Lakota People: Wounded on Their Own Homeland

This essay highlights indigenous cultures’ history, way of life, and practices that are unknown to the majority of American people, creating many cultural boundaries. Gathering information from various sources, some including Dr. Gwen Westerman, a native Lakota woman and an excerpt written by Raymond J. DeMallie, we found the continuous idea of powerful whites attempting to control and change the Lakota\u27s way of living, beginning with the spiritual practice of the Ghost Dance. To the Lakota people, it was a way of dealing with stress caused by the disappearance of the buffalo while western settlers colonized their homeland. To the western settlers, this dance symbolized warlike movements and rebellious acts. This dance created a cultural conflict between the native people and the whites which would lead to lasting impacts and wounded hearts of those who had everything taken from them. From this, we were able to conclude that problems from the past still exist today