Post by Historian on Apr 9, 2009 8:00:25 GMT -5
THE THIN ELK/STEAMBOAT WINTER COUNT: A STUDY IN LAKOTA PICTOGRAPHY
by Linea Sundstrom, © 2003
Plains Indian Pictography
Pictographic communication was an important aspect of traditional Plains Indian culture. The various Plains tribes developed highly efficient means of conveying messages through the medium of pictures. While picture-writing apparently was not as pervasive as the better-known Plains Indian sign language (e.g. Clark 1881), it was just as sophisticated in its ability to convey detailed information quickly and accurately. The use of pictographic writing was abandoned only after the English learned in government and mission schools began to replace native tongues as the principal language of discourse among Native Americans.
Plains Indian pictography made use of several media. Studies of rock art suggest that picture-writing had its roots in a style of representational art related to the vision-quest ceremonial complex (Keyser 1979, 1987; Sundstrom 1990). This art--termed the Ceremonial style to distinguish it from a later Biographic style--comprised static representations of warriors with shields, each shield being decorated with those symbols and tokens dictated by the owner's vision. Ceremonial art gradually gave way to a more pictographic style of art--termed the Biographic style--as the equestrian Plains warrior complex developed in the wake of the introduction of the horse into native cultures in the region.
Biographic art was a means of depicting, and thereby validating and publicizing, the exploits of warriors in battle and horse-raiding. The shift from representations of visions to personal accomplishments required that Biographic art develop ways of showing actions, personal and tribal identity, and narrative, so that the event could be accurately reconstructed by anyone viewing the picture. This was the beginning of true pictography in Plains Indian culture. In the context of Biographic art, pictographic conventions were developed for showing personal and tribal identity, series of actions or events, and even an individual's social standing (D. Smith 1949; Keyser 1987; Mallery 1886, 1893; Blish and Bad Heart Bull 1967; Vatter 1927).
While rock art provides the earliest evidence for a pictographic communication system among the Plains Indians, ethnographic materials provide evidence for the pervasive influence of pictography on northern Plains Indian culture. From pre-contact period painted animal hides to drawings on protohistoric trade cloth and reservation-period ledger books, pictography was integral to Plains Indian representational art. Such pictographic artworks served four main functions. The first, and most common, was the use of pictographs to record and publicize warriors' accomplishments in battle, hunting, and horse-raiding. The second was to transmit messages from individuals or groups to one another. A third function was record-keeping, including the calendrical and historic functions of the winter counts and the census function of the tribal rosters. Finally, during the reservation period, pictographic drawings of the old life were produced for nostalgic and commercial reasons (i.e. for sale to non-Indians) (Heidenreich 1983; Dunn 1969; Peterson 1968, 1971; Ritzenthaler 1961).
Nowhere was Plains Indian picture-writing more highly developed than among the Lakota and their Middle Dakota allies, the Yanktonai. Garrick Mallery's nineteenth century tomes on the pictography of native North America devote special attention to Lakota and Middle Dakota materials, including picture messages, band rosters, and winter counts (Mallery 1877, 1886, 1893).
The term Dakota refers to a confederacy of seven tribes or macrobands ("council fires"), all speaking dialects of Dakota, a Siouan language (Howard 1980; DeMallie 1982). The confederacy has traditionally been broken into three groups, reflecting linguistic divisions. The easternmost division is known as the Santee (or Isanti), comprising the Sisseton, Mdewakanton, Wapekute, and Wahpeton. These groups employ the eastern or Dakota dialect of the Dakota language. The middle Dakota division includes the Nakota-speaking Yankton and Yanktonai. The Lakotas or Tetons make up the western division, and speak the Lakota dialect. The Lakotas traditionally were thought to include seven bands or subtribes including the Oglala, Minneconjou, Oohenonpa (Two Kettles), Itazipco (Sans Arcs), Sicangu (Brule), Hunkpapa, and Sihasapa (Blackfoot) bands.
In reality, the organization of the Dakota confederacy and the Lakota council fire was more flexible and irregular than this implies. Each of the seven Lakota bands comprised several sub- bands or camps, and at this level in particular social structure was quite fluid. New camps or bands could splinter off any time; similarly, two or more camps or bands could join for protection or convenience.
In the following discussion, Dakota is used to refer to the Sioux confederacy (but usually exclusive of the eastern, or Santee division, which in the period under discussion had little in common with the prairie-dwelling Middle Dakota and Lakota). The term Lakota, by contrast, refers to the western division of the Dakota. At the time of Euroamerican contact, the territory of the Lakota extended from east of the Missouri River in South Dakota to the Bighorn Mountains of central Wyoming and Montana, and from central North Dakota south to the Platte River in Nebraska. Hunting expeditions occasionally took the Lakota even farther west and south. The Middle Dakota Yankton and Yanktonai occupied portions of what is now eastern North and South Dakota, east of the Missouri River.
Dakota Winter Counts
Winter counts can be thought of as pictographic representations of chronology (Blish and Bad Heart Bull 1967). James Howard (1960:28) described the Plains Indian winter count as follows:
A typical winter count consisted of a tanned bison hide on the flesh side of which a pictograph of a single important or unusual event was drawn or painted to record each passing year. These records were kept by native historians who memorized a short text for each of the pictographs explaining their meaning. The pictographs thus served as mnemonic aids. The term 'winter-count' derives from the Indian custom of reckoning time by means of 'winters' rather than calendar years in the European sense.
The earliest known Dakota winter counts took the form of pictographs painted on tanned hides. Each pictograph represented an event chosen to represent a particular "winter" or year. This event served as the name used to refer to that year--for example "smallpox used them up" year. One could determine the passage of time by counting back on the pictographs from the current year to the year in question. For example, a person's age could be determined by counting back to the pictograph representing his birth year. The pictographs thus served as a mnemonic device for recalling the year names. Year names, in turn, stood for events of significance to the band or individual, and thus served to codify and preserve band history.
Winter counts from the post-contact period initially took the form of pictographs on cloth or paper. These were copied from earlier versions painted on animal hides. Later, these were reduced to written lists of year names in Lakota or English translation. When a winter count began to wear out, it would be copied onto a new hide or piece of cloth. Counts could also be copied for the use of others or for sale to interested parties. Many of the known counts thus are copies of others. The earliest winter counts in existence today do not extend back further than the middle of the eighteenth century (ca. 1759). It appears that there was no compelling interest to maintain year names indefinitely. As time passed and the persons referred to in events were no longer living and the events themselves no longer of great relevance to the people, the earlier year names would be dropped off, or perhaps simply forgotten.
Winter counts were maintained by individuals, who voluntarily filled the semi-official position of band historian. As a rule, there was one winter count per band or camp, although anyone was free to start his own winter count or to receive an existing count from another. Count-keepers often filled the role of band story-teller, as well, and each usually trained a younger member of the band or family in the maintenance of the count and the recitation of the year names and related narratives.
Year names were decided on by the individual count-keeper, with or without the consultation of the ruling elders of the group. Year events were chosen for their importance to the camp or band or simply for their memorability, and were not necessarily intended to be narrative (Mallery 1886; Blish and Bad Heart Bull 1967). In other words, both historical significance and entertainment value were considered in selecting year names. The most common categories of events represented by year names include battles and casualties, contacts with non-natives, severe winter and famine, ceremonies and dances, abundance of food, astronomical events, domestic violence, camps, and epidemics, in roughly that order of frequency (cf. Cheney 1979).
The Thin Elk Winter Count
The winter count referred to herein as the Thin Elk winter count is a pictographic record covering the years 1821 through 1877. It takes the form of a square of unbleached muslin, on which pictographs are drawn in ink and paint (Figure 1). The pictures are arranged in a squared spiral fashion starting at the upper left hand corner of the cloth and ending in the center. The count was formerly on display at the Beuchel Memorial Lakota Museum at the St. Francis Indian Mission, St. Francis, South Dakota, on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. While on display the count bore the following label: "This winter count was made and kept by 'Wata Peta' (Steamboat). Old Man Thin Elk received it from him long ago." At the time this paper was first written (1992), I was unable to obtain any additional information on the count from the staff of the Lakota Museum.
At that time, it appeared that no accompanying text or explanation of the Thin Elk count was in existence. As a purely pictographic record, the Thin Elk count was an ideal subject for exploring Lakota pictography as a communication vehicle. The Thin Elk count posed several research questions. First, could the count be identified as to its individual keeper, band affiliation, or relation to other winter counts? Second, could the year names comprising the original winter count text be reconstructed from the pictographs alone? Third, how do the pictographs convey this information? Specifically, can certain symbols and arrangements of symbols be directly understood as texts, in the same way that spoken or written utterances are understood? If so, it should be possible to produce a "lexicon" of symbols and a "grammar" of their arrangement that can serve as a key to interpreting this and possibly other pictographic winter counts (cf. Keyser 1987).
My study of the Thin Elk winter count first entailed a reading of available works on Plains Indian pictography (Mallery 1886, 1893; D. Smith 1949; Vatter 1927; Blish and Bad Heart Bull 1967; Dunn 1969; Ewers 1939; Heidenreich 1983; Keyser 1987; Peterson 1968,1971; Ritzenthaler 1961; Rodee 1965). This was done to supply a basis for interpreting the pictographs, independent of comparative texts from other winter counts, which obviously would affect my reading of the pictographs. Some of the pictographic devices expected in Dakota winter counts, based on these sources are: (1) the use of small symbols to represent the name or personal identity of the subject of the pictograph, (2) the use of hairstyle, costume, and signs to indicate tribal identity, (3) the use of drawings of sign language gestures to convey certain concepts, and (4) position of the elements of the pictograph indicating the subject and object of the action depicted.
Next, a year name was suggested to correspond to each pictograph on the Thin Elk count. These were based solely on information contained in the pictures themselves, as well as a general understanding of Lakota social organization and world view.
Finally, a list of pictographic devices used in the Thin Elk count was compiled and conclusions were drawn concerning the use of pictographs to convey information in this winter count.
Much later (2003), staff at the Buechel Museum found and provided me with a textual interpretation of the winter count made at the time of its acquisition by Father Buechel. This is written in Lakota in blue ink on five sheets of unlined paper. A few additions were made in graphite pencil. This document is cataloged as follows: STEAMBOAT (WATA PETA) COUNT, winters of 1821-1822 to 1877-1878. Lakota, handwritten on unlined paper, blue ink with additions in graphite pencil. 5 pages from 3 folded sheets shard with Big Missouri Count (8). Another transcription of the Steamboat winter count covers the years 1821/22 to 1931. Apparently, Thin Elk continued Steamboat’s count after the latter’s death.
A note at the top of the Lakota transcript reads: “Wata peta’s (Steamboat’s) winter-count. [The word Steam is lined out and replaced with Fire.] He was a Mnikonwoju (Mnikonju). He wrote (painted) our copy at St. Francis and gave it to (old man) Thin Elk when he was in [illegible] country ([illegible]). Thin Elk left that place in 1876; but Wata peta had died as an old man before this time. (Information & the following from old man Thin Elk.)”
It appears that Steamboat (or possibly Thin Elk) made two copies of the pictographic winter count acquired by Father Buechel. These are essentially the same, except that the first copy is marred by an ink spill. It was this first copy that was photographed and used for my original study. The second copy probably was made after the first was damaged by the ink spill. Both are in the collections of the Buechel Museum. Although this later information clarifies that the pictographic winter count that ends in 1877-1878 was Thin Elk’s copy of Steamboat’s winter count, I began the study by referring to it as the Thin Elk winter count, and I have chosen to retain that designation here.
The appearance of the list of Lakota year-names that corresponds with the winter-count has proven useful in checking the interpretations I made using the pictographs alone. Altogether, the results clearly demonstrated the narrative nature of Lakota pictography as used in winter-counts. As a person separated from the author of the winter-count both culturally and temporally, I nevertheless was able to interpret—not to say read—the pictographs with a high degree of accuracy.
Note: the symbol ħ is used here in place of the dotted-h standard in the Lakota orthography used when the winter-count text was written. This substitution is necessitated by the lack of the dotted-h in standard MS Word® computer fonts.
Comparison of the Thin Elk Count with Other Winter Counts
In this comparison, the first text given (in italics) is my initial interpretation of the year-name represented by a given pictograph, based on a reading of Mallery and other publications on Plains Indian pictography. Where appropriate, this is followed by a second year-name arrived at after comparing the Thin Elk pictographs with other winter count texts and pictographs. Below these appear the Lakota text provided by Thin Elk and an English translation of it. The year given before the year-name is the estimated calendar year represented by the pictograph, based on the comparisons with other, dated texts and pictographs.
For lack of a good English equivalent, the Lakota word wasicu is used throughout to refer to non-Indians.
1821 Meteor. Meteor.
Wicaħpi wan hoton hiyaye. A star passed by crying out.
The first pictograph on the Thin Elk count is a large red star on a blue background. The blue background indicates a night sky and the large star could only be a meteor or comet of unusual size, brilliance, appearance, or proximity. Many of the Lakota winter counts for this year record the appearance of a meteor that made a singing or whistling noise as it passed overhead before falling to earth.
1822 Leg [name element or event?]; Wasicu house. Peeler froze his leg; Joseph built a log house.
Tahúnska tanka titanka kage. Big Leggings built a large house.
This year comprises two pictographs, not apparently related to the same event. The first is a disembodied leg; the second a Euroamerican style house (as indicated by the rectangular shape and pitched roof). In this instance, the pictographs alone do not contain sufficient information to reconstruct the year name completely. Two sets of year names from other counts indicate that two separate events are indicated by the 1822 pictographs. The first refers to a wasicu called Peeler (a nickname apparently referring to his habit of whittling) having frozen his leg or legs. In Lakota, the same word is used to mean both froze and burned (in the context of bodily injury), the proper translation depending on the context; therefore, some of the counts translate this event as "Peeler burned his leg."
Other winter counts refer to the building of a log [or rotten-wood] house or trading post by a wasicu named Joseph, "Choze," or Jose, near the mouth of the Little Missouri or Bad River near Ft. Pierre, on Sioux land. As far as the winter counts indicate, Joseph and Peeler were two different men; perhaps both events were included in Thin Elk to indicate an influx of non-Indians into the area that year.
The Joseph referred to was probably Joseph Renville, a Columbia Fur Company trader who was among the first to build a trading post on the Missouri (Robinson 1956). He was half Dakota. Alternatively, the trader Joseph Juitt (or Jewitt) may be referred to (Hyde 1961:25); the better-known Joseph Bissonette was a trader in Dakota country at a later time (Hyde 1961).
The Lakota text gives a single year-name. The disembodied leg is not a separate reference, but a pictograph for the Lakota name or nickname of the trader. I do not know which, if any, of the above men was called Big Leggings in Lakota. This nickname was applied much later to Johnny Brughière, a mixed-blood who fought with Sitting Bull’s Hunkpapa warriors in 1876 and served as Sitting Bull’s interpreter in negotiations with Colonel Nelson Miles (Vestal 1932:195-202).
1823 [Wasicu hat, bow and arrow; wasicu house.] Lakotas joined Leavenworth in an attack on the Ree.
Iťazipco waśicun ob atakpe ai. The Sans Arc went with the wacisus to attack.
As with the previous year, the pictographs alone do not indicate a complete year name. It is unclear whether the three items depicted all refer to one event, or to two separate events.
Comparison with other winter counts reveals what at first appear to be two themes connected to this year: corn and a U.S. Army campaign against the Arikara (or Ree) villages along the Missouri River. In fact, both refer to the same event: a U.S. military campaign against the Arikara in August of 1823, in which 700-800 Dakota warriors (mostly Yanktons) were recruited to join in the attack. During the siege of the two Arikara villages under attack, the Dakotas took (or were given by the U.S. soldiers) dried corn from the Arikara fields and winter stores. Although the wasicu hat and house shown in the pictograph might be conjectured to refer to the building of a house or trading post (see preceding year), in the Thin Elk winter count the bow and arrow clearly refer to intertribal conflict, as will be seen in succeeding year names.
For some reason, the meaning of many of the year names in the counts used for comparison has been lost or garbled. In some instances a year name has obviously been manufactured to match a pictograph for which the original meaning was lost. For example, several year names refer to corn, indicating that a corn ear or stalk was the pictograph used for the year. Some, such as "plenty of dried corn," do not contradict the Lakota-U.S. attack on the Ree, but others, such as "wasicu taught the Dakotas to plant corn," are hardly credible as actual events. (It should be noted, however, that Hyde [1961] accepted the latter event as factual and cited it as the origin of the name of the Corn Band of the Brule.)
Two possible explanations can be offered regarding the confusion over this year name. First, it may be that the corn was received second-hand from bands that participated in the military campaign, as Yy-BT would indicate; thus, its source may not have been clearly known to those receiving it. Secondly, as the U.S. military threat to native sovereignty became increasingly severe, and tribes became more united in their opposition to the U.S. military, it may have been unacceptable to admit to having aided the common enemy in such a campaign and tribal lore may have been altered accordingly.
The site of this event is known to archaeologists as the Leavenworth village. Following the attack, the Arikaras temporarily sought refuge with Mandans upriver. They soon returned to their own village, remaining there until 1832. Over the next three decades, they relocated several times, including stays with the Skidi Pawnee on the Loup River in Nebraska and two villages on the Missouri. In 1862, they joined the remnant Mandan and Hidatsa villagers at Like-a-Fishhook, the last earthlodge village on the Missouri (Wedel 1961:207-208).
1824 Lakota killed [or wounded] a horse or horses in peacetime. Swan had all his horses killed by his fellows.
Maga ska śunk áťeyapi. They destroyed Swan’s horses.
The pictograph shows a man holding the reins of a horse "killed" or wounded in the neck. The lack of specific tribal identifiers (such as hairstyle or costume) identifies the man as Lakota and his braided hairstyle signifies that the killing of the horse or horses was not an act of battle or horse-raiding. (The Lakotas traditionally wore the hair in two braids while in camp and on peaceful pursuits and unbound while on hostile pursuits such as battle or horse-raiding.)
A few winter counts seem to refer to the same event and provide the textual detail that Swan, a Minneconjou, had a large number of horses killed by others of his own band. Although spite or jealousy is given as a motive, another possible explanation is that the horses were killed as a punishment for some breach of tribal law. Both the band chief and the akicita or camp marshals had authority to administer punishments to the person or property of miscreants. These punishments included confiscating and destroying personal property, horses and dogs. Also, the members of a band could kill the horses of their chief if they agreed that he had abused his power (DeMallie 1982). Since social status in equestrian Plains Indian society was closely tied to horse ownership (Mallery 1886), this was a punishment of considerable severity.
1825 Lakotas drowned. Many Lakotas drowned in a spring flood.
Mniwicáťa. People died in a flood.
The pictograph shows two people half-submerged in water, with their arms raised (not in swimming posture). Lack of evidence to the contrary identifies them as Lakotas.
This is a year name found on many of the Lakota winter counts. It apparently refers to an entire Yanktonai camp of 30 lodges having been drowned in a spring flood at Swan Lake Creek in Horsehead Bottom. This was on the Missouri, 15 miles south of Ft. Rice (Mallery 1886).
1826 They were starving [or ___________ starved]. Famine [among Oglalas] due to deep snow; a hunting party died after eating a spoiled bison carcass.
Jo gliťapi. One who whistles died upon returning home.
The pictograph shows a man with prominent ribs, a convention for indicating starvation. He is identified as Lakota due to lack of other tribal identifiers. The man has no hands, which usually would signify captivity or death at the hands of captors (cf. Eastman 1849). In this instance, the significance of the missing hands is not clear, unless it somehow indicates that the individual was part of a war-party or was a captive of a Lakota war-party.
Two possibly related themes show up in the other Lakota winter counts. The first simply refers to deep snow and famine related to deep snow. For example, "they boiled rushes [to eat]" and "deep snow, wore snowshoes to hunt." The other theme refers to a particular event in which six hunters or warriors died from eating spoiled meat. One named Kaiwa or Kaiwayo [or a Kiowa?] made it back to the camp to tell the tale and either survived or died later. Some of the counts supply the detail that they "died whistling"--that is, with gasses escaping from their bodies. Others are translated as "Kaiwa returned whistling" because he bore news of ghosts; this refers to the same event. Presumably, such an event would only occur during times of extreme famine. Thus, both groups of year names in the larger sense refer to famine. That famine and the deaths of the six men are most frequently mentioned and described in greatest detail in the Oglala winter counts may indicate that that band was the most directly affected by the winter famine.
Perhaps the man named Kaiwa was in fact a captive raised as a member of the Lakota band; this would explain both his unusual name and his lack of hand in the pictograph.
1827 Bandolier [name] or Wounded Arm was wounded in battle. Dead Arm was wounded in battle.
Istóksa t‛iktépi. Broken Arm was murdered.
A man with a band or sling across his shoulder and chest and wounded in the stomach is shown in this pictograph. He can be identified as Lakota for lack of indicators to the contrary. The inclusion of the bandolier or sling suggests either a name element or a tribal identifier. I could, however, find no use of this particular element as a tribal "tag"; comparison with other winter counts confirms that the individual's name is indicated. Although the more conventional method of indicating names is with a smaller pictograph connected to the head by a line (for example see the last entry, 1877), the name element was included as part of the main figure if this did not obscure the meaning of the overall pictograph.
The man is depicted with no hands, indicating that his wound was sustained in captivity or battle. In this winter count, fatal wounding and death in battle are shown by blood at the scalpline and on the chest of the individual; thus, a non-fatal wound is indicated. The actual wound may have been in the arm and not the chest, as the Thin Elk artist seems to use the bloody chest as a pictographic convention for all battle wounds.
Comparison with other winter counts provides the added detail that a Minneconjou named Dead Arm or Lame Shoulder was stabbed by a Gros Ventre or Mandan. The nickname Dead Arm may refer to this injury. All but one of these agree with the Thin Elk pictographer that the wound was not fatal.
1828 Waśicu [impounded or in a whirlwind]. Blestan built a dug-out house.
Wakpa waśte okiyate t‛oká waśicun éyotake. A waś icu stranger made a camp at the forks of the Cheyenne River.
The pictograph for this year shows a man inside an ill-defined V-shaped figure. A Euroamerican style hat denotes that the man is a wasicu. The significance of the V-shaped figure is not clear from the pictograph alone.
Comparisons with other winter counts suggests that the V- shaped figure represents a dug-out house, which was built by a white trader named Blestan or Chadron, and used as a trading post. Some counts refer to a log house, which may be the same structure, as dug-outs often were faced or lined with logs.
The term Blestan seems to be a variant of Ogles·an, red shirt. The Oglalas took his name to be Bles·an, Red Lake. These varying versions of the trader's name suggest that the Indians simply made his actual name (Laston or Lestang) into a recognizable Lakota or Dakota term. Vestal's Hunkpapa winter count mentions that an accident befell a trader called Yellow Eyes in 1831. This was the year that Blestan's trading house blew up. Yellow Eyes was a generic nickname for whites and probably also a personal nickname for Blestan. According to Hyde, Yellow Eyes had a son by his Brule wife. This son was also called Yellow Eyes.
Yellow Eyes's real name was Thomas Lestang Sarpy. He was also called Thomas Leston. He came from a prominent St. Louis family, whose name was preserved in Sarpy County, Nebraska, Fort John (Sarpy) on the Laramie River, and Fort Sarpy on the Yellowstone. Thomas was not destined to carry on his family's successes. In 1827 he was sent to work for the American Fur Company to escape an ill-advised marriage. He helped build the Oglala post at the mouth of Rapid Creek, probably in 1829. In January of 1832, Sarpy was killed when the post was blown to pieces when a spark or candle was accidentally knocked into a barrel of gunpowder stored under the counter.
The Minneconjou winter counts for 1828 recount the coming of F.A. Chardon. This is the Chardon for which present-day Chadron, Nebraska, is named. He built a large earthlodge for his trading post on what came to be known as Earth Lodge Creek north of the north of the White River near Butte Cache.
1829 A Lakota [?] was killed [?]. (Indeterminate.)
Wahinkpe śica ahiktepi. Bad Arrow (or Bad Shot) was killed in battle.
This pictograph is indistinct due to fading and staining of the winter count. It appears to be a man, probably Lakota, with some sort of facial marking or wound. None of the other winter counts contained year names that matched this picture, with the possible exception of the two versions of the White Bull count, and some members of the Lone Dog cycle.
1830 Two Crows [?] were killed in battle. Two (or many) Crows were killed in battle.
Mat‛ó paha akanl kangi wicaśa 20 wicaktepi. They killed 20 Crows at Bear Butte.
Two men with long roached hair are shown facing one another in this somewhat indistinct pictograph. The detail paid to hairstyle indicates that it is a tribal identity marker. In most Lakota winter counts, roached hair indicates Crow or Hidatsa. The Crows were also known for their long hair, hanging down in back, with a clay dressing or in a net, so a Crow identity seems most likely in this instance. (Different identifiers were used for Arikara [Ree] and Cheyenne.) Both individuals have red lines across the scalpline, indicating death in battle. The significance of their face-to-face posture is not known.
A number of winter counts contain year names that could relate to this pictograph. Most likely, the pictograph is a reference to a battle at Bear Butte in which 20 some Crows were killed, although neither the location nor the number of casualties is indicated in the Thin Elk pictograph.
1831 Spotted Face held on to a killed relative. Spotted-Face killed his son-in-law and clung to the corpse.
Iśtá zi t‛iwicaktepi. Yellow Eyes was killed (murdered) at home.
The pictograph depicts two men, both apparently Lakotas. One has a red spot on his face, which would ordinarily be a name indicator. The other has been taken and killed, as evidenced by a red mark on the chest and a lack of hands, in this winter count indicators of captivity and death during hostilities. The spotted-faced figure is connected to the other by a prominent line apparently indicating that they are relatives. This sign for relatedness occurs in other Lakota winter counts (Mallery 1886, 1893). The line connecting the two also becomes the arm and hand of the spotted-faced figure, showing that he held on to the dead man.
This pictograph is an excellent example of the large amount of information that can be conveyed by a single, rather simple appearing pictograph. Comparison with other winter counts confirms the interpretation based on the picture alone and supplies the details of the event to which it refers. Apparently, Spotted Face, in defense of his daughter, stabbed and killed his son-in- law who had abused her. The distraught man then refused to let go of the corpse. An Oglala band affiliation seems most likely based on the frequent mention of the event in Oglala counts.
The significance of this event undoubtedly went far beyond its sensational nature, as is indicated by the emphasis given in many of the year names to the fact that Spotted Face clung to the corpse. This deeper significance is perhaps best illustrated by a statement by Ella Deloria. "The ultimate aim of Dakota life, stripped of accessories, was quite simple: one must obey kinship rules; one must be a good relative...every other consideration was secondary--property,, personal ambition, glory, good times, life itself" (Deloria 1983:17). The Spotted Face incident has connotations of the wider societal disruption occurring when the obligations the father held toward his daughter fatally conflicted with those he held toward his son-in-law. That fundamental theme--irresolvable conflict between family interests and the survival of one's social group--finds a place as easily in Greek tragedy as in Lakota folklore, and gives some indication as to why Spotted Face "would not let go" and why that was important enough to be preserved as a year name.
The Lakota text gives the son-in-law’s name as Yellow Eyes, but does not mention Spotted Face.
1832 One Horn was wounded in the leg in an accident. One Horn committed suicide by attacking a buffalo with only a knife.
Hu wánjica hukawega. One Horn broke his leg.
Although this pictograph is rather badly obscured by an ink stain, one can discern a man with a leg wound, as indicated by a red mark on the knee. The man wears a single horn on his head, undoubtedly a name sign. The manner in which the wound is depicted (on the leg, rather than the chest and scalpline), his braided hairstyle, and presence of the hands indicate that the wound was sustained in an accident and not in battle.
Other Lakota winter count texts confirm the basic reading of the pictograph and supply the additional detail that the accident happened while running buffalo. In 1834, a Lakota chief (probably Oglala) named Lone Horn or One Horn accidentally caused the death of his only son. The man went mad with grief and committed suicide by attacking a buffalo bull alone and on foot, with only a knife. He succeeded in mortally wounding the bull, before being gored and mangled to death (Catlin 1844). Both were found dead on the prairie. The preponderance of counts with the One Horn-broke-his-leg year name are Oglala.
Two Brule counts referring to the death of Stiff Leg apparently are unrelated; however, Stiff-Leg-With-Warbonnet-On was the father of a second Lone Horn, who was a prominant Minneconjou chief during the Indian wars of the 1860s (Hyde 1961.) (This Lone Horn's sons were Big Foot and Touch the Clouds; the famous Crazy Horse was his nephew.) Stiff Leg was killed while leading a war party on a horse-raid against the Pawnees of the Loup River country. A big war-party was raised to seek vengence for his death, but was unsuccessful (Hyde 1961:29). There were Lone Horns among both the Minneconjous and Oglalas during historic times. The death of Broken Leg from whiskey refers to yet a third event, that took place among the Yanktonais.
1833 Many stars fell. Meteor shower.
Wicaħpi ok‛icamna. The stars stormed.
The pictograph for this year shows the sky, as represented by a circle, filled with stars. All but one of the Lakota winter counts refer to a meteor shower, most for 1833, a few for 1834, one for 1832, and one for 1835. The reference is to the Leonid meteor shower, observed throughout North America in November of 1833. Because this event is easily identified both in texts and in pictographs, and is nearly universal in the Lakota counts, it serves as a kind of index or starting point in dating those counts that have not been correlated to numerical calendar years.
One winter count, Howard's White Bull, is lacking a pictograph for this year and event (following the revised dating for the count used here). This one-year hiatus may be responsible for Howard, apparently in error, having revised the chronology of the original White Bull winter count.
1834 Medicine ________ was killed in battle. Medicine Hide was killed by the Rees.
Wak‛ánhala ahiktepi. Sacred Hide was killed in battle.
This pictograph shows a man with four wavy lines above his head, a red mark at the scalpline, and no hands. The man can be identified as Lakota as no other tribal identity markers are incorporated into the picture. The scalp mark and lack of hands denote that he was killed in battle. In Lakota pictography, wavy lines are used to denote the concept wakan, variously translated as holy, sacred, medicine, or crazy--in Lakota culture, aspects of supernatural power. The placement of the wavy lines above the head indicates a name element, rather than an action or personal quality; however, only holy men or healers would ordinarily use such a name.
The other winter counts contain two year names that could apply to this pictograph. The first, killed-the-returning- Cheyenne, is found primarily on Oglala counts; however, the other, Medicine Hide-was-killed, probably is the correct interpretation, given that nothing in the pictograph identifies the man as Cheyenne, and that the name element "Medicine/Holy, etc." is clearly indicated. One count states that a Hunkpapa medicine man was killed by the Rees. This very likely refers to the death of Medicine Hide as well. One count of unspecified northern Lakota affiliation refers to a man named Make Holy having undertaken a flesh offering to ensure success in hunting and battle; this could well refer to the person subsequently killed in battle with the Rees.
The term "medicine man" has frequently been misapplied. The Lakotas themselves distinguish between the pejuta wicaśa, medicine man or healer and the wakan wicaśa, holy man or priest. This distinction is lost in the translated winter-count texts cited here.
The incident in which the Cheyenne was killed apparently refers to a different event, in which a Cheyenne who married into a Lakota band was killed by members of his wife's band, who failed to recognize him when he returned to camp after a journey.
In 1834, Rocky Mountain Fur Company traders induced the Brules to move from the White River country to the Laramie Fork of the Platte River. From that time on, the Lakotas were engaged in fighting with the Skidi Pawnees of the Loup/Lower Platte country and their Arikara (Ree) allies, who had joined them after being driven from their territories west of the Missouri River in what is now South Dakota by Lakota bands moving westward toward the Black Hills (Hyde 1961).
1835 ________ [an unidentified animal is a name element] was killed in battle. Lame Deer was "killed" (wounded) in battle.
Takca huśte wán gluśloka. Lame Deer pulled out an arrow.
This pictograph shows the standard representation of a man killed in battle: red marks on chest and scalpline and missing hands. The man's Lakota identity is assumed from the lack of tribal identifiers. Above his head is an indistinct animal indicating a name element.
Battle-related year names from several other winter counts could refer to the event represented by this pictograph. A preponderance of these refer to a Lakota, Lame Deer, pulling out the arrow with which he was wounded and using it to shoot his pursuers. This is probably the correct interpretation of the Thin Elk pictograph, and the indistinct animal is apparently intended to represent a lame deer. The fact that a few of the year names referring to the Lame Deer incident do not mention his death probably indicates that he did not die of his wounds until a later time. In the Lakota winter counts, a warrior is considered "killed" at the time he sustains a fatal wound, even if he survives for a considerable time before succumbing to it. Because of this, a person "killed" one year may be referred to as alive in a later year name.
1836 Black ________ was killed in battle. Face Painted Half Black was killed by the enemy.
Optaye numpa atkuku ahiktepi. Two Herds’s father was killed in battle.
This pictograph shows a man in the standard killed-in-battle posture (no hands; wounds on chest and scalpline), with a thick black line forming a name-indicator above his head. Again, a Lakota identity is indicated by lack of evidence to the contrary.
The only year name fitting this pictograph occurs on several Oglala counts and refers to the killing of Face Painted Half Black. Although one year name suggests that he and his family were killed by Crows in their lodge, historical evidence indicates that the enemy in question were Skidi Pawnees.
In the winter of 1836-37, Paints-His-Cheeks-Red and several other members of a Brule band were killed by Skidis near the forks of the Platte River. The Skidis took several women and girls captive. Although the Skidis got smallpox from these captives, and many of them died, they refused to release the captives. One of the captives, a girl named Haxti, was used as a human sacrifice in the Morning Star ritual in April 1838. Upon hearing of the death of this girl, Paints-His-Cheeks-Red's Oglala nephew raised a war-party to attack Skidi villages on the Platte. This party killed some Pawnees and captured many horses, but they were forced to eat most of the captured horses on their way back through the Sand Hills (Hyde 1961:32). The latter event is referred to on some of the winter counts for 1839 (see below).
1837 They fought across a river. Lakotas and Pawnees fought on the ice on the North Platte River.
Cak‛ákiciinpi. The fought each other on the ice.
This pictograph consists of bows with arrows facing each other on either side of a double vertical line. In the Thin Elk count, the bow and arrow is used to indicate hostile attack (see 1823). In Lakota pictography, double vertical lines are used to represent either rivers or roads; however, roads are invariably depicted with numerous small marks in between the lines representing tracks. Thus, a river is indicated here.
Many of the Lakota winter counts refer to a battle on or across the frozen Platte River; others make various references to ice, the original meaning of the year name apparently having been lost.
According to Hyde (1961:32), this probably was a fight with the Arikara [Ree] allies of the Skidi Pawnees. The battle took place on the north Platte, near Ash Hollow, and proved to be a decisive victory for the Lakota. After this series of attacks, the Arikara returned to the Upper Missouri country from which they had fled south because of earlier conflicts with the Lakotas (Hyde 1961).
1838 Sits [name element] was killed in battle. (Indeterminate.)
Wannawega ota wicaktepi. Many Broken Arrow men were killed.
This pictograph shows a man with the typical battle wounds and missing hands, but in a sitting position. The man's posture could indicate either what happened (for example, killed sitting down) or his name. The usual pattern in the Thin Elk count would indicate the latter.
The other winter counts offered few clues as to the correct interpretation of this pictograph. Two Brule counts mention the death of "Spread Out" and a Yanktonai count gives the death of Stabbed in the Leg; however, neither of these conclusively fits the Thin Elk pictograph. The two versions of the Minnecoujou White Bull count state that "Body" was wounded and left for dead but later returned alive to his people. The name of Body Butte commemorates this event. This is perhaps the closest match to the pictograph, but is still not conclusively the correct interpretation.
1838 or 1839 Humped Back was killed in battle.
Cuwi nunga wan ahiktepi. Hump [lit. Hunchback] was killed in battle.
The pictograph for 1838 is followed by a figure too indistinct to identify on the version first examined. On the second copy of the pictographic winter count, this clearly shows a man with grostequely humped upper back and wounds on his chest and hairline. This seems to be an "extra" pictograph in the sequence of year names. Apparently, two events were recorded for either 1838 or 1839. Since the Lakota year ("winter") was a rather loosely defined period, extending from the end of one winter to the end of the next, it is not uncommon for such discrepancies to occur in the winter counts.
1839 They struck an enemy camp from both sides. Lakotas attacked a village of Pawnees, Arikaras, or Shoshones.
Maħpiya tỏ ti wikcema num tiyapa wicaktepi. They massacred 20 Arapahoes in their camp.
Two tipis are shown with arrows pointing toward them from two sides. The arrows undoubtedly are intended to indicate hostilities. Their occurrence on both sides of the picture can be taken to mean the camp was attacked from two sides. (A surround would ordinarily be depicted by arrows or tracks on all sides of the tipi camp.) That an enemy camp is intended is indicated by the form of the tipi, relatively broad at the base, with long lengths of pole showing above the tipi cover. This kind of tipi can be observed even today in Crow communities and is readily distinguished from the taller and narrower Lakota tipi, with little of the lodge poles exposed above the cover.
This pictograph and the next may refer to any of several intertribal attacks mentioned other Lakota winter counts. (See year names for 1839 and 1840.) Certainly, an attack on a village is indicated by both pictographs, but it cannot be determined which of those mentioned is the correct interpretation of the pictograph. Lakota raids on Pawnee villages on the north Platte are recorded for 1838 and 1839 (Hyde 1937, 1961; see also comments for 1836, above). The Pawnees normally lived in earthlodges, rather than tipis, and it was these earthlodge villages, rather than the tiny tipi camps that the Lakotas attacked on their raids on the Platte (Hyde 1961). Since a tipi is shown here, the pictograph most likely refers to the attack on the Arapaho or Shoshone village.
The identification of the enemy camp as Arapaho in the Lakota text is somewhat surprising, as the Arparaho are generally thought of as Lakota allies. It is possible that they were still enemies at this point in history, however.
1840 They struck the camp [or lodge]. Lakotas attacked an enemy village.
Śahiyela ók‛iju (toká olakota kapi). They joined with the Cheyennes (made a treaty with enemies).
A single tipi with arrows pointing toward it is shown in this pictograph. In this instance, the tipi is not recognizably that of an enemy; however, none of the recorded year names from other winter counts refers to an attack on a Lakota lodge or village. As with the last entry, any of several year names might apply to this pictograph.
1841 Feather Earring brought back [many?] spotted horses. Feather Earring stole many spotted horses from the Crows.
Wỉyaka owin śunkgleska ota awicagli. Feather Earrings brought back many spotted horses.
The pictograph shows a man with the Lakota hairstyle and a prominent eagle feather ear pendant leading a spotted horse by the bridle. The earring could only have been included as a personal identifier, probably a name element or nickname. A consideration of equestrian Plains Indian culture allows the interpretation of the event depicted. Horse raiding was an important way for young warriors to prove their prowess and improve their social standing. It was also a way to prove worthiness for marriage. Stealing even one, much less 19 or 30 horses from the Lakotas' traditional enemy would have been a feat of considerable note. Comparison with other winter counts confirms the interpretation suggested by the pictograph alone. The pictograph clearly refers to the Feather in the Ear incident and not the other horse-raiding events mentioned in other winter counts.
Around 1840, the Oglalas shifted their territory to the Laramie Plains. This meant renewed conflicts with the Crows and the start of hostilities between the Shoshones (Snakes) and Lakotas (Hyde 1937).
1842 One Feather performed a ceremony [or prayed] before going on the warpath.
Wiyaka wanjila wacekiya (calls for help). Lone Feather prayed.
One-Feather gave a feast and performed a ceremony in honor of relatives killed previous year raiding Shoshoni horses; vowed to avenge them and tried to raise a war party; killed on warpath.
The pictograph shows a man holding a calumet; his long hair is unbound. The long hair and lack of evidence to the contrary identify him as Lakota. The calumet (sacred pipe) is included in the pictograph to denote that the man was a war-party leader or "partisan." A man would attempt to raise a war-party by "sending a pipe" around to the various camps with which he had ties, as an invitation to the warriors to join him in a retaliatory expedition the following spring. Once the war-party departed, he would literally carry the pipe and oversee its use. War-party leaders were thus also referred to as "pipe-carriers." The unbound hair of the man in the pictograph also indicates readiness for battle and thus suggests the nature of his use of the pipe--that is, to summon other warriors to battle.
Two ceremonies might be performed after a battle--the Sun Dance and the Victory or Scalp Dance. Neither is likely to have been depicted this way. The Sun Dance was held just once a year to fulfill vows of self-sacrifice made to the Great Spirit during times of duress and would likely be depicted in the winter counts by a representation of its most distinctive feature, the large ring-shaped arbor within which the dancing took place. The Scalp Dance was performed by women to honor the deeds of the male relatives; it did not include use of the sacred pipe. It does not seem likely that a personal prayer would have been used as a year name, as there is nothing particularly noteworthy about it; thus, the sponsoring of a public ceremony is probably the correct interpretation.
Comparisons with other winter counts confirm the initialinterpretation of the pictograph and supply the additional explanation given above.
1843 They performed a buffalo-calling ceremony in the lodge. Dakotas performed a buffalo-calling ceremony.
Ptep‛á tiyógnakapi. A buffalo head was placed inside the lodge.
The pictograph shows a buffalo skull inside a Lakota tipi. When buffalo were scarce, as during an especially severe winter, a ceremony could be performed by a holy man to lure the buffalo into hunting range. In at least this version of the ceremony, a buffalo head was kept inside a special tipi.
Comparison with other counts confirms the interpretation based on the pictograph alone.
1844 Corral or palisade. Minneconjous had a palisaded winter camp.
Wicáħanħan na wazi cankaśtapi. Kit Foxes made a pine enclosure.
The pictograph is a representation of an open, circular structure apparently constructed of logs. Inside the structure are numerous small marks representing tracks. A corral or palisade seems to be intended by the pictograph.
Three different sets of year names from other winter counts may relate to this picture. The first, "Ree village or huts were set on fire," could apply if the picture represents a fortified Arikara village; however, no sign for fire is present in the pictograph. This probably refers to an attack on a Pawnee village in 1843, led by Little Thunder, whose five brothers had been killed by Pawnees. This war-party killed 67 Pawnees, burned 20 earthlodges, and captured all the horses from the village (Hyde 1961:45-46). The second, "the Mandans wintered in the Black Hills," also could apply if a fortified village were intended. In this instance, however, one would expect a sign for mountains (usually given by a picture of pine trees) to indicate the camp was in the Black Hills. Further, the presence of animal tracks indicates that the fortification was intended to enclose either wild bison or antelope herds or tame horses. The third, "the Minneconjous built a pine fort," is probably the correct interpretation for this pictograph. Other counts add that this was during the winter and that deep snow also necessitated building corrals for the horses.
It is not clear from the winter counts why the winter camp was palisaded. Either harassment by enemies or a severe winter could have prompted the measure. The reference to horse corrals supports the latter explanation. In any case, such an event was certainly unusual, if not unique, for the equestrian Lakota. It is also possible that bison or antelope were so plentiful that this band organized a surround to drive the animals into a constructed corral. This method of hunting was common in the period before horses were acquired, but was used much more rarely when horses became widely available.
1845 Plenty of meat. Plenty of meat at Ash Point.
Ake wicáħanħan na pseħte oju owáciwaśeca. (plenty of meat) Again, the Kit Foxes erected an enclosure of dry ash wood.
The drying rack full of meat is a common Lakota sign for plenty. Tracks above the drying rack indicate that the abundance of meat resulted from the group having encountered a large number of game animals in the area which they successfully hunted. Comparisons with other winter counts confirm this interpretation and supply the added detail that the hunt took place near the winter camp at Ash Point. The contradicts the Lakota text, which indicates that another log enclosure was made, this time of ash wood. The references to plenty of food in many of the winter counts raises the possibility that bison or antelope were taken in a trap, a method known to the Lakotas, but largely abandoned when horses became widely available.
1846 _____ Nose [name] was killed in battle; struck by a saber. (Indeterminate.)
Héktatanhan ahiwicaktepi. “Behind” was killed in battle.
This pictograph shows a man with red gashes on his scalpline and chest. The red marks and lack of hands indicate that he was killed in battle. At the back of his head is a saber, indicating either the mode of death or scalping, or that the saber was used to count coup upon--that is, to touch with the hand or a stick--the wounded man. The man appears to be Lakota, as no other tribal identifiers are present. Unlike similar pictographs on this winter count, the man is shown in profile, apparently so that a prominent nose could be depicted. This is probably intended as a name sign, the name or nickname containing the element "nose." Such a name would not be unusual--for example, Roman Nose was a name among both the Lakotas and the Cheyennes in historic times.
None of the other winter counts contain year names that could refer to the event depicted.
1847 Crow Eagle was stabbed with a knife. Crow Eagle was stabbed.
Kangi wanbli cap‛ápi. Crow Eagle was stabbed.
In this pictograph a crow with the tail of an eagle is used to represent the man Crow Eagle. The crow-eagle is shown with a knife sticking into its chest and with blood dripping from the wound. Several Oglala winter counts list the stabbing of Crow Eagle for this year. One states that he was stabbed by his sweetheart, but a Minneconjou-Brule count gives a different version, in which Crow Eagle is wounded in battle. The Thin Elk count does not indicate which version is correct, although it may be significant that the conventional signs for "wounded in battle" are not present in this pictograph.
1848 Hump Back [name] or a humpback was killed in battle. Hump Back was killed.
Cuwinunga wan ahiktepi. Hump [Hunchback] was killed in battle.
The subject of this pictograph is a man named Hump Back or Broken Back (or having a deformed back). He is shown with the conventional wounds at scalpline and chest and with no hands, indicating death in battle. Comparison with other Lakota counts confirms the interpretation of the pictograph, adding that Hump Back was a Minneconjou chief and that he was killed by the Crows in the Black Hills. Apparently, there were at least three chiefs or war-leaders who bore the name Hump. These were Oglala and Minneconjou relatives, two of which are known from historical records. The later Minneconjou Hump or High-Back-Bone was Crazy Horse's mentor (Hyde 1937).
1849 A woman-man warrior was killed or captured by horsemen or while raiding horses. A Crow winkte was killed.
Kangi wicaśa winkte wan ahiktepi. A Crow winkte was killed in battle.
This somewhat puzzling pictograph shows what appears to be a man in woman's dress, with no hands, and with horse tracks on either side of him. The long hair on the figure may indicate Crow identity, or may be a feature of the man's unusual attire. The single feather atop the head indicates warrior status in this winter count; in this instance it may instead clarify the male gender of the subject. The lack of hands indicates captivity or death in battle. Horse tracks indicate that either the man was mounted, was pursued on horseback, or was engaged in stealing horses.
Again, the cultural context of the depicted event is the key to understanding what happened. In Plains Indian culture, a man had the option of adopting the lifestyle and dress of women as an alternative to the stresses of warrior life. Such men did not suffer any lack of social standing, although they of course did not ever achieve the lists of coups or military accomplishments needed to attain chieftainship. They were both feared and repected as different from ordinary men and possessed of potentially dangerous powers (Hassrick 1964). The winter count apparently refers to the capture of such a man, probably of Crow affiliation, by the Lakota.
A number of other winter counts mention this evidently sensational event--sensational not because the man was dressed as a woman, but because the Lakota warriors thought they had captured a woman and were surprised to discover they had a man instead. The man is variously termed a hermaphrodite, half- woman, and transvestite. Of these, only the latter term comes close to correctly describing the situation; however these men dressed and acted as women all the time, not just occasionally. Better is the anthropological term berdache and better still the Lakota winkte, literally "wants-to-be-woman." The few year names mentioning horse-raiding and the one mentioning the capture of a Dakota woman by the Crow are less likely to relate to this pictograph.
1850 Buffalo-woman was born/found. A buffalo cow was killed and an old woman or a fetus resembling same was found in its belly.
Pte wan winuħcala ikpignak opi. A buffalo cow had an old woman inside its belly.
The pictograph shows a buffalo with a woman enclosed in a cavity in its abdomen. This interpretation would be puzzling were it not for the several other winter counts listing just such an occurrence. Most say that an old woman was found in the uterus of a buffalo cow. This event was afforded considerable significance and was widely heralded. In Lakota mythology, women and bison are deeply and consistently identified with one another. Thus, finding a buffalo cow with what appeared to be a woman inside must have had significance far beyond that of a mere curiosity, especially at a time when the bison herds were depleted.
continued...
by Linea Sundstrom, © 2003
Plains Indian Pictography
Pictographic communication was an important aspect of traditional Plains Indian culture. The various Plains tribes developed highly efficient means of conveying messages through the medium of pictures. While picture-writing apparently was not as pervasive as the better-known Plains Indian sign language (e.g. Clark 1881), it was just as sophisticated in its ability to convey detailed information quickly and accurately. The use of pictographic writing was abandoned only after the English learned in government and mission schools began to replace native tongues as the principal language of discourse among Native Americans.
Plains Indian pictography made use of several media. Studies of rock art suggest that picture-writing had its roots in a style of representational art related to the vision-quest ceremonial complex (Keyser 1979, 1987; Sundstrom 1990). This art--termed the Ceremonial style to distinguish it from a later Biographic style--comprised static representations of warriors with shields, each shield being decorated with those symbols and tokens dictated by the owner's vision. Ceremonial art gradually gave way to a more pictographic style of art--termed the Biographic style--as the equestrian Plains warrior complex developed in the wake of the introduction of the horse into native cultures in the region.
Biographic art was a means of depicting, and thereby validating and publicizing, the exploits of warriors in battle and horse-raiding. The shift from representations of visions to personal accomplishments required that Biographic art develop ways of showing actions, personal and tribal identity, and narrative, so that the event could be accurately reconstructed by anyone viewing the picture. This was the beginning of true pictography in Plains Indian culture. In the context of Biographic art, pictographic conventions were developed for showing personal and tribal identity, series of actions or events, and even an individual's social standing (D. Smith 1949; Keyser 1987; Mallery 1886, 1893; Blish and Bad Heart Bull 1967; Vatter 1927).
While rock art provides the earliest evidence for a pictographic communication system among the Plains Indians, ethnographic materials provide evidence for the pervasive influence of pictography on northern Plains Indian culture. From pre-contact period painted animal hides to drawings on protohistoric trade cloth and reservation-period ledger books, pictography was integral to Plains Indian representational art. Such pictographic artworks served four main functions. The first, and most common, was the use of pictographs to record and publicize warriors' accomplishments in battle, hunting, and horse-raiding. The second was to transmit messages from individuals or groups to one another. A third function was record-keeping, including the calendrical and historic functions of the winter counts and the census function of the tribal rosters. Finally, during the reservation period, pictographic drawings of the old life were produced for nostalgic and commercial reasons (i.e. for sale to non-Indians) (Heidenreich 1983; Dunn 1969; Peterson 1968, 1971; Ritzenthaler 1961).
Nowhere was Plains Indian picture-writing more highly developed than among the Lakota and their Middle Dakota allies, the Yanktonai. Garrick Mallery's nineteenth century tomes on the pictography of native North America devote special attention to Lakota and Middle Dakota materials, including picture messages, band rosters, and winter counts (Mallery 1877, 1886, 1893).
The term Dakota refers to a confederacy of seven tribes or macrobands ("council fires"), all speaking dialects of Dakota, a Siouan language (Howard 1980; DeMallie 1982). The confederacy has traditionally been broken into three groups, reflecting linguistic divisions. The easternmost division is known as the Santee (or Isanti), comprising the Sisseton, Mdewakanton, Wapekute, and Wahpeton. These groups employ the eastern or Dakota dialect of the Dakota language. The middle Dakota division includes the Nakota-speaking Yankton and Yanktonai. The Lakotas or Tetons make up the western division, and speak the Lakota dialect. The Lakotas traditionally were thought to include seven bands or subtribes including the Oglala, Minneconjou, Oohenonpa (Two Kettles), Itazipco (Sans Arcs), Sicangu (Brule), Hunkpapa, and Sihasapa (Blackfoot) bands.
In reality, the organization of the Dakota confederacy and the Lakota council fire was more flexible and irregular than this implies. Each of the seven Lakota bands comprised several sub- bands or camps, and at this level in particular social structure was quite fluid. New camps or bands could splinter off any time; similarly, two or more camps or bands could join for protection or convenience.
In the following discussion, Dakota is used to refer to the Sioux confederacy (but usually exclusive of the eastern, or Santee division, which in the period under discussion had little in common with the prairie-dwelling Middle Dakota and Lakota). The term Lakota, by contrast, refers to the western division of the Dakota. At the time of Euroamerican contact, the territory of the Lakota extended from east of the Missouri River in South Dakota to the Bighorn Mountains of central Wyoming and Montana, and from central North Dakota south to the Platte River in Nebraska. Hunting expeditions occasionally took the Lakota even farther west and south. The Middle Dakota Yankton and Yanktonai occupied portions of what is now eastern North and South Dakota, east of the Missouri River.
Dakota Winter Counts
Winter counts can be thought of as pictographic representations of chronology (Blish and Bad Heart Bull 1967). James Howard (1960:28) described the Plains Indian winter count as follows:
A typical winter count consisted of a tanned bison hide on the flesh side of which a pictograph of a single important or unusual event was drawn or painted to record each passing year. These records were kept by native historians who memorized a short text for each of the pictographs explaining their meaning. The pictographs thus served as mnemonic aids. The term 'winter-count' derives from the Indian custom of reckoning time by means of 'winters' rather than calendar years in the European sense.
The earliest known Dakota winter counts took the form of pictographs painted on tanned hides. Each pictograph represented an event chosen to represent a particular "winter" or year. This event served as the name used to refer to that year--for example "smallpox used them up" year. One could determine the passage of time by counting back on the pictographs from the current year to the year in question. For example, a person's age could be determined by counting back to the pictograph representing his birth year. The pictographs thus served as a mnemonic device for recalling the year names. Year names, in turn, stood for events of significance to the band or individual, and thus served to codify and preserve band history.
Winter counts from the post-contact period initially took the form of pictographs on cloth or paper. These were copied from earlier versions painted on animal hides. Later, these were reduced to written lists of year names in Lakota or English translation. When a winter count began to wear out, it would be copied onto a new hide or piece of cloth. Counts could also be copied for the use of others or for sale to interested parties. Many of the known counts thus are copies of others. The earliest winter counts in existence today do not extend back further than the middle of the eighteenth century (ca. 1759). It appears that there was no compelling interest to maintain year names indefinitely. As time passed and the persons referred to in events were no longer living and the events themselves no longer of great relevance to the people, the earlier year names would be dropped off, or perhaps simply forgotten.
Winter counts were maintained by individuals, who voluntarily filled the semi-official position of band historian. As a rule, there was one winter count per band or camp, although anyone was free to start his own winter count or to receive an existing count from another. Count-keepers often filled the role of band story-teller, as well, and each usually trained a younger member of the band or family in the maintenance of the count and the recitation of the year names and related narratives.
Year names were decided on by the individual count-keeper, with or without the consultation of the ruling elders of the group. Year events were chosen for their importance to the camp or band or simply for their memorability, and were not necessarily intended to be narrative (Mallery 1886; Blish and Bad Heart Bull 1967). In other words, both historical significance and entertainment value were considered in selecting year names. The most common categories of events represented by year names include battles and casualties, contacts with non-natives, severe winter and famine, ceremonies and dances, abundance of food, astronomical events, domestic violence, camps, and epidemics, in roughly that order of frequency (cf. Cheney 1979).
The Thin Elk Winter Count
The winter count referred to herein as the Thin Elk winter count is a pictographic record covering the years 1821 through 1877. It takes the form of a square of unbleached muslin, on which pictographs are drawn in ink and paint (Figure 1). The pictures are arranged in a squared spiral fashion starting at the upper left hand corner of the cloth and ending in the center. The count was formerly on display at the Beuchel Memorial Lakota Museum at the St. Francis Indian Mission, St. Francis, South Dakota, on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. While on display the count bore the following label: "This winter count was made and kept by 'Wata Peta' (Steamboat). Old Man Thin Elk received it from him long ago." At the time this paper was first written (1992), I was unable to obtain any additional information on the count from the staff of the Lakota Museum.
At that time, it appeared that no accompanying text or explanation of the Thin Elk count was in existence. As a purely pictographic record, the Thin Elk count was an ideal subject for exploring Lakota pictography as a communication vehicle. The Thin Elk count posed several research questions. First, could the count be identified as to its individual keeper, band affiliation, or relation to other winter counts? Second, could the year names comprising the original winter count text be reconstructed from the pictographs alone? Third, how do the pictographs convey this information? Specifically, can certain symbols and arrangements of symbols be directly understood as texts, in the same way that spoken or written utterances are understood? If so, it should be possible to produce a "lexicon" of symbols and a "grammar" of their arrangement that can serve as a key to interpreting this and possibly other pictographic winter counts (cf. Keyser 1987).
My study of the Thin Elk winter count first entailed a reading of available works on Plains Indian pictography (Mallery 1886, 1893; D. Smith 1949; Vatter 1927; Blish and Bad Heart Bull 1967; Dunn 1969; Ewers 1939; Heidenreich 1983; Keyser 1987; Peterson 1968,1971; Ritzenthaler 1961; Rodee 1965). This was done to supply a basis for interpreting the pictographs, independent of comparative texts from other winter counts, which obviously would affect my reading of the pictographs. Some of the pictographic devices expected in Dakota winter counts, based on these sources are: (1) the use of small symbols to represent the name or personal identity of the subject of the pictograph, (2) the use of hairstyle, costume, and signs to indicate tribal identity, (3) the use of drawings of sign language gestures to convey certain concepts, and (4) position of the elements of the pictograph indicating the subject and object of the action depicted.
Next, a year name was suggested to correspond to each pictograph on the Thin Elk count. These were based solely on information contained in the pictures themselves, as well as a general understanding of Lakota social organization and world view.
Finally, a list of pictographic devices used in the Thin Elk count was compiled and conclusions were drawn concerning the use of pictographs to convey information in this winter count.
Much later (2003), staff at the Buechel Museum found and provided me with a textual interpretation of the winter count made at the time of its acquisition by Father Buechel. This is written in Lakota in blue ink on five sheets of unlined paper. A few additions were made in graphite pencil. This document is cataloged as follows: STEAMBOAT (WATA PETA) COUNT, winters of 1821-1822 to 1877-1878. Lakota, handwritten on unlined paper, blue ink with additions in graphite pencil. 5 pages from 3 folded sheets shard with Big Missouri Count (8). Another transcription of the Steamboat winter count covers the years 1821/22 to 1931. Apparently, Thin Elk continued Steamboat’s count after the latter’s death.
A note at the top of the Lakota transcript reads: “Wata peta’s (Steamboat’s) winter-count. [The word Steam is lined out and replaced with Fire.] He was a Mnikonwoju (Mnikonju). He wrote (painted) our copy at St. Francis and gave it to (old man) Thin Elk when he was in [illegible] country ([illegible]). Thin Elk left that place in 1876; but Wata peta had died as an old man before this time. (Information & the following from old man Thin Elk.)”
It appears that Steamboat (or possibly Thin Elk) made two copies of the pictographic winter count acquired by Father Buechel. These are essentially the same, except that the first copy is marred by an ink spill. It was this first copy that was photographed and used for my original study. The second copy probably was made after the first was damaged by the ink spill. Both are in the collections of the Buechel Museum. Although this later information clarifies that the pictographic winter count that ends in 1877-1878 was Thin Elk’s copy of Steamboat’s winter count, I began the study by referring to it as the Thin Elk winter count, and I have chosen to retain that designation here.
The appearance of the list of Lakota year-names that corresponds with the winter-count has proven useful in checking the interpretations I made using the pictographs alone. Altogether, the results clearly demonstrated the narrative nature of Lakota pictography as used in winter-counts. As a person separated from the author of the winter-count both culturally and temporally, I nevertheless was able to interpret—not to say read—the pictographs with a high degree of accuracy.
Note: the symbol ħ is used here in place of the dotted-h standard in the Lakota orthography used when the winter-count text was written. This substitution is necessitated by the lack of the dotted-h in standard MS Word® computer fonts.
Comparison of the Thin Elk Count with Other Winter Counts
In this comparison, the first text given (in italics) is my initial interpretation of the year-name represented by a given pictograph, based on a reading of Mallery and other publications on Plains Indian pictography. Where appropriate, this is followed by a second year-name arrived at after comparing the Thin Elk pictographs with other winter count texts and pictographs. Below these appear the Lakota text provided by Thin Elk and an English translation of it. The year given before the year-name is the estimated calendar year represented by the pictograph, based on the comparisons with other, dated texts and pictographs.
For lack of a good English equivalent, the Lakota word wasicu is used throughout to refer to non-Indians.
1821 Meteor. Meteor.
Wicaħpi wan hoton hiyaye. A star passed by crying out.
The first pictograph on the Thin Elk count is a large red star on a blue background. The blue background indicates a night sky and the large star could only be a meteor or comet of unusual size, brilliance, appearance, or proximity. Many of the Lakota winter counts for this year record the appearance of a meteor that made a singing or whistling noise as it passed overhead before falling to earth.
1822 Leg [name element or event?]; Wasicu house. Peeler froze his leg; Joseph built a log house.
Tahúnska tanka titanka kage. Big Leggings built a large house.
This year comprises two pictographs, not apparently related to the same event. The first is a disembodied leg; the second a Euroamerican style house (as indicated by the rectangular shape and pitched roof). In this instance, the pictographs alone do not contain sufficient information to reconstruct the year name completely. Two sets of year names from other counts indicate that two separate events are indicated by the 1822 pictographs. The first refers to a wasicu called Peeler (a nickname apparently referring to his habit of whittling) having frozen his leg or legs. In Lakota, the same word is used to mean both froze and burned (in the context of bodily injury), the proper translation depending on the context; therefore, some of the counts translate this event as "Peeler burned his leg."
Other winter counts refer to the building of a log [or rotten-wood] house or trading post by a wasicu named Joseph, "Choze," or Jose, near the mouth of the Little Missouri or Bad River near Ft. Pierre, on Sioux land. As far as the winter counts indicate, Joseph and Peeler were two different men; perhaps both events were included in Thin Elk to indicate an influx of non-Indians into the area that year.
The Joseph referred to was probably Joseph Renville, a Columbia Fur Company trader who was among the first to build a trading post on the Missouri (Robinson 1956). He was half Dakota. Alternatively, the trader Joseph Juitt (or Jewitt) may be referred to (Hyde 1961:25); the better-known Joseph Bissonette was a trader in Dakota country at a later time (Hyde 1961).
The Lakota text gives a single year-name. The disembodied leg is not a separate reference, but a pictograph for the Lakota name or nickname of the trader. I do not know which, if any, of the above men was called Big Leggings in Lakota. This nickname was applied much later to Johnny Brughière, a mixed-blood who fought with Sitting Bull’s Hunkpapa warriors in 1876 and served as Sitting Bull’s interpreter in negotiations with Colonel Nelson Miles (Vestal 1932:195-202).
1823 [Wasicu hat, bow and arrow; wasicu house.] Lakotas joined Leavenworth in an attack on the Ree.
Iťazipco waśicun ob atakpe ai. The Sans Arc went with the wacisus to attack.
As with the previous year, the pictographs alone do not indicate a complete year name. It is unclear whether the three items depicted all refer to one event, or to two separate events.
Comparison with other winter counts reveals what at first appear to be two themes connected to this year: corn and a U.S. Army campaign against the Arikara (or Ree) villages along the Missouri River. In fact, both refer to the same event: a U.S. military campaign against the Arikara in August of 1823, in which 700-800 Dakota warriors (mostly Yanktons) were recruited to join in the attack. During the siege of the two Arikara villages under attack, the Dakotas took (or were given by the U.S. soldiers) dried corn from the Arikara fields and winter stores. Although the wasicu hat and house shown in the pictograph might be conjectured to refer to the building of a house or trading post (see preceding year), in the Thin Elk winter count the bow and arrow clearly refer to intertribal conflict, as will be seen in succeeding year names.
For some reason, the meaning of many of the year names in the counts used for comparison has been lost or garbled. In some instances a year name has obviously been manufactured to match a pictograph for which the original meaning was lost. For example, several year names refer to corn, indicating that a corn ear or stalk was the pictograph used for the year. Some, such as "plenty of dried corn," do not contradict the Lakota-U.S. attack on the Ree, but others, such as "wasicu taught the Dakotas to plant corn," are hardly credible as actual events. (It should be noted, however, that Hyde [1961] accepted the latter event as factual and cited it as the origin of the name of the Corn Band of the Brule.)
Two possible explanations can be offered regarding the confusion over this year name. First, it may be that the corn was received second-hand from bands that participated in the military campaign, as Yy-BT would indicate; thus, its source may not have been clearly known to those receiving it. Secondly, as the U.S. military threat to native sovereignty became increasingly severe, and tribes became more united in their opposition to the U.S. military, it may have been unacceptable to admit to having aided the common enemy in such a campaign and tribal lore may have been altered accordingly.
The site of this event is known to archaeologists as the Leavenworth village. Following the attack, the Arikaras temporarily sought refuge with Mandans upriver. They soon returned to their own village, remaining there until 1832. Over the next three decades, they relocated several times, including stays with the Skidi Pawnee on the Loup River in Nebraska and two villages on the Missouri. In 1862, they joined the remnant Mandan and Hidatsa villagers at Like-a-Fishhook, the last earthlodge village on the Missouri (Wedel 1961:207-208).
1824 Lakota killed [or wounded] a horse or horses in peacetime. Swan had all his horses killed by his fellows.
Maga ska śunk áťeyapi. They destroyed Swan’s horses.
The pictograph shows a man holding the reins of a horse "killed" or wounded in the neck. The lack of specific tribal identifiers (such as hairstyle or costume) identifies the man as Lakota and his braided hairstyle signifies that the killing of the horse or horses was not an act of battle or horse-raiding. (The Lakotas traditionally wore the hair in two braids while in camp and on peaceful pursuits and unbound while on hostile pursuits such as battle or horse-raiding.)
A few winter counts seem to refer to the same event and provide the textual detail that Swan, a Minneconjou, had a large number of horses killed by others of his own band. Although spite or jealousy is given as a motive, another possible explanation is that the horses were killed as a punishment for some breach of tribal law. Both the band chief and the akicita or camp marshals had authority to administer punishments to the person or property of miscreants. These punishments included confiscating and destroying personal property, horses and dogs. Also, the members of a band could kill the horses of their chief if they agreed that he had abused his power (DeMallie 1982). Since social status in equestrian Plains Indian society was closely tied to horse ownership (Mallery 1886), this was a punishment of considerable severity.
1825 Lakotas drowned. Many Lakotas drowned in a spring flood.
Mniwicáťa. People died in a flood.
The pictograph shows two people half-submerged in water, with their arms raised (not in swimming posture). Lack of evidence to the contrary identifies them as Lakotas.
This is a year name found on many of the Lakota winter counts. It apparently refers to an entire Yanktonai camp of 30 lodges having been drowned in a spring flood at Swan Lake Creek in Horsehead Bottom. This was on the Missouri, 15 miles south of Ft. Rice (Mallery 1886).
1826 They were starving [or ___________ starved]. Famine [among Oglalas] due to deep snow; a hunting party died after eating a spoiled bison carcass.
Jo gliťapi. One who whistles died upon returning home.
The pictograph shows a man with prominent ribs, a convention for indicating starvation. He is identified as Lakota due to lack of other tribal identifiers. The man has no hands, which usually would signify captivity or death at the hands of captors (cf. Eastman 1849). In this instance, the significance of the missing hands is not clear, unless it somehow indicates that the individual was part of a war-party or was a captive of a Lakota war-party.
Two possibly related themes show up in the other Lakota winter counts. The first simply refers to deep snow and famine related to deep snow. For example, "they boiled rushes [to eat]" and "deep snow, wore snowshoes to hunt." The other theme refers to a particular event in which six hunters or warriors died from eating spoiled meat. One named Kaiwa or Kaiwayo [or a Kiowa?] made it back to the camp to tell the tale and either survived or died later. Some of the counts supply the detail that they "died whistling"--that is, with gasses escaping from their bodies. Others are translated as "Kaiwa returned whistling" because he bore news of ghosts; this refers to the same event. Presumably, such an event would only occur during times of extreme famine. Thus, both groups of year names in the larger sense refer to famine. That famine and the deaths of the six men are most frequently mentioned and described in greatest detail in the Oglala winter counts may indicate that that band was the most directly affected by the winter famine.
Perhaps the man named Kaiwa was in fact a captive raised as a member of the Lakota band; this would explain both his unusual name and his lack of hand in the pictograph.
1827 Bandolier [name] or Wounded Arm was wounded in battle. Dead Arm was wounded in battle.
Istóksa t‛iktépi. Broken Arm was murdered.
A man with a band or sling across his shoulder and chest and wounded in the stomach is shown in this pictograph. He can be identified as Lakota for lack of indicators to the contrary. The inclusion of the bandolier or sling suggests either a name element or a tribal identifier. I could, however, find no use of this particular element as a tribal "tag"; comparison with other winter counts confirms that the individual's name is indicated. Although the more conventional method of indicating names is with a smaller pictograph connected to the head by a line (for example see the last entry, 1877), the name element was included as part of the main figure if this did not obscure the meaning of the overall pictograph.
The man is depicted with no hands, indicating that his wound was sustained in captivity or battle. In this winter count, fatal wounding and death in battle are shown by blood at the scalpline and on the chest of the individual; thus, a non-fatal wound is indicated. The actual wound may have been in the arm and not the chest, as the Thin Elk artist seems to use the bloody chest as a pictographic convention for all battle wounds.
Comparison with other winter counts provides the added detail that a Minneconjou named Dead Arm or Lame Shoulder was stabbed by a Gros Ventre or Mandan. The nickname Dead Arm may refer to this injury. All but one of these agree with the Thin Elk pictographer that the wound was not fatal.
1828 Waśicu [impounded or in a whirlwind]. Blestan built a dug-out house.
Wakpa waśte okiyate t‛oká waśicun éyotake. A waś icu stranger made a camp at the forks of the Cheyenne River.
The pictograph for this year shows a man inside an ill-defined V-shaped figure. A Euroamerican style hat denotes that the man is a wasicu. The significance of the V-shaped figure is not clear from the pictograph alone.
Comparisons with other winter counts suggests that the V- shaped figure represents a dug-out house, which was built by a white trader named Blestan or Chadron, and used as a trading post. Some counts refer to a log house, which may be the same structure, as dug-outs often were faced or lined with logs.
The term Blestan seems to be a variant of Ogles·an, red shirt. The Oglalas took his name to be Bles·an, Red Lake. These varying versions of the trader's name suggest that the Indians simply made his actual name (Laston or Lestang) into a recognizable Lakota or Dakota term. Vestal's Hunkpapa winter count mentions that an accident befell a trader called Yellow Eyes in 1831. This was the year that Blestan's trading house blew up. Yellow Eyes was a generic nickname for whites and probably also a personal nickname for Blestan. According to Hyde, Yellow Eyes had a son by his Brule wife. This son was also called Yellow Eyes.
Yellow Eyes's real name was Thomas Lestang Sarpy. He was also called Thomas Leston. He came from a prominent St. Louis family, whose name was preserved in Sarpy County, Nebraska, Fort John (Sarpy) on the Laramie River, and Fort Sarpy on the Yellowstone. Thomas was not destined to carry on his family's successes. In 1827 he was sent to work for the American Fur Company to escape an ill-advised marriage. He helped build the Oglala post at the mouth of Rapid Creek, probably in 1829. In January of 1832, Sarpy was killed when the post was blown to pieces when a spark or candle was accidentally knocked into a barrel of gunpowder stored under the counter.
The Minneconjou winter counts for 1828 recount the coming of F.A. Chardon. This is the Chardon for which present-day Chadron, Nebraska, is named. He built a large earthlodge for his trading post on what came to be known as Earth Lodge Creek north of the north of the White River near Butte Cache.
1829 A Lakota [?] was killed [?]. (Indeterminate.)
Wahinkpe śica ahiktepi. Bad Arrow (or Bad Shot) was killed in battle.
This pictograph is indistinct due to fading and staining of the winter count. It appears to be a man, probably Lakota, with some sort of facial marking or wound. None of the other winter counts contained year names that matched this picture, with the possible exception of the two versions of the White Bull count, and some members of the Lone Dog cycle.
1830 Two Crows [?] were killed in battle. Two (or many) Crows were killed in battle.
Mat‛ó paha akanl kangi wicaśa 20 wicaktepi. They killed 20 Crows at Bear Butte.
Two men with long roached hair are shown facing one another in this somewhat indistinct pictograph. The detail paid to hairstyle indicates that it is a tribal identity marker. In most Lakota winter counts, roached hair indicates Crow or Hidatsa. The Crows were also known for their long hair, hanging down in back, with a clay dressing or in a net, so a Crow identity seems most likely in this instance. (Different identifiers were used for Arikara [Ree] and Cheyenne.) Both individuals have red lines across the scalpline, indicating death in battle. The significance of their face-to-face posture is not known.
A number of winter counts contain year names that could relate to this pictograph. Most likely, the pictograph is a reference to a battle at Bear Butte in which 20 some Crows were killed, although neither the location nor the number of casualties is indicated in the Thin Elk pictograph.
1831 Spotted Face held on to a killed relative. Spotted-Face killed his son-in-law and clung to the corpse.
Iśtá zi t‛iwicaktepi. Yellow Eyes was killed (murdered) at home.
The pictograph depicts two men, both apparently Lakotas. One has a red spot on his face, which would ordinarily be a name indicator. The other has been taken and killed, as evidenced by a red mark on the chest and a lack of hands, in this winter count indicators of captivity and death during hostilities. The spotted-faced figure is connected to the other by a prominent line apparently indicating that they are relatives. This sign for relatedness occurs in other Lakota winter counts (Mallery 1886, 1893). The line connecting the two also becomes the arm and hand of the spotted-faced figure, showing that he held on to the dead man.
This pictograph is an excellent example of the large amount of information that can be conveyed by a single, rather simple appearing pictograph. Comparison with other winter counts confirms the interpretation based on the picture alone and supplies the details of the event to which it refers. Apparently, Spotted Face, in defense of his daughter, stabbed and killed his son-in- law who had abused her. The distraught man then refused to let go of the corpse. An Oglala band affiliation seems most likely based on the frequent mention of the event in Oglala counts.
The significance of this event undoubtedly went far beyond its sensational nature, as is indicated by the emphasis given in many of the year names to the fact that Spotted Face clung to the corpse. This deeper significance is perhaps best illustrated by a statement by Ella Deloria. "The ultimate aim of Dakota life, stripped of accessories, was quite simple: one must obey kinship rules; one must be a good relative...every other consideration was secondary--property,, personal ambition, glory, good times, life itself" (Deloria 1983:17). The Spotted Face incident has connotations of the wider societal disruption occurring when the obligations the father held toward his daughter fatally conflicted with those he held toward his son-in-law. That fundamental theme--irresolvable conflict between family interests and the survival of one's social group--finds a place as easily in Greek tragedy as in Lakota folklore, and gives some indication as to why Spotted Face "would not let go" and why that was important enough to be preserved as a year name.
The Lakota text gives the son-in-law’s name as Yellow Eyes, but does not mention Spotted Face.
1832 One Horn was wounded in the leg in an accident. One Horn committed suicide by attacking a buffalo with only a knife.
Hu wánjica hukawega. One Horn broke his leg.
Although this pictograph is rather badly obscured by an ink stain, one can discern a man with a leg wound, as indicated by a red mark on the knee. The man wears a single horn on his head, undoubtedly a name sign. The manner in which the wound is depicted (on the leg, rather than the chest and scalpline), his braided hairstyle, and presence of the hands indicate that the wound was sustained in an accident and not in battle.
Other Lakota winter count texts confirm the basic reading of the pictograph and supply the additional detail that the accident happened while running buffalo. In 1834, a Lakota chief (probably Oglala) named Lone Horn or One Horn accidentally caused the death of his only son. The man went mad with grief and committed suicide by attacking a buffalo bull alone and on foot, with only a knife. He succeeded in mortally wounding the bull, before being gored and mangled to death (Catlin 1844). Both were found dead on the prairie. The preponderance of counts with the One Horn-broke-his-leg year name are Oglala.
Two Brule counts referring to the death of Stiff Leg apparently are unrelated; however, Stiff-Leg-With-Warbonnet-On was the father of a second Lone Horn, who was a prominant Minneconjou chief during the Indian wars of the 1860s (Hyde 1961.) (This Lone Horn's sons were Big Foot and Touch the Clouds; the famous Crazy Horse was his nephew.) Stiff Leg was killed while leading a war party on a horse-raid against the Pawnees of the Loup River country. A big war-party was raised to seek vengence for his death, but was unsuccessful (Hyde 1961:29). There were Lone Horns among both the Minneconjous and Oglalas during historic times. The death of Broken Leg from whiskey refers to yet a third event, that took place among the Yanktonais.
1833 Many stars fell. Meteor shower.
Wicaħpi ok‛icamna. The stars stormed.
The pictograph for this year shows the sky, as represented by a circle, filled with stars. All but one of the Lakota winter counts refer to a meteor shower, most for 1833, a few for 1834, one for 1832, and one for 1835. The reference is to the Leonid meteor shower, observed throughout North America in November of 1833. Because this event is easily identified both in texts and in pictographs, and is nearly universal in the Lakota counts, it serves as a kind of index or starting point in dating those counts that have not been correlated to numerical calendar years.
One winter count, Howard's White Bull, is lacking a pictograph for this year and event (following the revised dating for the count used here). This one-year hiatus may be responsible for Howard, apparently in error, having revised the chronology of the original White Bull winter count.
1834 Medicine ________ was killed in battle. Medicine Hide was killed by the Rees.
Wak‛ánhala ahiktepi. Sacred Hide was killed in battle.
This pictograph shows a man with four wavy lines above his head, a red mark at the scalpline, and no hands. The man can be identified as Lakota as no other tribal identity markers are incorporated into the picture. The scalp mark and lack of hands denote that he was killed in battle. In Lakota pictography, wavy lines are used to denote the concept wakan, variously translated as holy, sacred, medicine, or crazy--in Lakota culture, aspects of supernatural power. The placement of the wavy lines above the head indicates a name element, rather than an action or personal quality; however, only holy men or healers would ordinarily use such a name.
The other winter counts contain two year names that could apply to this pictograph. The first, killed-the-returning- Cheyenne, is found primarily on Oglala counts; however, the other, Medicine Hide-was-killed, probably is the correct interpretation, given that nothing in the pictograph identifies the man as Cheyenne, and that the name element "Medicine/Holy, etc." is clearly indicated. One count states that a Hunkpapa medicine man was killed by the Rees. This very likely refers to the death of Medicine Hide as well. One count of unspecified northern Lakota affiliation refers to a man named Make Holy having undertaken a flesh offering to ensure success in hunting and battle; this could well refer to the person subsequently killed in battle with the Rees.
The term "medicine man" has frequently been misapplied. The Lakotas themselves distinguish between the pejuta wicaśa, medicine man or healer and the wakan wicaśa, holy man or priest. This distinction is lost in the translated winter-count texts cited here.
The incident in which the Cheyenne was killed apparently refers to a different event, in which a Cheyenne who married into a Lakota band was killed by members of his wife's band, who failed to recognize him when he returned to camp after a journey.
In 1834, Rocky Mountain Fur Company traders induced the Brules to move from the White River country to the Laramie Fork of the Platte River. From that time on, the Lakotas were engaged in fighting with the Skidi Pawnees of the Loup/Lower Platte country and their Arikara (Ree) allies, who had joined them after being driven from their territories west of the Missouri River in what is now South Dakota by Lakota bands moving westward toward the Black Hills (Hyde 1961).
1835 ________ [an unidentified animal is a name element] was killed in battle. Lame Deer was "killed" (wounded) in battle.
Takca huśte wán gluśloka. Lame Deer pulled out an arrow.
This pictograph shows the standard representation of a man killed in battle: red marks on chest and scalpline and missing hands. The man's Lakota identity is assumed from the lack of tribal identifiers. Above his head is an indistinct animal indicating a name element.
Battle-related year names from several other winter counts could refer to the event represented by this pictograph. A preponderance of these refer to a Lakota, Lame Deer, pulling out the arrow with which he was wounded and using it to shoot his pursuers. This is probably the correct interpretation of the Thin Elk pictograph, and the indistinct animal is apparently intended to represent a lame deer. The fact that a few of the year names referring to the Lame Deer incident do not mention his death probably indicates that he did not die of his wounds until a later time. In the Lakota winter counts, a warrior is considered "killed" at the time he sustains a fatal wound, even if he survives for a considerable time before succumbing to it. Because of this, a person "killed" one year may be referred to as alive in a later year name.
1836 Black ________ was killed in battle. Face Painted Half Black was killed by the enemy.
Optaye numpa atkuku ahiktepi. Two Herds’s father was killed in battle.
This pictograph shows a man in the standard killed-in-battle posture (no hands; wounds on chest and scalpline), with a thick black line forming a name-indicator above his head. Again, a Lakota identity is indicated by lack of evidence to the contrary.
The only year name fitting this pictograph occurs on several Oglala counts and refers to the killing of Face Painted Half Black. Although one year name suggests that he and his family were killed by Crows in their lodge, historical evidence indicates that the enemy in question were Skidi Pawnees.
In the winter of 1836-37, Paints-His-Cheeks-Red and several other members of a Brule band were killed by Skidis near the forks of the Platte River. The Skidis took several women and girls captive. Although the Skidis got smallpox from these captives, and many of them died, they refused to release the captives. One of the captives, a girl named Haxti, was used as a human sacrifice in the Morning Star ritual in April 1838. Upon hearing of the death of this girl, Paints-His-Cheeks-Red's Oglala nephew raised a war-party to attack Skidi villages on the Platte. This party killed some Pawnees and captured many horses, but they were forced to eat most of the captured horses on their way back through the Sand Hills (Hyde 1961:32). The latter event is referred to on some of the winter counts for 1839 (see below).
1837 They fought across a river. Lakotas and Pawnees fought on the ice on the North Platte River.
Cak‛ákiciinpi. The fought each other on the ice.
This pictograph consists of bows with arrows facing each other on either side of a double vertical line. In the Thin Elk count, the bow and arrow is used to indicate hostile attack (see 1823). In Lakota pictography, double vertical lines are used to represent either rivers or roads; however, roads are invariably depicted with numerous small marks in between the lines representing tracks. Thus, a river is indicated here.
Many of the Lakota winter counts refer to a battle on or across the frozen Platte River; others make various references to ice, the original meaning of the year name apparently having been lost.
According to Hyde (1961:32), this probably was a fight with the Arikara [Ree] allies of the Skidi Pawnees. The battle took place on the north Platte, near Ash Hollow, and proved to be a decisive victory for the Lakota. After this series of attacks, the Arikara returned to the Upper Missouri country from which they had fled south because of earlier conflicts with the Lakotas (Hyde 1961).
1838 Sits [name element] was killed in battle. (Indeterminate.)
Wannawega ota wicaktepi. Many Broken Arrow men were killed.
This pictograph shows a man with the typical battle wounds and missing hands, but in a sitting position. The man's posture could indicate either what happened (for example, killed sitting down) or his name. The usual pattern in the Thin Elk count would indicate the latter.
The other winter counts offered few clues as to the correct interpretation of this pictograph. Two Brule counts mention the death of "Spread Out" and a Yanktonai count gives the death of Stabbed in the Leg; however, neither of these conclusively fits the Thin Elk pictograph. The two versions of the Minnecoujou White Bull count state that "Body" was wounded and left for dead but later returned alive to his people. The name of Body Butte commemorates this event. This is perhaps the closest match to the pictograph, but is still not conclusively the correct interpretation.
1838 or 1839 Humped Back was killed in battle.
Cuwi nunga wan ahiktepi. Hump [lit. Hunchback] was killed in battle.
The pictograph for 1838 is followed by a figure too indistinct to identify on the version first examined. On the second copy of the pictographic winter count, this clearly shows a man with grostequely humped upper back and wounds on his chest and hairline. This seems to be an "extra" pictograph in the sequence of year names. Apparently, two events were recorded for either 1838 or 1839. Since the Lakota year ("winter") was a rather loosely defined period, extending from the end of one winter to the end of the next, it is not uncommon for such discrepancies to occur in the winter counts.
1839 They struck an enemy camp from both sides. Lakotas attacked a village of Pawnees, Arikaras, or Shoshones.
Maħpiya tỏ ti wikcema num tiyapa wicaktepi. They massacred 20 Arapahoes in their camp.
Two tipis are shown with arrows pointing toward them from two sides. The arrows undoubtedly are intended to indicate hostilities. Their occurrence on both sides of the picture can be taken to mean the camp was attacked from two sides. (A surround would ordinarily be depicted by arrows or tracks on all sides of the tipi camp.) That an enemy camp is intended is indicated by the form of the tipi, relatively broad at the base, with long lengths of pole showing above the tipi cover. This kind of tipi can be observed even today in Crow communities and is readily distinguished from the taller and narrower Lakota tipi, with little of the lodge poles exposed above the cover.
This pictograph and the next may refer to any of several intertribal attacks mentioned other Lakota winter counts. (See year names for 1839 and 1840.) Certainly, an attack on a village is indicated by both pictographs, but it cannot be determined which of those mentioned is the correct interpretation of the pictograph. Lakota raids on Pawnee villages on the north Platte are recorded for 1838 and 1839 (Hyde 1937, 1961; see also comments for 1836, above). The Pawnees normally lived in earthlodges, rather than tipis, and it was these earthlodge villages, rather than the tiny tipi camps that the Lakotas attacked on their raids on the Platte (Hyde 1961). Since a tipi is shown here, the pictograph most likely refers to the attack on the Arapaho or Shoshone village.
The identification of the enemy camp as Arapaho in the Lakota text is somewhat surprising, as the Arparaho are generally thought of as Lakota allies. It is possible that they were still enemies at this point in history, however.
1840 They struck the camp [or lodge]. Lakotas attacked an enemy village.
Śahiyela ók‛iju (toká olakota kapi). They joined with the Cheyennes (made a treaty with enemies).
A single tipi with arrows pointing toward it is shown in this pictograph. In this instance, the tipi is not recognizably that of an enemy; however, none of the recorded year names from other winter counts refers to an attack on a Lakota lodge or village. As with the last entry, any of several year names might apply to this pictograph.
1841 Feather Earring brought back [many?] spotted horses. Feather Earring stole many spotted horses from the Crows.
Wỉyaka owin śunkgleska ota awicagli. Feather Earrings brought back many spotted horses.
The pictograph shows a man with the Lakota hairstyle and a prominent eagle feather ear pendant leading a spotted horse by the bridle. The earring could only have been included as a personal identifier, probably a name element or nickname. A consideration of equestrian Plains Indian culture allows the interpretation of the event depicted. Horse raiding was an important way for young warriors to prove their prowess and improve their social standing. It was also a way to prove worthiness for marriage. Stealing even one, much less 19 or 30 horses from the Lakotas' traditional enemy would have been a feat of considerable note. Comparison with other winter counts confirms the interpretation suggested by the pictograph alone. The pictograph clearly refers to the Feather in the Ear incident and not the other horse-raiding events mentioned in other winter counts.
Around 1840, the Oglalas shifted their territory to the Laramie Plains. This meant renewed conflicts with the Crows and the start of hostilities between the Shoshones (Snakes) and Lakotas (Hyde 1937).
1842 One Feather performed a ceremony [or prayed] before going on the warpath.
Wiyaka wanjila wacekiya (calls for help). Lone Feather prayed.
One-Feather gave a feast and performed a ceremony in honor of relatives killed previous year raiding Shoshoni horses; vowed to avenge them and tried to raise a war party; killed on warpath.
The pictograph shows a man holding a calumet; his long hair is unbound. The long hair and lack of evidence to the contrary identify him as Lakota. The calumet (sacred pipe) is included in the pictograph to denote that the man was a war-party leader or "partisan." A man would attempt to raise a war-party by "sending a pipe" around to the various camps with which he had ties, as an invitation to the warriors to join him in a retaliatory expedition the following spring. Once the war-party departed, he would literally carry the pipe and oversee its use. War-party leaders were thus also referred to as "pipe-carriers." The unbound hair of the man in the pictograph also indicates readiness for battle and thus suggests the nature of his use of the pipe--that is, to summon other warriors to battle.
Two ceremonies might be performed after a battle--the Sun Dance and the Victory or Scalp Dance. Neither is likely to have been depicted this way. The Sun Dance was held just once a year to fulfill vows of self-sacrifice made to the Great Spirit during times of duress and would likely be depicted in the winter counts by a representation of its most distinctive feature, the large ring-shaped arbor within which the dancing took place. The Scalp Dance was performed by women to honor the deeds of the male relatives; it did not include use of the sacred pipe. It does not seem likely that a personal prayer would have been used as a year name, as there is nothing particularly noteworthy about it; thus, the sponsoring of a public ceremony is probably the correct interpretation.
Comparisons with other winter counts confirm the initialinterpretation of the pictograph and supply the additional explanation given above.
1843 They performed a buffalo-calling ceremony in the lodge. Dakotas performed a buffalo-calling ceremony.
Ptep‛á tiyógnakapi. A buffalo head was placed inside the lodge.
The pictograph shows a buffalo skull inside a Lakota tipi. When buffalo were scarce, as during an especially severe winter, a ceremony could be performed by a holy man to lure the buffalo into hunting range. In at least this version of the ceremony, a buffalo head was kept inside a special tipi.
Comparison with other counts confirms the interpretation based on the pictograph alone.
1844 Corral or palisade. Minneconjous had a palisaded winter camp.
Wicáħanħan na wazi cankaśtapi. Kit Foxes made a pine enclosure.
The pictograph is a representation of an open, circular structure apparently constructed of logs. Inside the structure are numerous small marks representing tracks. A corral or palisade seems to be intended by the pictograph.
Three different sets of year names from other winter counts may relate to this picture. The first, "Ree village or huts were set on fire," could apply if the picture represents a fortified Arikara village; however, no sign for fire is present in the pictograph. This probably refers to an attack on a Pawnee village in 1843, led by Little Thunder, whose five brothers had been killed by Pawnees. This war-party killed 67 Pawnees, burned 20 earthlodges, and captured all the horses from the village (Hyde 1961:45-46). The second, "the Mandans wintered in the Black Hills," also could apply if a fortified village were intended. In this instance, however, one would expect a sign for mountains (usually given by a picture of pine trees) to indicate the camp was in the Black Hills. Further, the presence of animal tracks indicates that the fortification was intended to enclose either wild bison or antelope herds or tame horses. The third, "the Minneconjous built a pine fort," is probably the correct interpretation for this pictograph. Other counts add that this was during the winter and that deep snow also necessitated building corrals for the horses.
It is not clear from the winter counts why the winter camp was palisaded. Either harassment by enemies or a severe winter could have prompted the measure. The reference to horse corrals supports the latter explanation. In any case, such an event was certainly unusual, if not unique, for the equestrian Lakota. It is also possible that bison or antelope were so plentiful that this band organized a surround to drive the animals into a constructed corral. This method of hunting was common in the period before horses were acquired, but was used much more rarely when horses became widely available.
1845 Plenty of meat. Plenty of meat at Ash Point.
Ake wicáħanħan na pseħte oju owáciwaśeca. (plenty of meat) Again, the Kit Foxes erected an enclosure of dry ash wood.
The drying rack full of meat is a common Lakota sign for plenty. Tracks above the drying rack indicate that the abundance of meat resulted from the group having encountered a large number of game animals in the area which they successfully hunted. Comparisons with other winter counts confirm this interpretation and supply the added detail that the hunt took place near the winter camp at Ash Point. The contradicts the Lakota text, which indicates that another log enclosure was made, this time of ash wood. The references to plenty of food in many of the winter counts raises the possibility that bison or antelope were taken in a trap, a method known to the Lakotas, but largely abandoned when horses became widely available.
1846 _____ Nose [name] was killed in battle; struck by a saber. (Indeterminate.)
Héktatanhan ahiwicaktepi. “Behind” was killed in battle.
This pictograph shows a man with red gashes on his scalpline and chest. The red marks and lack of hands indicate that he was killed in battle. At the back of his head is a saber, indicating either the mode of death or scalping, or that the saber was used to count coup upon--that is, to touch with the hand or a stick--the wounded man. The man appears to be Lakota, as no other tribal identifiers are present. Unlike similar pictographs on this winter count, the man is shown in profile, apparently so that a prominent nose could be depicted. This is probably intended as a name sign, the name or nickname containing the element "nose." Such a name would not be unusual--for example, Roman Nose was a name among both the Lakotas and the Cheyennes in historic times.
None of the other winter counts contain year names that could refer to the event depicted.
1847 Crow Eagle was stabbed with a knife. Crow Eagle was stabbed.
Kangi wanbli cap‛ápi. Crow Eagle was stabbed.
In this pictograph a crow with the tail of an eagle is used to represent the man Crow Eagle. The crow-eagle is shown with a knife sticking into its chest and with blood dripping from the wound. Several Oglala winter counts list the stabbing of Crow Eagle for this year. One states that he was stabbed by his sweetheart, but a Minneconjou-Brule count gives a different version, in which Crow Eagle is wounded in battle. The Thin Elk count does not indicate which version is correct, although it may be significant that the conventional signs for "wounded in battle" are not present in this pictograph.
1848 Hump Back [name] or a humpback was killed in battle. Hump Back was killed.
Cuwinunga wan ahiktepi. Hump [Hunchback] was killed in battle.
The subject of this pictograph is a man named Hump Back or Broken Back (or having a deformed back). He is shown with the conventional wounds at scalpline and chest and with no hands, indicating death in battle. Comparison with other Lakota counts confirms the interpretation of the pictograph, adding that Hump Back was a Minneconjou chief and that he was killed by the Crows in the Black Hills. Apparently, there were at least three chiefs or war-leaders who bore the name Hump. These were Oglala and Minneconjou relatives, two of which are known from historical records. The later Minneconjou Hump or High-Back-Bone was Crazy Horse's mentor (Hyde 1937).
1849 A woman-man warrior was killed or captured by horsemen or while raiding horses. A Crow winkte was killed.
Kangi wicaśa winkte wan ahiktepi. A Crow winkte was killed in battle.
This somewhat puzzling pictograph shows what appears to be a man in woman's dress, with no hands, and with horse tracks on either side of him. The long hair on the figure may indicate Crow identity, or may be a feature of the man's unusual attire. The single feather atop the head indicates warrior status in this winter count; in this instance it may instead clarify the male gender of the subject. The lack of hands indicates captivity or death in battle. Horse tracks indicate that either the man was mounted, was pursued on horseback, or was engaged in stealing horses.
Again, the cultural context of the depicted event is the key to understanding what happened. In Plains Indian culture, a man had the option of adopting the lifestyle and dress of women as an alternative to the stresses of warrior life. Such men did not suffer any lack of social standing, although they of course did not ever achieve the lists of coups or military accomplishments needed to attain chieftainship. They were both feared and repected as different from ordinary men and possessed of potentially dangerous powers (Hassrick 1964). The winter count apparently refers to the capture of such a man, probably of Crow affiliation, by the Lakota.
A number of other winter counts mention this evidently sensational event--sensational not because the man was dressed as a woman, but because the Lakota warriors thought they had captured a woman and were surprised to discover they had a man instead. The man is variously termed a hermaphrodite, half- woman, and transvestite. Of these, only the latter term comes close to correctly describing the situation; however these men dressed and acted as women all the time, not just occasionally. Better is the anthropological term berdache and better still the Lakota winkte, literally "wants-to-be-woman." The few year names mentioning horse-raiding and the one mentioning the capture of a Dakota woman by the Crow are less likely to relate to this pictograph.
1850 Buffalo-woman was born/found. A buffalo cow was killed and an old woman or a fetus resembling same was found in its belly.
Pte wan winuħcala ikpignak opi. A buffalo cow had an old woman inside its belly.
The pictograph shows a buffalo with a woman enclosed in a cavity in its abdomen. This interpretation would be puzzling were it not for the several other winter counts listing just such an occurrence. Most say that an old woman was found in the uterus of a buffalo cow. This event was afforded considerable significance and was widely heralded. In Lakota mythology, women and bison are deeply and consistently identified with one another. Thus, finding a buffalo cow with what appeared to be a woman inside must have had significance far beyond that of a mere curiosity, especially at a time when the bison herds were depleted.
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