Oglala Lakota Bands

Oglala Lakota Bands

Each of the seven Lakota tribes were subdivided into bands (tiyospaye),
which consisted of a number of smaller family camps (tiwahe).
During parts of the year, the small camps were scattered across the
region; at other times, these camps gathered together as a tiyospaye
to cooperate on activities such as a large buffalo hunt. Each summer,
usually in early June, bands from many groups gathered together
for the annual sacred Sun Dance.

Writing in 1875, the Indian agent at the Red Cloud Agency,
Dr. John J. Saville, noted that the Oglala tribe was divided into three
main bands: the Kiyuksa, the Oyuhpe and the head band or True Oglala.
"Each of these bands are subdivided into smaller parties,
variously named, usually designated by the name of their chief or leader."

In the years immediately following the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868,
these bands became increasingly polarized as leaders struggled
with decisions relating to the continued American encroachment on their
territory. Some bands chose to come in to the Indian agencies
(forerunner to the reservations) where they received beef and other
rations from the U.S. government. Other bands decided to remain out,
attempting to continue the traditional lifeways for as long as possible.
Many bands moved between these two extremes, coming in to the
agencies during the winter and joining their relatives in the north each
spring. These challenges further split the various Oglala bands.

Just prior to confinement on the reservations, the Oglala bands included:

Oyuhpe Tiyospaye

    * True Oyuhpe (Big Road’s band)
    * Wakan
    * Makaicu (Red Dog’s band)

True Oglala Tiyospaye

    * Cankahuhan (He Dog’s band). Other members include: Short Bull, Grant; Amos Bad Heart Bull.

    * Hokayuta (Black Twin’s band)
    * Hunkpatila (Little Hawk and Crazy Horse’s band)
    * Itesica (Red Cloud’s band)
    * Payabya (Young Man Afraid of His Horses’s band)
    * Wagluhe (Blue Horse, American Horse and Three Bear’s bands)

Kiyaksa Tiyspaye

    * Kuinyan (Little Wound’s band)
    * Tapisleca (Yellow Bear’s band)

~U-ne-ga-wa-ya~