A General Outline of Lakota Sioux Philosophy::

Conclusion

The phrase mitaku'oyasin, all my relations, is a frequent refrain in Lakota ceremony. It expresses the belief that all things, visible and invisible, are related as spiritual kin and bound together by the binding force that is Wakantanka. Within the sacred hoop of life everything is a part of a dynamic, universal and living whole. Because of this, categories of things are not completely bounded as Lakota philosophy allows for a blurring of rigidly maintained distinctions. Though each living form has its own unique identity - each has its own niya, nagi, sicun, nagila and tun - there is a fluidity or transparency between them all. In such a way, the singularity of life is actually multiple and the multiplicity of life is in essence singular, and the force that unites all aspects of life together is spirit.

© 2002 by Bornali Halder

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