In a Sacred Manner I Return

Sung by Spencer Little Owl

Song No. 42 • Catalog No. 495
Densmore recording sung by Išnála Wičhá (Lone Man)

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Lone Man gave the following explanation of the song’s symbolism:

“The water comes from the clouds, the fire is the sun which warms the earth, the meat is from the animals, which are placed here for the use of the Indians, and over the pot are the clouds of steam like the clouds in the sky. These are to teach the people to meditate on how Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka by these means is taking care of them.”

Lyrics

Kȟolá waŋmáyaŋka yo
Kȟolá waŋmáyaŋka yo
Wakȟáŋyaŋ wakú weló
Oyáte waŋmáyaŋka yo
Wakȟáŋyaŋ wakú weló he
Oyáte wakȟáŋ yaŋké kiŋ
Kȟolá waŋmáyaŋka yo
Wakȟáŋyaŋ wakú weló
Oyáte waŋmáyaŋka yo
Wakȟáŋyaŋ wakú weló he yo

Friends, behold me
In a sacred manner I return
You tribe, behold me
In a sacred manner I return
The Holy Nation
Friends, behold me
In a sacred manner I return
You tribe, behold me
In a sacred manner I return

Red Weasel’s Prayer

Before singing, Red Weasel bowed his head in prayer, “Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka, hear me. This day I am to tell your word. But without sin I shall speak. The tribe shall Live. Behold me for I am humble. From above watch me. You are always the truth, listen to me, my friends and relatives, sitting here, and I shall be at peace. May our voices be heard at the future goal you have prepared for us.”

From Teton Sioux Music & Culture by Frances Densmore

The Densmore Repatriation Project

The Densmore/Lakota Song Repatriation Project is supported by a generous Community Innovation grant from the Bush Foundation. It is made possible also by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal American Rescue Plan Act, in partnership with Humanities North Dakota. Further support is provided by the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, and Dakota Legacy.

The project has been made possible by generous grants and support from:

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The Densmore/Lakota Songs Repatriation Project is intended for educational purposes only. All of the media materials of this project, whether video, audio, written text, photographs or illustrations, are intended for free distribution and educational use. However, the content of the traditional knowledge and cultural teachings and understandings conveyed in the project remain the intellectual and cultural property of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

Any use or re-use of these materials outside the educational purposes of the Densmore/Lakota Songs Repatriation Project requires prior consent of the tribe.

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