"When I was a young man I went to a medicine-man for advice concerning my future. The medicine-man said 'I have not much to tell you except to help you to understand this earth on which you live. If a man is to succeed on the hunt or the warpath, he must not be governed by his inclination, but by an understanding of the ways of animals and of his natural surroundings, gained through close observation. The earth is large, and on it lives many animals. This earth is under the protection of something which at times becomes visible to the eye. One would think this would be at the center of the earth, but its representations appear everywhere, in large and small forms--they are the sacred stones. The presence of a sacred stone will protect you from misfortune.' He then gave me a sacred stone which he himself had worn. I kept it with me wherever I went and was helped by it. He also told me where I might find one for myself. Wakan'tanka tells the sacred stones many things which may happen to people. The medicine-man told me to observe my natural surroundings, and after my talk with him I observed them closely. I watched the changes of the weather, the habits of animals, and all things by which I might be guided in the future, and I stored this knowledge in my mind. The medicine-man also told me that the sacred stone may appear in the form of a person who talks and sings many wonderfdul songs. Among these was the...song, in which the sacred stone says that all living creatures look to him for protection." (Densmore 1992:214).

From Frances Densmore's book Teton Sioux Music and Culture 1992 (Reprint of the 1918 Bull. 61 of the Bureau of American Ethnology)Expired Copyright.

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