The Changing Role of The Giveaway Ceremony in Contemporary Lakota Life

Abstract

Gift-giving in the context of the giveaway ceremony of the Lakota was indigenously both an economic institution in which goods were exchanged and wealth redistributed as well as religious expression of a native ceremony. Today, gift-giving has practically lost both its religious and economic functions. The ceremony, however, continues to thrive in a new context. Focusing on the distribution of goods common to all, the giveaway has become a primarily social event which continues to play a crucial role in contemporary Indian life. This paper examines the changes which have taken place in this institution .over the last century and analyzes the new role it plays in. reservation society.     

Religious Significance Of Blackfoot Quillwork

Abstract

Quillwork among the Indian tribes of the Northwest as practised by the women embodied features of religious significance of a restrictive nature, Only a few women had the right to do this work and it was they who gave permission for others to be initiated into the religious pattern. The symbolisms, while varying between tribes, included specific prayers, face and hand painting and the wearing of specific ornaments, such as necklaces, while quilling. Quill work was done in return for gifts and the finished product could not be sold. Designs could be used only by the owner unless they were given away.     

Structure And Complexity Of Medicine Bundle Systems Of Selected Plains Indian Tribes

Abstract

A general overview of the medicine bundle complex of historic Plains Indians is presented in order to elucidate its systemic components. A working definition of the medicine bundle complex is offered, based on the following criteria: acquisition, purpose. material makeup of the bundle, ritual use, and disposition. The underlying conceptual principle of power transfer is discussed in conjunction with these systemic components.By drawing on selected tribal examples, the structure and complexity of specific tribal manifestations of the medicine bundle complex or system are examined in light of ecological adaptations and organizational complexity. It is suggested that the complexity of tribally-oriented bundle systems within the sample are a function of the level of organizational complexity of the selected tribes. Organizational complexity, in turn, is seen as developing out of certain ecological conditions, augmented by the pre-horse cultural backgrounds of the representative tribes.     

The Glendo Skeleton And Its Meaning In Light Of Post-Contact Racial Dynamics In The Great Plains

Abstract

A protohistoric burial from the Glendo Site in eastern Wyoming produced a nearly complete human skeleton of a young adult female. Osteological analysis of the specimen reveals predominantly Caucasoid physical characteristics. A skeleton exhibiting such an anatomical pattern, and coming from a grave clearly exhibiting Plains.lndian cultural affinities, raises interesting but somewhat difficult questions for interpretation.     

The Lakhota Giveaway:

Abstract

Reciprocal gift-giving among Lakhota of the Rosebud Sioux Reservation is examined as a tradition promoting social alliance, interdependence. and the redistribution of wealth. Ceremonial Giveaways provide a context for the distribution of goods to non-kinsmen, a practice which extends kin-like obligations and benefits beyond the immediate. or extended family. Gift-giving is viewed as a mechanism of social control in that it prevents the uneven accumulation of wealth and directs negative sanction toward those reluctant to share their resources. Reciprocal exchange plays a fundamental role in reinforcing the moral value of generosity, a local system of insurance essential to modern reservation living.     

The Great Bend Aspect: A Multivariate Investigation Of Its Origins And Southern Plains Relationships

Abstract

The origins of the Great Bend aspect as well as its relations with a series of southern Plains sites are analyzed using ceramic attributes and multivariate statistics. Although the data is inadequate in certain areas the results suggest that in-situ development from earlier cultural groups is a more likely explanation than is a migration of peoples from the southern Plains.     

Plains Anthropologist Journal Of the Plains Conference

Abstract

Ethnographic literature of the late 19th and early 20th centuries contains a number of accounts of the use ofheat in the manufacture of chipped stone artifacts.Consistent failure of attempts to duplicate these techniquesled to scepticism regarding any association’ of fire with flint knapping. In 1964, Crabtree and Butler described a technique of thermal pretreatment which improved the working quality of the material and which they believedhad been used aboriginally. Archaeological evidence now indicates that use of this technique was widespread both geographically and temporally.

The need for a simple objective test for the identification of thermally pretreated archaeological materials has led to a number of investigations into the nature of chert and of the thermally induced changes which take place. Chert, a microcrystalline silicate, is composed of granular quartz microcrystals in a fibrous matrix. SEM micrographs indicate that fracture in raw chert tends to be intergranular and thatthematrix tears rather than breaking. With the application of heat, the fibrous matrix becomes fused, probablythrough the eutectic development of mineral impurities. The resultant material is more homogeneous and allows more predictable transgranular fracture.     

Indian Boarding Schools And Ethnic Identity: An Example From The Southern Plains Tribes Of Oklahoma

Abstract

In the late 1800s, boarding schools sponsored by the United States government were created for the education and socialization of American Indian youth. These institutions gradually and purposefully pursued a policy of total assimilation of American Indians into the mainstream of society. The boarding schools failed in their ultimate goal to assimilate Indians. Surprisingly, however, they did attain limited acceptance among many Oklahoma Indians. The segregationist policies of the boarding schools are interpreted as having inadvertently perpetuated the formation of an Indian identity. Frequent visiting by family, segregation of Indian from non-Indian students, and symbolic association of the boarding schools with federal government obligations are identified as factors which contributed to the maintenance of this identity.     

Craniometric Variation In The Northern And Central Plains

Abstract

Cranial measurements of 13 male and 12 female samples from the Central and Northern Plains region were subjected to canonical analysis. The samples include historic or protohistoric crania that can be ascribed to the Arikara, Mandan, Pawnee, Ponca and Omaha tribes. In addition, two samples belong to the archaeologically defined St. Helena Focus. Both sexes yielded five significant canonical variates, although only four were readily interpretable. The first canonical variate is clearly a Siouan-Caddoan discriminator and reflects variation in cranial vault height. St. Helena sites associate with the Arikara on this axis, supporting previous craniometric analyses which suggest a relationship between these two groups. Subsequent canonical variates deal with more particular aspects of craniometric variation among groups, but are still interpretable in historic or evolutionary terms. The classificatory analysis shows that the Arikara sites are closely related. A major exception to this is the Sully site, which frequently misclassifies with non-Arikara groups. This suggests that the Sully crania have little collective reality; and that there may be non-Arikara components represented at the Sully Site.     

Fort Union Porcellanite And Fused Glass: Distinctive Lithic Materials Of Coal Burn Origin On The Northern Plains

Abstract

Among the most common surface indicators of archaeological sites in south central Montana and northern Wyoming are the grey and red porcellanite flakes resulting from tool making activities. Although one of the major lithic materials used by prehistoric inhabitants of the northern plains region, porcellanite’s identity has remained relatively unknown. Amateur and professional archaeologist alike have loosely referred to this material as “metamorphosed siltstone”, “baked shale”, “Powder River chert”, “grey chert”, “fired brick”, “jasper”, etc. Similarly, fused glass is often misrepresented as obsidian. Because of its unique origin, definablearea of occurrence (the western coal region, the European coal fields, and perhaps other coalbearing areas), and its extensive utilization by the prehistoric populations of the region, porcellanite and fused glass deserve additional attention from archaeologists.     

The Red River Valley In The Prehistory Of The Northern Plains

Abstract

Archaeological reconnaissance in the valley of the Red River of the North indicates a heavy utilization of this area by Late Woodland peoples, especially manufacturers of Sandy Lake pottery. Artifact style, raw materials procurement, and the general pattern of northern Plains trade suggest the Red River area was integrated into a larger reticulum joining the northern Midwest woodlands with the northern Plains. Referring to this region as a “periphery” is acceptable only in a geographic sense, not a cultural-historical sense.     

Ice And The Origin Of Life

Sea ice occurs abundantly at the polar caps of the Earth and, probably, of many other planets. Its static and dynamic properties that may be important for prebiotic and early biotic reactions are described. It concentrates substrates and has many features that are important for catalytical actions. We propose that it provided optimal conditions for the early replication of nucleic acids and the RNA world. We repeated a famous prebiotic experiment, the poly-uridylic acid-instructed synthesis of polyadenylic acid from adenylic acid imidazolides in artificial sea ice, simulating the dynamic variability of real sea ice by cyclic temperature variation. Poly(A) was obtained in high yield and reached nucleotide chain lengths up to 400 containing predominantly 3′→ 5′ linkages.