38 pages • 1 hour read
Nick EstesA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Key Figures
Themes
Index of Terms
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
At the core of Oceti Sakowin history and values is the connection between human and nonhuman relatives. Pte Ska Win, the White Buffalo Calf Woman, organized the first treaty between humans and other-than-humans, recognizing plants, animals, and Earth as relatives. Estes explains that the white and Indigenous concepts of land are at odds—and that land was the driving force for the genocide of Indigenous peoples by white people in the US. White settlers view land as something to possess and profit from, directly contrasting with the Indigenous view of land and natural resources as nonhuman relatives.
White colonial settlers viewed the Missouri River and US land as untamed and wild. They created the name “Sioux” for tribes belonging to Oceti Sakowin; to white settlers, “Sioux” meant “criminal” and was used to justify Indigenous genocide. However, the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota nations did not use the name “Sioux,” instead adopting the name “Oceti Sakowin Oyate,” meaning “Nation of the Seven Council Fires” (69). Oceti Sakowin origin stories are deeply rooted in the land, but colonial settlers spread origin stories that claimed the “Sioux” were latecomers to the western Missouri River region.
The Oceti Sakowin followed a matriarchal society that revered women and Two-Spirits (gender nonconforming or gender-variant peoples).
Plus, gain access to 8,450+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
Books on Justice & Injustice
View Collection
Books on U.S. History
View Collection
Challenging Authority
View Collection
Colonialism & Postcolonialism
View Collection
Community
View Collection
Contemporary Books on Social Justice
View Collection
Earth Day
View Collection
Equality
View Collection
Good & Evil
View Collection
Indigenous People's Literature
View Collection
Nation & Nationalism
View Collection
Politics & Government
View Collection
Power
View Collection
War
View Collection