I Have Conquered Them

Sung by Cody Wasinzi

Song No. 28
Densmore recording sung by Išnála Wičhá (Lone Man)

“Since our people were warriors,” says Courtney Yellowfat, “this is one song that was there to honor the warrior spirit through the men that were dancing and the words.”

“I Have Conquered Them” is categorized as a Sun Dance song in Teton Sioux Music, but it is also considered a song of war. Before the time of searching for the Sun Dance tree, drummers and singers often sang the songs of war, for the tree was regarded as an enemy and something to be conquered.

Lyrics

Ečhá ozúye waŋ he
ú kte séče ló
Waŋná hí yeló
Wakásota he

A war party
Which was supposed to come
Now is here
I have obliterated
Every trace of them

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.

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