Expansion of The Transcontinental Railroad and Western Culture essays

Expansion of The Transcontinental Railroad and Western Culture essays The story of the Lakota and the Great Plains is one of resilience and strength. Their story includes great moments of coming to together as a tribe and resilience against the westerners when the railroads were commissioned. The plains were home to the Lakota long before the settlers arrived, being said, there was no hesitation when came to protecting their home lands. Lakota Sioux, are the iconic warrior horsemen of the Northern Plains. Nevertheless, they did not always own such a powerful title. The Story of the Oyate meaning, The People, began deep inside the Wind Caves located in the Black Hills, South Dakota. According to The Oyate, they emerged from these Wind Caves, being fooled by a trickster who turned its self into a buffalo. One of the most significant spiritual figures in the Lakota culture along with the horse are the buffalo. The buffalo brings life to the people of the Great Plains, supplying trade, food, tools and hide for their homes. Thriving on the dense herds of buffalo the Lakota were able to have prosperous communities with a functioning government and religion. Despite the negative assumptions and claims by Europeans, the Oyate were well organized and grew into a well diverse, functioning community. Due to the mobility of their main source of life, it allowed the Lakota to move camp often. As a result of the vast numbers of buffalo, the Lakota became buffalo-hunting, nomadic horsemen. With the horse for transportation and vast herds of buffalo, the Lakotas prospered and their numbers grew until, by the nineteenth century, they outnumbered all other bands of the Great Sioux Nation combined. The Great Sioux Nation consisted of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota, along with seven sub-tribal units. Another spiritual belief assisting in the tight nit community the Lakota displayed is the circle. The circle like the buffalo and horse is held in high esteem. According to the Oyate everything in life is a circle. Ev...