The relationship between the tree-dweller dreamers and the little people: Shamans, power and spirit helpers in the Canadian Dakota religious tradition.

Abstract

One of the most profound expressions of Dakota religiousness is contained in the affirmation/prayer "Mitakuye Oyasin" ("All my relatives", "I am related to all"), a heart-felt, mystical awareness of the interrelatedness of all living things and a fundamental religious orientation. The significance of this and other expressions of relationship is indicated throughout the written literature. In fact, an examination of the dynamic of relationship is the best way to understand Dakota religiousness. The following dissertation will substantiate this perspective by examining the dynamic of relationship in the Canadian Dakota religious tradition. Although the relational orientation itself is hidden, its expression is observable. The following document is an exploration of how "correct relationship," as a religious orientation or way of being truly and fully human, is expressed in the Dakota religious tradition, in daily interactions with other people, with Wakan Tanka and the Wakan beings, with the animals and with the cosmos. The expression of relationship in myths, rituals, and other religio-cultural manifestations will be investigated. In particular, those expressions related to a discussion of the shamans and their spirit helpers will be focused on. As an exemplary model, the relationship between the tree dweller dreamers (a type of shaman) and the little people (a type of spirit helper) will be examined.