Oglala Lakota Sioux

Reporter Martha Hawley took a tour of the Great Plains and we offer two of her stories here. The first takes us to the "Buffalo Nation" where work by both Indian and non-Indian ranchers to restore the herds is having a positive impact on Native American traditional culture. She continues her exploration of Native American culture by taking us to a pow-wow at Porcupine, on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The sounds of music, drumming, and dancing are everywhere at this celebratory event, where the Oglala Lakota people display their heritage with vigor. Part 1: Romantic images from the Old West feature majestic bison, or buffalo, grazing on prairie grass, or thundering across the Great Plains in the company of powerful Indians on horseback. In the battle for control of the Plains, the buffalo was in fact almost wiped out. But today, work is being done by Indian and non-Indian ranchers to restore the herds. Native American traditional culture is being revived, and the ties are being renewed between tribal people and the sacred animal which they view as a relative. The challenge is to find common ground for cultural and commercial interests. Meat from tribal herds could be sold to reservation schools and hospitals, as well as being kept for ceremonial use. Producer Martha Hawley spoke with Native ranchers, caretakers and educators from the Buffalo Nation. Part 2: In North America, ‘having a pow wow’ is an informal expression for holding a meeting or a serious conversation. The Native American term ‘pow wow’ comes from the Algonquin language group, and originally it did indeed refer to a gathering of revered spiritual leaders. In our times, pow wows are fabulous celebratory events. These explosions of music and dance go on throughout the year all over the USA and Canada. Local pow wows and large intertribal gatherings can be positively hallucinatory, with hundreds of feathered and painted dancers mingling and jingling near the traditional arena. Porcupine, South Dakota, is a small town on Pine Ridge Reservation, where the Oglala Lakota people display their heritage with vigour. The drums they play are the heartbeat of their people - while the pow wow is open to other seekers on the road. Get the adrenaline going and join Martha Hawley for the Powwow at Porcupine.