Beliefs Or Creeds Of The Lakota Sioux

In the late 1800s, tensions were rising between white Americans and Native Americans. The white Americans wanted the Native Americans to conform to their definition of civility. The Native Americans had clung tightly to their culture and religious practices during a time of continuous encroachment and governmental pressure by the white Americans. By this time, Native Americans had already been forced westward onto reservations through government action. Andrew Jackson had set this migration in motion earlier in the century, and the migration pattern would later be referred to as the “Trail of Tears”.
The Lakota Sioux, facing pressure to conform to “civilized” norms, adopted a new belief consisting of a central creed, code, and cultus. This

James Mooney provides many accounts of beliefs in Lakota Sioux society in his writings. On page 781, Mooney provides multiple “Messiah Letter” translations. This letter provides most of what we need to know about the three dimensions we plan to explore. Regarding creed, the letter explains that the time of suffering is coming to an end. The letter goes on to say that the dead will rise, a new world will be established, and all sickness and aging will cease to exist for the natives. The Lakota believe that at the end of the white suppression they are facing, the Earth will be made new, and the Lakota will live on with no human ailments. Abiding by the typology laid out by Kessler on page 86, this creed falls into two types. The first is eschatological. Eschatological myths describe the end of the world. The Lakota’s belief that the world will end and begin again satisfies this definition. The second type we can apply to this creed is Kessler’s “Myths about transformations and incarnations” (86). The Lakota’s belief that the human condition of sickness and aging will cease to affect them can be interpreted as a movement from human to

The interplay between creed and code here is quite nuanced. The creed of the Ghost Dance religion is doing most of the work regarding function here. The creed identifies and legitimizes the normative judgments found through its narrative. The narrative also motivates followers to abide by the ethical codes given. This interplay is detailed by Kessler on pages 187-188. The reasoning for the ethics laid out in the Ghost Dance religion does not justify, rather justification lies in the creed. The moral codes found here give a set of rules for followers to abide by. Kessler reiterates this idea on page