When Paul B. Steinmetz worked among the Oglala Lakota in South Dakota, he prayed with the Sacred Pipe, conversed with medicine men, and participated in their religious ceremonies. Steinmetz describes the history, belief systems, and contemporary ceremonies of three religious groups among the Oglala Lakota: traditional Lakota religion, the Native American Church, and the Body of Christ Independent Church, a small Pentecostal group. On the basis of these descriptions, Steinmetz discusses the interdynamics of Pipe, Bible, and Peyote, and offers a model for understanding Oglala religious identity. Steinmetz maintains that a sense of sacramentalism is essential in understanding Native American religions and that the mutual influence between Lakota religion and Christianity has been far more extensive than most scholars have suggested.

The saga of Crazy Horse's pipe bag, given to Dr. Henry Alexander Brown by the Lakotas, is recounted through amazing stories of its often uncanny power and the rich legacy behind it.

A powerful story of one man's redemption through the Lakota Sun Dance ceremony. • Written by the only white man to be confirmed as a Sundance Chief by traditional Lakota elders. • Includes forewords by prominent Lakota spiritual leaders Leonard Crow Dog, Charles Chipps, Mary Thunder, and Jamie Sams. The Sun Dance is the largest and most important ceremony in the Lakota spiritual tradition, the one that ensures the life of the people for another year. In 1988 Michael Hull was extended an invitation to join in a Sun Dance by Lakota elder Leonard Crow Dog-- a controversial action because Hull is white. This was the beginning of a spiritual journey that increasingly interwove the life of the author with the people, process, and elements of Lakota spirituality. On this journey on the Red Road, Michael Hull confronted firsthand the transformational power of Lakota spiritual practice and the deep ambivalence many Indians had about opening their ceremonies to a white man. Sun Dancing presents a profound look at the elements of traditional Lakota ceremonial practice and the ways in which ceremony is regarded as life-giving by the Lakota. Through his commitment to following the Red Road, Michael Hull gradually won acceptance in a community that has rejected other attempts by white America to absorb its spiritual practices, leading to the extraordinary step of his confirmation as a Sun Dance Chief by Leonard Crow Dog and other Lakota spiritual leaders.

"A series of illustrated books to help preserve the culture and heritage of the four divisions that make up the Blackfoot Confederacy in the United States and Canada"--Cover.