Ellis notes in the foreword) "also offered more general comments about the importance of native cultures and values and the status of Indian people in American society." With the assistance of Melvin R.
In addition to describing the customs, manners, and traditions of the Teton Sioux, Standing Bear (as Richard N. For him, to sit or lie upon the ground is to be able to think more deeply and to feel more keenly he can see more clearly into the mysteries of life and come closer in kinship to other lives about him."A serious and notable contribution to racial understanding."- Saturday Review of Literature Standing Bear's dismay at the condition of his people, when after sixteen years' absence he returned to the Pine Ridge Sioux Reservation, may well have served as a catalyst for the writing of this book, first published in 1933. This is why the old Indian still sits upon the earth instead of propping himself up and away from its live giving forces. The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing, and healing. The birds that flew in the air came to rest upon the earth, and it was the final abiding place of all things that lived and grew. Their tipis were built upon the earth and their alters were made of earth. It was good for the skin to touch the earth, and the old people liked to remove their moccasins and walk with bare feet on the sacred earth. The old people came literally to love the soil and they sat or reclined on the ground with a feeling of being close to a mothering power. He loved the earth and all things of the earth, and the attachment grew with age. The Lakota was a true naturalist - a lover of Nature. Birds, insects, and animals filled the world with knowledge that defied the comprehension of man. Winds, rain, snow, sunshine, day, night, and change of seasons were endlessly fascinating. For the Lakota (one of the three branches of the Sioux Nation), mountains, lakes, rivers, springs, valleys, and the woods were all in finished beauty. “The character of the Indian's emotion left little room in his heart for antagonism toward his fellow creatures.
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