Wocekiye

The creation stories of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ describe how the various spirits were formed from Wakȟáŋ Tháŋka.[3] Black Elk describes the relationships with Wakȟáŋ Tháŋka as:

"We should understand well that all things are the works of the Great Spirit. We should know that He is within all things: the trees, the grasses, the rivers, the mountains, and all the four-legged animals, and the winged peoples; and even more important, we should understand that He is also above all these things and peoples. When we do understand all this deeply in our hearts, then we will fear, and love, and know the Great Spirit, and then we will be and act and live as He intends".[4]

Up to the late 19th century, much of the beliefs of Lakota spiritual practice were considered taboo to speak of to outsiders. The Wicasa Wakan, made an exception with a Caucasian man named James Walker. Walker was the lone white physician on the Pine Ridge Reservation from 1896 to 1914, and he enlisted the assistance of the local Lakota Medicine People for help. His Lakota informants were many, and they shared what they knew of old Lakota mythology with Walker. What he was told was published in a 1917 article and three books, Lakota Myth, Lakota Society, and Lakota Belief & Ritual, but much of what he was taught was often confused, contradictory and muddled. Other holy men continued to pass down important knowledge to their own children. The creation story of the Lakota as told to Walker:

In the beginning, there was only one spirit, Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka who was all of existence, fixed in place and lonely. One day, he resolved to create other beings of power for him to act upon and talk to and bled away his power, causing him to split into three deities—The Rock, the Earth & the Sky. As these beings began coming to their own sentience, they took on their own personalities and began communing with one another, learning from these interactions as children would. They soon saw flaws to their existence and began creating more and more beings and things to fill the spaces between them, creating the laws of nature as they went along, however, their work expended beyond their ability to control. In this, they not only created other gods, but mortal beings and accidentally brought evil into the world. Since the goddess of passion, Unk, was just as powerful as any of them, they couldn't recall her from existing and had to create new things to give to mortals in order to combat her—such as spiritual power and medicine. In this, the first mortals, the Pte Oyate (Buffalo People) came into being in a great cave in the womb of the earth.

Iktomi, the Trickster, was disgraced by Gnaski, son of Unk, & chose to get revenge on Tate for his harsh treatment in the aftermath. Wazi & Wakanka, the spiritual leaders of the Pte Oyate & parents of Tate's wife Ite, are convinced by Iktomi to cause their daughter to fall in love with the sun god Wi and take the place of the moon. Somehow, he does this before Ite exists, even though she already existed as Tate's wife before. Ite is cursed to become Anung-Ite, & she, Wazi & Wakanka are banished to the surface of the earth to wander forever. Iktomi is also cursed and disgraced from godhood & Tate comes to live on the surface of the earth, with his five sons—Yata, Yunpa, Okaga, Eya & Yumni.

Wohpe is sent to earth to help Tate & his sons forge the world as people know it. The four adult sons would go out into the world to mark out the four directions and help Skanskan create time & space. Tate is so surprised, and pleased, to meet his replacement that he asks her to live with him as his adoptive daughter & take care of his youngest son, Yumni. However, the brothers all fall for her and wish her to be their wife. Not possessed of an ability to love, she shuns all of them, going to far as to use magic to curse them should they ever break with her wishes. Two of the brothers concede. However, on their journey, they are tricked by Wazi, Wakanka & Iktomi at various points, which drives them into conflict.

Wohpe soon begins to feel that she cannot avoid becoming the wife of one of the brothers and asks Yumni which she should choose, and he drives her into the arms of his favorite big brother, Okaga. Upon the return of the four brothers, Tate holds a great feast for the gods to celebrate the works of his sons. During this feast, Tate gives magical gifts to all the attendees, however, Iktomi, still sore, uses his powers to ruin most of them. Then, Okaga and Wohpe marry.

Unfortunately, this infuriates Yata and the two fall to violent arguments that push all five brothers apart, with Yumni & Tate caught in the middle. Yata tries multiple times to rape Wohpe, and she uses her magic to escape by shrinking and hiding under her dress, but goes to far with it, she cannot escape her own spell. It is afterward that the four directions move to the corners of the earth, never to speak again & Yumni becomes the whirlwind god, constantly forced to move between them in order to keep in touch with his brothers.

Further stories put together certain ideological points and the origins of other aspects of Lakota life & the natural world after this. Eventually, the humans meet the Pte Oyate once again on the surface of the earth and form a close interdependence with them that lasts forever.

All of this is mainly supposed to point out one thing in particular—the importance of exercising wisdom in decision making. Wisdom is defined as the ability to predict the consequences of one's actions and those of others, and to understand what is coming before it happens. For, not even the gods or early Siouan ancestors were born with it, but it could have prevented all of this tragedy.[5]

The most important religious symbol in Wocekiye is known as the Čhaŋgléska Wakȟaŋ (sacred hoop). It is represented as a circle divided into four by a cross or X and decorated with the colors red, yellow, black & white. Its use is widespread due to the wide variety in its symbolism.

• Represents the four stages of life
• Represents the four main edicts of the Siouan people; wisdom, fortitude, gratitude & respect
• Represents the 16 arch deities (when thought of as a sphere) with two gods at north, south, east, west, above & below respectively & the cross representing the four winds.
• Represents that all life comes from Wakantanka and can only go back to him in the end.
• Represents the four directions[10][11]

There are three distinct groups of holy men.

• Wicasa Wakan - The Shamans. Their main concern is conducting regular public & private religious ceremonies, recording tribal history & keeping the time. They do this by counting the 13 full moons of the year and referencing that with weather patterns & bird song. Many native people would make little rhymes out of the songs of different birds from different times of the year telling what kinds of things happened in the natural world during that time, so they wouldn't forget. The Wicasa Wakan would be marked with a hat made from the scalp of a buffalo, horns and all, commonly referred to as a Brown Bonnet.
• Pejuta Wicasa - The Medicine Men. These people were the healers & physicians of the native world and actually had access to pretty decent medicine. They were also believed to practice witchcraft & learned a wide variety of magic tricks in order to prove as such. Medicine & Magic were often seen as indistinguishable from one another to native peoples. Pejuta comes first in this odd case because, upon becoming a medicine man, the person is considered medicine themselves over being a human being. The Pejuta Wicasa were marked by wearing a coyote or wolf hide over their head & shoulders, commonly referred to as a Grey Bonnet.
• Holy Dancers - Specific people were charged with performing certain sacred dances for different reasons throughout the year. They costumes were overly elaborate & considered holy in their own right. No one but the intended dancer was allowed to so much as touch them.[1][5][9]

• When one's pets die, their souls stay in this world and take care of one. When one dies, all ascend to the next world together.[1]
• Those who practice medicine must never fall prey to the belief that the power originates from them, or they will lose the power to heal forever.[12]
• All men are born with an inherent power, called Sicun, which acts as their breath and lifeforce. It is also their conscience, connection to the Creator and their main protection to being victimized by or succumbing to evil.
• "Thunder Hears Me" is a common expression, usually used in place of "I swear to god" when one is making a threat or promise. Essentially, may the thunderbird strike me down is I am lying. The less intense version is "The Earth Hears Me."[1]
• Medicine Pouches were often worn by different people for different purposes & often consisted of a beadworked, ornamental pouch with some kind of medicinal herb sown inside. Mothers would make pouches containing the umbilical cords of their children; Salamanders for boys & Turtles for girls.[9]