Lakota Belief and Ritual

by James R Walker

"The real value of Lakota Belief and Ritual is that it provides raw narratives without any pretension of synthesis or analysis, as well as insightful biographical information on the man who contributed more than any other individual to our understanding of early Oglala ritual and belief."—Plains Anthropologist

"In the writing of Indian history, historians and other scholars seldom have the opportunity to look at the past through 'native eyes' or to immerse themselves in documents created by In-dians. For the Oglala and some of the other divisions of the Lakota, the Walker materials provide this kind of experience in fascinating and rich detail during an important transition period in their history."—Minnesota History. "This collection of documents is especially remarkable because it preserves individual variations of traditional wisdom from a whole generation of highly developed wicasa wakan (holy men). . . . Lakota Belief and Ritual is a wasicun (container of power) that can make traditional Lakota wisdom assume new life."—American Indian Quarterly. "A work of prime importance. . . . its publication represents a major addition to our knowledge of the Lakotas' way of life"—Journal of American Folklore.

Raymond J. DeMallie, director of the American Indian Studies Research Institute and a professor of anthropology at Indiana University, is the editor of James R. Walker's Lakota Society (1982) and of The Sixth Grandfather: Black Elk's Teachings Given to John G. Neihardt (1984, a Bison Book), both published by the University of Nebraska Press. Elaine A. Jahner, a professor of English at Dartmouth College, has edited Walker's Lakota Myth (1983), also a Bison Book.

369 pp — ©1991