maha tongue it was called Wakon'da. Through Wakon'da all things in nature
were related and more or less interdependent, the sky, the earth, the
animals and men. Nature was, in a sense, the manifestation of Wakon'da,
consequently it was regarded as something more than the means by which
physical life was sustained and became the religious and ethical instructor
of man.

All food came from the earth; the wild fruits, the roots, the cultivated
maize, these and the animals all derived their living power from Wakon'da
and yielded their life to man that he might live and be strong. Therefore,
the hunt was conducted with ceremonies in which the bounty of Wakon'da was
formally recognized, and when food was eaten thanks were offered to this
unseen power. The Indian lived in the open and watched with reverent
attention the changing aspects of his environment. To him nothing was
without significance, for all things were imbued with powers from Wakon'da
and could convey lessons or admonitions to be heeded by the individual and
by the people in their social life.

For example: the Indian noted the unfailing recurrence of day and night and
that upon the regularity with which one followed the other all creatures
relied, while man depended upon this constancy to carry out any given
purpose. From thoughts upon this natural phenomenon and its effects on the
actions of men, ideas arose that led the Indian to the conception of truth,
that something, as between man and man, that can be depended on both in
word and in deed. "Thus," the old men said, "Wakon'da taught us the
necessity of truthfulness, if we would live peacefully together." Other
natural aspects, as the storm, with its terrifying thunder and destructive
lightning, and the passing of the clouds revealing the blue sky, when the
birds renewed their song, seemed to picture to the Indian the devastation
of war and the happiness of peace. Again, the tree, compacted of many
parts, suggested how the tribe could be made to stand and become strong.

So it came to pass that as the ancient people looked about and thought on
what they saw, they gradually formulated ceremonies and adopted symbols in
order to express what they came to believe. All their rites, their
vocations, their pleasures were born, practiced and enjoyed under the
arching skies, and were permeated, as by a vital spirit, with an
unquestioning consciousness of oneness with nature.

We shall not be false to any great truth