Sitting Bull

When I was a boy, I saw everything in this world as new and wondrous. Father Sun burned his bright circle in the blue expanse above. Sister Moon lit the night. Brother Hawk and Sister Meadowlark sang their sky song. The Cloud People rose into the heavens like white mountains cut deeply with canyons and gorges. Vast prairies of sweet smelling grasses stretched beyond human sight. And Brother Buffalo grazed upon the earth in great numbers, like the many leaves on a tree that cannot be counted.
My band of people called ourselves the Hunkpapa. We were one of seven Lakota tribes that lived on the Great Plains of North America. Outsiders called all of us the Sioux. We believed that there is a living spirit in all creatures and things. We called this sacred spirit Wakan Tanka, or the Great Mystery. Into this land of mystery I was born.