Winter Counts · Language Arts & Social Science

• Recorded by Sicangu winter count keeper Battiste Good or Wapostan Gi (Brown Hat) who depicted a chief and his wife engulfed in flames • The picture tells of the time in 1762, when a lead band called Cokatowela (blue in the middle camp) was encamped for the night after a long trek from southern Minnesota • They were awakened by a prairie fire that swept through the village fanned by a high wind • Many tipis were destroyed and some lost their lives, the remaining jumped into a lake and stream to save themselves • Next morning when they examined themselves, they were all burnt about the thighs, hence they were called Sicangu (burnt thighs) or (Brule) • (from Waniyetu Wowapi: Winter Count by Victor Douville at http://goo.gl/OjoeA7 ) Language Arts / Social Studies Lesson Plan Remembering in Pictures Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings: OSEU 5.6-8.1 - Students are able to defend the cultural beliefs of the Oceti Sakowin and how they are demonstrated OSEU 6.6-8.1 – Students are able to compare events recorded on Winter Counts to dates in American history. Common Core State Standards: RL8.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts. W8.3.d - Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events. SL8.1 – Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clarity. SL8.5 – Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest. Introduction: • Remembering and reflecting upon people, things and events is central to the development of personal identity • Communities develop cohesive identities through the retelling of key shared experiences through writing, song and picture • Traditionally, the people of the Oceti Sakowin remembered via pictures recorded on Winter Counts • Winter Counts are a key window into the past and can be compared with each other and with other types of recorded histories to gain a fuller perspective on past events and on present varieties of World Views Language Arts Lesson: • Show Can You Trust Your Memory? video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkvOMt34hAo o Whole Class Circle Discussion:  How is memory important to a person?  How is memory important to a community or a people?  What happens when a person loses his or her ability to truly remember?  What happens when a community loses its ability to truly remember? • Show video 56 Ways of Saying I Don’t Remember at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mf3Z8asXB8 • Edwin Honig was a poet, scholar and professor who during his lifetime wrote and published more than 13 books, 3 plays, 14 translations of works in Spanish and Portuguese and 10 books of scholarly criticism… near the end of his life, Alzheimer’s took away his capacity to remember even simple details about his own life, family and friends. o Whole Class Circle Discussion:  Do you know anyone who has lost his or her ability to remember?  How does this impact those around them? • I Remember… poem activity o Word lists o Poem lines Social Studies Lesson: • View Dr. Craig Howe video on Winter Counts at http://www.lc- triballegacy.org/video.php?vid=957&query=Winter%20Counts o Whole Class Circle Discussion:  What’s the difference between “history” you’ve experienced and history you’ve only read about?  What kinds of events became a part of the Winter Counts?  Why do you think the Lewis & Clark Expedition is so important in American History but doesn’t amount to even a “blip” in time for the Lakota people? • Visit Smithsonian Winter Count site at http://wintercounts.si.edu/index.html View 1800-1803 Counts. o Whole Class Circle Discussion:  What do you notice looking across different Winter Counts in the same year?  What things seem to have been very memorable in these years?  Why do you think they were? • Distribute Lone Dog Winter Count Handouts (found at http://history.sd.gov/FurTrade.pdf ) o Whole Class Circle Discussion  Which pictographs do you find especially interesting? Why?  What was happening at this time? What important changes were the Lakota people experiencing?  Do you know what was going on on the rest of the North American continent? • Students complete their own Winter Count pictograph on one of the important people, things or events on their “I Remember…” poem, and are invited to share with class the Picture, title and additional details. Preface activity by reading The Keeper handout. I Remember… List five people who are important to you: 1 2 3 4 5 List five objects that are important to you: A B C D E List five important events that happened to you ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE I Remember… I remember...(1) he or she… I remember...(A) it… I remember...(ONE) when… I remember...(2) he or she… I remember...(B) it… I remember...(TWO) when… I remember...(3) he or she… I remember...(C) it… I remember...(THREE) when… I remember...(4) he or she… I remember...(D) it… I remember...(FOUR) when… I remember...(5) he or she… I remember...(E) it… I remember...(FIVE) when… The Keeper Each tiyospaye had a designated winter count historian or keeper. As the community historian, this member of the tribe—always a man—was responsible for maintaining the winter count and remembering its stories. Before recording the past year on the count, the keeper consulted with a council of elders to choose an appropriate event by which to remember the year. The even chosen was not considered the most important event of the past year, only the most memorable. The keeper was also responsible for retelling the tiyospaye’s history at various times throughout the year. During ceremonies or other social gatherings, he would bring out the count and use it as a visual reference to name the years. In this way, the members of the band knew their history and could use particular years to recall events in their own lives, such as the year of someone’s birth. It was important that the keeper, in consulting with the community elder’s, chose events that were easily remembered by the entire tribe. When the keeper could no longer fulfill his role as historian, the duty was passed on to another male member of the tiyospaye—usually a son or nephew—whose first obligation was to copy his predecessor’s winter count. With the arrival of the Euro-American people which brought devastating change for the western tribes keepers began to add written captions to their pictograph images. By the end of the 19th century, some winter counts were only written texts. Eventually pictographs were replaced by written years-names as the device to record community history. Sources: Carkeek-Cheney, Roberta; Sioux Winter Count: A 131-Year Calendar of Events, Naturegraph Publishers, Inc., Happy Camp, CA, 1998. Horse Capture, Geoge, P., Vitart, Anne, Waldberg, Michel, West, Richard W., Jr.; Robes of Splendor: Native North American Painted Buffalo Hides, The New Press, New York, NY, 1993. http://aktalakota.stjo.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8994 I Will Remember… Title: Fur Trade: Bridging Two Worlds South Dakota State Historical Society Education Kit 48 Background Information: Europeans divided time into days, weeks, months and years. The Sioux marked time by counting nights, moons, winters, and generations. Designing a symbol for each winter and putting the symbols down in chronological order on hide, paper, or cloth created a winter count. The figures and symbols on a winter count depict a memorable event for each year. They serve as a kind of diary for a tribe. The symbols on a winter count are meaningless unless someone knows the history and stories the symbols represent. It was the count keeper’s job to tell the winter count stories. Wintercounts aided the memory of the tribal historian by providing a symbol for an event during a particular year. The memory of that event then triggered other memories. Lone Dog’s winter count covers the years 1800-1871. Its symbols are organized in a spiral, starting at the center and working counter-clockwise. Lone Dog probably consulted with his tribe’s elders for their advice before choosing each symbol. Activity Steps: 1. Display the overhead of Lone Dog’s Winter Count on the projector or show the poster of the winter count to the participants and explain what a winter count is. Ask if they see any symbols that might deal with fur traders. (Some examples would be numbers 2, 3, 18, 20, 21, 23, 29, 32, 56, and 69. ) The explanations for the symbols can be found on the Wintercount Key. Why would the building of a trading post be the most important event of the year? 2. Give each participant a piece of paper and explain that they will be creating their own winter count. Each participant will need to think of a symbol that best represents each year of their life, or whatever years they choose to depict – doing a symbol for each year in school, for example. Participants draw their counts on the paper. Encourage them to be thoughtful and creative. 3. Once completed, the participants can share their counts with the rest of the group, sharing the stories that each of their symbols represents. Fur Trade: Bridging Two Worlds South Dakota State Historical Society Education Kit 49 Lone Dog Winter Count 1800-1877 Fur Trade: Bridging Two Worlds South Dakota State Historical Society Education Kit 50 WINTERCOUNT KEY 1. 1800-1801 Thirty Dakotas were killed by Crow Indians. In this chart, black lines always signify the death of Dakotas killed by their enemies. 2. 1801-1802 A human being with many marks was always the sign of an epidemic or some disease such as small pox or measles. The interpretation is, “many died of small pox.” 3. 1802-1803 A Dakota stole horses with shoes on. This means they would have had to stolen them directly from the Europeans or from some other Indians who had before obtained them from the Europeans as the Indians never shod their horses. 4. 1803-1804 They stole “curly horses” or horses with curly hides, from the Crows. 5. 1804-1805 The Dakota had a calumet dance and then off on a war expedition. 6. 1805-1806 The Crows killed eight Dakotas. 7. 1806-1807 A Dakota kills an Arikara (Ree) just as he was about to capture an eagle. 8. 1807-1808 Red-Coat, a chief, was killed. 9. 1808-1809 The Dakota who had killed the Ree shown in this record for 1806-1807 was killed himself by the Rees. 10. 1809-1810 A chief, Little Beaver, set fire to a trading store and was killed. 11. 1810-1811 This picture has to do with Black Stone, the medicine man. The symbol is a white buffalo skull over his head. 12. 1811-1812 The circle is a dirt lodge, while the interior circles represent heads. Interpreted, it shows that 27 Arikaras or Mandans were killed in a dirt lodge by the Dakotas. 13. 1812-1813 The device is a lasso. Wild horses were first run down and caught by the Dakotas. 14. 1813-1814 Whooping cough killed many. 15. 1814-1815 A Dakota kills an Arapaho in his lodge. The symbol represents a tomahawk stuck in the man’s skull. 16. 1815-1816 The Sans Arcs make a dirt lodge at Peoria Bottom, near Pierre. 17. 1816-1817 “Buffalo were plenty.” The symbol crudely represents a side of buffalo. 18. 1817-1818 A trading post of dry timber was built at Ft. Pierre by Joseph La Frombois. Fur Trade: Bridging Two Worlds South Dakota State Historical Society Education Kit 51 19. 1818-1819 The measles broke out and many died. (Note that the small pox epidemic represented in 1801-1802 showed larger marks on a human body.) 20. 1819-1820 Another trading post was built. This time by La Conte also at Ft. Pierre. 21. 1820-1821 The trader, La Conte, gave Two Arrow a war dress for his bravery. 22. 1821-1822 This symbol represents a very brilliant meteor falling to earth. 23. 1822-1823 Another trading house was built at the mouth of the Bad River. 24. 1823-1824 The event portrayed is the attack of the US forces, accompanied by the Dakotas, upon the Arikara villages. 25. 1824-1825 Swan, chief of the Two-Kettle tribe, had all of his horses killed. 26. 1825-1826 Many Indians drowned in a horrible flood on the Missouri River. The symbol suggests heads appearing above a line of water. 27. 1826-1827 Indians died a strange death after eating a rotting buffalo carcass while on the warpath. 28. 1827-1828 Dead Arm, a Dakota, was stabbed by a Mandan and lost lots of blood. 29. 1828-1829 A white man named Chadron built a dirt lodge. 30. 1829-1830 A Yanktonai Dakota was killed by Bad-Arrow, or “Blackfoot” Lakota. 31. 1830-1831 Twenty-three were killed in a bloody battle with the Crows. 32. 1831-1832 One European named Le Beau, killed another named Kermel. 33. 1832-1833 Lone Horn broke his leg on a buffalo hunt. 34. 1833-1834 The great meteor shower observed all over the US on the night of Nov. 12 of that year. 35. 1834-1835 The chief Medicine Hide was killed. 36. 1835-1836 Lame Deer shot a Crow Indian with an arrow, drew it out, and show him again with the same arrow. 37. 1836-1837 Plenty of buffalo again. 38. 1837-1838 One hundred elk were killed on a big hunt. 39. 1838-1839 A dirt lodge was built for Iron Horn. Fur Trade: Bridging Two Worlds South Dakota State Historical Society Education Kit 52 40. 1839-1840 The Dakotas killed an entire village of Snake or Shoshoni Indians. 41. 1840-1841 The Dakotas made peace with the Cheyenne. 42. 1841-1842 Feather-in-the-Ear stole 30 spotted ponies. 43. 1842-1843 One Feather raised a large war party against the Crows. 44. 1843-1844 The Sans Arcs made medicine to bring the buffalo. 45. 1844-1845 The Mineconjous built a pine fort. 46. 1845-1846 Plenty of buffalo meat, which is represented as hung upon poles and trees to dry. 47. 1836-1847 Broken Leg died. 48. 1847-1848 Two Man was killed. 49. 1848-1849 Humpback was killed. 50. 1849-1850 The Crows stole a large drove of horses (it is said 800) from the Brules. 51. 1850-1851 An old woman was found in the belly of a killed buffalo cow. 52. 1851-1852 Peace with the Crows. 53. 1852-1853 The Nez Perce came to Lone Horn’s lodge at midnight. 54. 1853-1854 Striped blankets brought by Europeans to the Indians. 55. 1854-1855 Brave Bear was killed. 56. 1855-1856 General Harney, with a hat, makes a treaty with the Dakotas. This was at Ft. Pierre in the spring of 1856. 57. 1856-1857 A man with four horns holds out the same kind of ornamented pipestem shown in the character for 1804-1805, it being his badge of office. 58. 1857-1858 The Dakotas killed a Crow woman. She is pierced by four arrows, and the peace made with the Crows in 1851-52 seems to have been short lived. 59. 1858-1859 Lone Horn made buffalo “medicine,” doubtless on account of the scarcity of that animal. 60. 1859-1860 Big Crow, a Dakota chief, was killed by the Crows. 61. 1860-1861 The elk makes medicine. Fur Trade: Bridging Two Worlds South Dakota State Historical Society Education Kit 53 62. 1861-1862 Buffalo were so plentiful that their tracks came close to the tipis. 63. 1862-1863 Red Feather, a Minneconjou, was killed. 64. 1863-1864 Eight Dakotas were killed by the Crows. 65. 1864-1865 Four Crows were killed by the Dakotas. 66. 1865-1866 Many horses died for want of grass. 67. 1866-1867 Swan, father of “White Swan,” died. 68. 1867-1868 The flag indicates the treaty negotiations at Ft. Laramie that year. 69. 1868-1869 Texas cattle were brought into the country. 70. 1869-1870 There was an eclipse of the sun in August 1869. 71. 1870-1871 The circle is a Crow fort, nearly surrounded, and the weapons used were guns for it is bullets that are flying. All but one of the Crows was killed in fact, and 14 Dakotas.