Lakota Sioux Creation Mythology::

How the Sioux Nation was Born

Many years ago, when the world was very young, a great flood descended on the Plains. Many tribes tried to reach sanctuary upon the hills of western Minnesota and the eastern Dakotas, but the flood rose until it had engulfed everyone. The flesh and blood of all the people congealed and became solid, and eventually became red pipestone.

As the people were drowning and their blood was staining and transforming the earth, a big, bald eagle swept down from the sky and caught hold of a young woman. The eagle carried her to the top of a tall tree that was rooted on the top of a high cliff, above the water level. The waters eventually receded and the young woman and the eagle conceived twins. From this family a new tribe - strong and brave - was born. The pipestone was the flesh of their ancestors and was to be smoked as a symbol of peace. The eagle's feather was to be worn on the heads of Sioux warriors (Lame Deer & Erdoes 1972: 261;¹ Workers of the South Dakota Writers' Project 1941: 45-46²).

Notes::

• 1 - John (Fire) Lame Deer & Richard Erdoes. 1972. Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• 2 - Workers of the South Dakota Writers' Project. 1941. Legends of the Mighty Sioux. Interior, SD: Badlands Natural History Association.