The Lakota Sioux believe that the dead can still help the living. Among the Lakota, there is particular practitioner who is responsible talking with the spirit world.
The Lakota Sioux believe that the human soul has a multitude of characteristics, each of which is dependant upon natural and supernatural forces. As a result of these unforeseen forces, the soul can change and in some cases become a malevolent force. At the core of this understanding is the belief that the human soul is intertwined with the life force of the surrounding world. In Sioux mythology, everything in nature has its own unique spirit—not just people, but animals, trees, rivers, and even mountains. This life spirit, or Niyan (breath of life) in the Sioux language, is a part of everything and lives on long after the body dies. Throughout a person’s life, the disposition of this energy has a direct affect on the health of the individual. The weakening of the Niyan can open the individual up to illness and, in some cases, death. This is why the medical practitioners and shamans among the Sioux, and the greater Plain tribes, focus their efforts on the spiritual well being of the members of their community. Medicine has always been more than the administration of herbal remedies to cure sickness, there is a complex methodology involving a focus on the surrounding spirit world.
At the moment of death, the Niyan passes into another phase of existence—the shadow world, or, in modern nomenclature, the afterlife. It is at this point where the different characteristics of the human soul gain greater clarity. On the journey into the next life, the soul takes on these different characteristics based both on the former life of the individual and the collective energy of the tribe itself. In essence, the Sioux understanding of the soul teaches that everything is interdependent. Sickness and natural phenomenon (drought, flood, or even a pandemic) is the result of a misalignment of energy in the spirit world. To balance these energies and restore a person’s health or the health of the community takes a concentrated effort on the part of the shaman and the practitioners who serve as a conduit to the spirit world.
In order to communicate with the next world, the life energy of the surrounding natural world is often called upon. The practitioners of the healing arts use their knowledge of natural herbs in order create medicines, but they also call upon their own spirit guides to help them heal their patients. Additionally, there are individuals who use their ability to communicate with the dead in order to locate lost souls. Through the Yuwi’pi ceremony, a special shaman will seek out the spirits that dwell within the stones of the surrounding environment to locate a lost individual.
As with other aspects of communication with the spirit world for the purposes of healing the living, there is a degree of risk associated with the practice. Such exertions require a great deal of effort on the part of the practitioner and can often deplete their energy to the point that they become susceptible to illness. This is why medicine men and women must regain their energy levels in order to effectively, and safely, serve their communities.
David M Jones and Brian L Molyneaux, Mythology of the American Nations. (London: Hermes House, 2006).
Gilbert Legay, Atlas of Indians. (Hauppage: Barron’s Educational Services, Inc., 1995)
Peter Matthiessen, ed., George Catlin: North American Indians. (New York: Penguin Group, 1989).
Mark St. Pierre and Tilda Long Soldier, Walking in the Sacred Manner: Healers, Dreamers, and Pipe Carriers—Medicine Women of the Plains. (New York: Simon and Schuster,1995).
Carl Waldman, Atlas of the North American Indian. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2000).
Carl Waldman, Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2006).
