Sacred Ceremonial Use
of the Buffalo
DESCRIPTORS
Curriculum Areas: Culture, Art
Recommended Levels: 4th, 5th,
and 6th grades
Time Frame: Four 40 minutes period for 4 days
Tribal
Affiliation: Cheyenne River
Sioux
Geographic Location:
Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota
Developed by: Edith Knight
Email addresses of developers: Edith Knight
Date lesson was developed: July 24, 2001
INSTRUCTION
Goal: Students will become knowledgeable about the
spiritual significance used in ceremonies.
Behavioral
Objectives: Students will:
- Interview
an elderly and record
- Ask
questions concerning Inipi ceremonies and Sundance ceremonies
- Discuss
what they learned
- Identify
importance of buffalo by listing parts used for ceremonies
- Describe
how to build the Inipi
- Go to
a sweat (Inipi ceremony)
- Define
how a buffalo robe is used
- Define
how a buffalo skull is used and the significance of the skull
American Indian
Standards:
Social Studies-4th, 5th, & 6th
grades standards
Art-4th, 5th, & 6th
grades standards
Prior Knowledge
Needed:
- Background
of Inipi
- Background
the Sun Dance
- Language
Materials and Resources Needed:
- Buffalo
hide
- Buffalo
skull
- Material
examples
- Elder
- Pencils
- Paper
- Books
- Tape
recorder
- Videotape
- Journal
- Camera
Lesson Summary
and Performance Tasks: Students will:
- invite
an elderly to come talk about the significance of the buffalo
- record
and videotape all the activities
- ask
the elderly to bring in materials used in the ceremonies
- take
pictures of group activities utilizing a Polaroid camera and posting on
the bulletin board
The teacher will organize groups of three students to
discuss what they learned and record it in their journals.
Assessment:
- Student
group participation/discussion
- Student
participation in planning/organizing
- Bulletin
board display of pictures taken
- Journal
writing
Culture
Content and Strategies:
- Native
language words
- Elderly
participants
- Buffalo
Technology
Integration:
Enrichment/Remediation:
Add one or more elderly to the presentation