyate is the measure of wealth. To be an honorable person living amongst a well respected and beloved family is very valuable to our society. Family in our language is expressed as Tiwahe. To think like the Seven Council Fires People one has to understand the language of the people, for example to truly understand or define Tiwahe one has to understand the different components of the word, Ti means, “living or dwelling;” wa, means “snow”, “sacred” or “purity”, he means “stands.” Therefore, Tiwahe is “the sacred dwelling or home that stands pure,” and refers to the family. Thus the Tiwahe is a sacred element of relationship between individuals within a home of the Seven Council Fires Nation.
Ti-ospaye
Extended Family
Ti-ospaye in the language of the Seven Council Fires People means “Relatives that Dwell Together” or in the English language “Extended Family”, “ti” meaning “dwelling” and “ospaye” meaning “host of relatives”. Within the Ti-ospaye, bonds of relationship and acknowledgment of responsibilities for one another are very strong. The Ti-ospaye gives our children multiple parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and siblings. The Ti-ospaye model offers to children and their parents a larger variety of corrective factors for problems within their immediate families, this allows for positive order and constructive discipline within the Seven Council Fires People. If the family, children or parents become difficult, there are other adults/parents around to diffuse the situation. It is from the Ti-ospaye that one learns how to live as a human being, from the examples set by both the achievements and mistakes of all its members. Every act and judgment is considered in terms of its duty and benefit to the extended family, which often includes hundreds of people and a great many families. It is said that the Seven Council Fires Nation consists of 343 Tiospaye.
Ospaye
Band/Tribe
When members of one host of extended families are related to another host of extended families, wherein one Tiospaye is related to another Tiospaye, this extends the kinship to what is called Ospaye (band or tribe) or a host of relatives who come together to live as one. In the latter part of the 1800’s James Owen Dorsey an American ethnologist, linguist, and missionary recorded approximately 49 Ospaye (Bands or Tribes) dwelling within the Seven Council Fires Nation. It is quite possible each Ospaye consisted of seven Tiospaye, seven being a cardinal number of the Seven Council Fires People.
Tonwan
Nation
In life of the Seven Council Fires People, responsibility towards relatives, sacredness and sovereignty, extend outward in networks of extended relationships, ultimately reaching the notion of “Tonwan” (Nation). The Seven Brothers who constitute “The Seven Council Fires” were taku-kiciyapi (consider-one-another-kindred), because they are all Otonwe (of-one-blood), or Otonweya (considered-of- same -blood)… they aligned themselves into seven Otonwepi (Nations), people of the same blood i.e. Tintatonwan, Ihanktonwan, Mdewakantonwan etc. and into 49 Ospayepi (Bands/Tribes) i.e. Itazipchola, Hunkpapa, Sicangu etc…. subsequently each individual Ospayepi separate into seven Ti-ospayepi ( Extended Families); each Ti-ospaye is composed of one or more Wico-tipi (villages), and each Wico-tipi is composed of several Ti-ognakapi (homes) or Tiwahe (Families)… Thus the strength of the relationship of one person to another within the Seven Council Fires People is in the following order: 1. Tiwahe/Ti-ognaka (Family/Home); 2. Ti-ospaye/Wico-Tipi (Extended Family/Village); 3. Ospaye (Band/Tribe); 4. Otonwe/Oyate (Nation/People). Therefore the Seven Council Fires People relationship with one another range from family/home, extended family/village, Tribe/Band, to relatedness alliance on the “nation” level, with otonwe (by blood) and oyate (common society). Every level commands greater attention to being a “good relative” and person, so that political relations with oyate unma or “other people” follows these ordering principles.