Really good blog post:
Lakota Prayer Does Not Discriminate
by Vi Waln
"Our summer ceremonies are now in full swing. This is the time of the year when Lakota people are sacrificing themselves to pray for humanity, as well as Mother Earth and all the living beings of the universe. You will likely find a ceremony to attend most every weekend in the homelands of the Oglala and Sicangu. This is a good thing.
Our ancestors used to gather for one Wiwang Waci. The Oceti Sakowin made their pilgrimage to this large ceremony every summer. Back then, it was said that one person from each Tiospaye was designated to sacrifice under the Tree of Life to pray for all.
Today, there are many sacred circles held across this Turtle Island. Some are closed, while others are open. The closed ceremonies are those where only tribal citizens are allowed to participate. Some of those closed ceremonies have tight security and you must be able to prove tribal affiliation to even be under the arbor. Other closed ceremonies allow non-Indians to support under the arbor, but they can’t dance in the circle.
The open ceremonies generally allow people of all races to take part in the circle. There continues to be controversy surrounding many open circles. Yet, how the ceremony is conducted is completely up to the spiritual intercessor. Whether they are open or closed, each circle is different.
Consequently, there are non-Indians who come to the Lakota homelands to learn and participate in the open circles. This is a good thing if those people have integrity. Everyone should be allowed to pray. However, many of these people learn the ways and then believe they can conduct a ceremony far away from the open circle they first participated in. This isn’t a good thing.
Many of these off-reservation, out-of-state ceremonies were established by disgruntled non-Indians. For example, many non-Indians have had conflict with spiritual intercessors and were asked to leave a Lakota ceremony. These guys are arrogant enough to actually believe they know enough to conduct their own ceremony. Some of them even recruit Lakota men, or men from other tribes, to attend in order to help their circle appear authentic."
Read the whole blog post:
https://sicangulakota.net/2016/06/20/lakota-prayer-does-not-discriminate/
