Before the Great Spirit: The Many Faces of Sioux Spirituality

by Julian Rice

In Before the Great Spirit Julian Rice explores the spiritual values that informed Sioux attitudes surrounding warriors, tricksters, spirits, games, and conflict. Countering the widespread myths that both denigrate and appropriate Indian spirituality, Rice examines accounts written in the 1830s by Congregationalist ministers Samuel and Gideon Pond and Stephen R. Riggs; Ella Deloria, a Yankton Nakota linguist; Wilson D. Wallis, a Canadian anthropologist; native Lakota George Bushotter; and physician James R. Walker in order to delineate clearly Sioux thought from the biases and perspectives of these observers.

175 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

Reviews

[Edward Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In this book, the Great Spirit is seen as a foreign concept."

I posted a long thread of excerpts and comments here: https://twitter.com/EPButler/status/1...

I subsequently cleaned them up and gathered them here, adding a few extra comments:
https://endymions-bower.dreamwidth.or...