Chanka Luta

The Red Road or “Chanku Luta,” as it is known by the Lakota, has been travelled by our ancestors long before us. Today, some may call it the road less travelled. According to Lakota belief, the Red Road begins even prior to conception and is a path which is available to those who are spiritually inclined. The Red Road which runs north and south, is a unique spiritual path, a way of life and enlightenment which has no end. During times of difficulty, the Lakota people could always rely upon the Red Road for strength and renewal, just as they could rely upon the Inipi, also known as the sweat lodge ceremony.

• Canupa: The Sacred Pipe Ceremony
• Inipi: The Sweat Lodge
• Hanblecha: The Vision Quest
• Wiwangwacipi: The Sun Dance
• Hunkapi: The Making of Relatives;
• The Keeping of The Soul
• Ishna Ta Awi Cha Lowan: Preparing a Girl for Womanhood and a Man for Manhood.

The 7 Life Directions to align with on the Red Road are:

1. Wochekiya – Prayer 2. Wicakha - Honesty 3. Wahwala - Humility 4. Waunsila - Compassion 5. Waohola – Respect 6. Wawokiye – Generosity 7. Woksape – Wisdom.

Fees should never be charged for these sacred ceremony. There is no “tithe” at the sweat lodge or formalities of dress. It is not that easy to follow this Red Road for the cold north wind blows against you at times but will leave you stronger when it changes to the south. The evidence is that the person has been miraculously helped, out of gratitude to Tunkasilas. To donate to the person supporting this is custom but voluntarily. There should never be an attitude of entitlement as the spiritual person sacrifices not only his time and energy but also his very life to help others and his work is never done.

Otuhan – a Giveaway

One of the very common practices of virtually every American Indian nation is some form of what is called otuhan in Lakota and in English “a Giveaway.” Even today, if you go to a gathering such as a powwow, a traditional wedding, a naming ceremony, a burial, a Giveaway may be part of the event.

It consists of first spreading out a large blanket on the ground. Whoever is holding the event, usually the host family or organizer of the event, places various items, often ones that are handmade or attentively picket. Everyone is invited to come and take one thing from the blanket. With in ceremonies, elders come up first, then veterans, women, little children, older children, and finally men.

As James David Auden (Distant Eagle) points out in his book Circle of Life, it is not the central participants in the event who are given these gifts, but everyone attending. And the proper way to choose what you accept as a gift is to quietly let the spirit guide you. It is not the gift, but the gestures of giving and receiving that count.

Creation Story

There are no dates attached to either creation story as they were passed down generation-to-generation orally for many years, possibly thousands of years, through the storytellers who were entrusted to remember and relate the sacred tales that informed the culture of the Lakota. The first record of the stories comes from the 19th century when American explorers like George Catlin (l. 1796-1872) recorded them. The stories also have no titles but are usually referenced as "Sioux Creation Myth" or "Sioux Creation Story" without specifying which of the many versions is being related. There is also no way of knowing whether the story involving Wakan Tanka and the earliest gods (beginning with rock) is the story of the creation of the first world or of the second that is then destroyed by a great flood.

In the story where Wakan Tanka creates the world directly, nothing exists but darkness (described as "the Black of Darkness"), an aspect of Wakan Tanka known as Han. Wakan Tanka sent his spirit to inhabit a place within Han, and this became Inyan (Rock) and so rock existed within endless darkness. Wakan Tanka wanted to expand his creation and so made Maka (Earth) from his blood and then Skan (sky). There were now four primordial gods – Han, Inyan, Maka, and Skan – all aspects of Wakan Tanka but able to operate independently for their own purposes.
Skan drew on Han's deep darkness to create the darkness people know as 'night' and then drew on himself, Maka, and Inyan to create Wi (the sun), who gave light and warmth to the other gods. These gods then wanted something to share the light and warmth with and were lonely by themselves and so created the four winds of the world, the whirlwind, humans, and buffalo. The bear, who could walk on two legs, was created at the same time as the two-legged humans and was considered their brother. The four-legged creatures were created at the same time as the buffalo and were also spiritual brethren.
The creative act also gave birth to the spiritual power of all things individually and collectively (Sicun), the breath of life (Niya) as well as ghosts and one's "astral self" (Nagi) and the divine essence (Nagila, "little ghost") that animates all things and allows one to recognize that same divine energy in other people, animals, and all of creation. Once these energies were active, the gods rested, and the created world was begun.