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pre-contact period that did not depend on alphabetic writing. Without the practice of written records, oral tradition was an extremely important aspect of
Indigenous lifeways and was the main way that knowledge was transmitted from generation to generation. Oftentimes, pictorial or other mnemonic devices were used as guide posts for these practices. This is significantly present in the Sioux cultural tradition of oral history preservation through the form of winter counts. Located in the Northern Great Plains,
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Epidemic diseases were commonly depicted in winter counts, providing some historical record of the effects of illnesses among tribes. By studying written accounts from fur traders, missionaries, and military personnel from a winter count's time and place of origin, scholars gain a broader understanding of the effects of epidemics.
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and the subsequent extreme marginalization and oppression of
Indigenous peoples in North America. This demonstrates a type of communal history that indicates the relationship between bands as well as settlers, and their political and social dynamics. By the end of the 1870s to the early 1880s, copies
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Today, winter counts serve as valuable historical sources when recalling the history of the Great Plains peoples as well as their experiences with colonialism. During the nineteenth century, settler colonialism led to the marginalization of many groups of Sioux people. Because many
Indigenous groups
92:, âwaniyetuâ translating to âwinterâ while âwowapiâ refers to âanything that is marked and can be read or counted.â Most winter counts have a single pictograph symbolizing each year, based on the most memorable event of that year. For Lakota people, years ran from first snowfall to first snowfall.
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Until the late 19th century, winter counts were recorded on buffalo hides. When buffalo became scarce, keepers resorted to using muslin, linen, or paper. The annual pictographs began on either the left or right side of the drawing surface and could be run in lines, spirals, or serpentine patterns.
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Traditionally each band would choose a single keeper of the winter count. Until the twentieth century, these keepers were always men. They would consult with tribal elders to reach a consensus for choosing a name for the year. The keeper chose his successor in recording the count, who was often a
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While winter counts reveal the year number when studied and compared to other sources, the similarities between some winter counts also demonstrate inter-band relations. As some bands in the Great Plains region had close ties through alliances, their winter counts could often be very similar.
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Similar to other traditions among the
Indigenous nations of North America, winter counts were used as mnemonic records in order to help structure fuller accounts of history that would be passed on orally. The Indigenous peoples of North America had many ways of recording history during the
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AnthroNotes: National Museum of
Natural History Bulletin for Teachers AnthroNotes: Museum of Natural History Publication for Educators Anthro Notes: A Newsletter for Teachers 26, no. 2 (2014)
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family member. In many cases, winter counts were buried with their keepers when they died, so that many winter counts were recreated copies done by an apprentice or collector.
754:
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of winter counts (including the
American Horse, Cloud Shield, and Battiste Good) were being commissioned by European collectors as Indigenous ethnographic objects.
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were not literate in a
European sense, their story was largely omitted from an American history that was predominantly dependent on written source material.
124:, The Flame, The Swan, and Major Bush winter counts are so similar for this reason; because these bands lived close by and often interacted with each other.
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meteor storm of
November 1833. He used that event to correlate the Lakota winter counts with western calendars and analyze the history of the people.
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hides, which display a sequence of years by depicting their most remarkable events. The term winter count itself comes from the Lakota name
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100:. The glyphs representing significant events would be used as a reference that could be consulted regarding the order of the years.
45:) are pictorial calendars or histories in which tribal records and events were recorded by Native Americans in North America. The
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Lakota winter counts particularly reveal deeply rooted historical ties with
European traders during a period that predates the
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used winter counts extensively. There are approximately one hundred winter counts in existence, many of which are duplicates.
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people physically recorded yearly events on various materials before and continuing past the point of contact with settlers.
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160:, a Smithsonian scholar, recognized that one of those events, "The Year the Stars Fell," correlated with the
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Greene, Candace S. (2014). ""Winter Counts and Coup Counts: Plains
Pictorial Art as Native History"".
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winter counts usually feature two marks per year â one for winter and one marking the summer
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Greene, Candace S. "Winter Counts and Coup Counts: Plains Pictorial Art as Native History."
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Good summary video on Lakota Winter Counts by the Smithsonian Education youtube channel
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699:(after clicking winter count site link, click on "View HTML Version" in lower right)
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winter count by Anko, covers summers and winters for 37 months, 1889-92, ca. 1895.
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Personal description of Winter Counts by Lakota Hehakapa Mahto, vocal recording
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Memory and Vision: Arts, Cultures, and Lives of Plains Indian People.
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480:"The Thin Elk/Steamboat Winter Count: A Study in Lakota Pictography"
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Winter counts are pictographic calendars, traditionally painted on
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The Year the Stars Fell: Lakota Winter Counts at the Smithsonian.
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Bull Plume, 1794-1924, survives only as copied drawings from 1912
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Seasonal, 1864-1892; and Anko Monthly, August 1889-August 1892
482:, Buechel Memorial Lakota Museum, 2003 (retrieved 3 May 2010)
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National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
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Winter Count, LakÈĂłta at the Minneapolis Institute of Art
689:, National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC
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Cody, WY: Buffalo Bill Historical Center, 2007:42-45.
705:- Reliable information and interesting lesson plans.
77:A copy of the winter count kept by Yanktonai Sioux
500:. Originally featured in Points West (Winter 2011)
494:"Treasures from our West: Lone Dog's winter count"
633:Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2007.
629:Greene, Candace S. and Russell Thornton, eds.
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25:National Archives and Records Administration
406:"Pictures of Indians in the United States."
271:Thin Elk / Wata Peta (Steamboat), 1821-1877
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312:Bad Head, 1810-1883, oral count recorded
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693:Lakota Winter Counts: An Online Exhibit
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755:Indigenous culture of the Great Plains
669:Calendar history of the Kiowa Indians.
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194:Tradition 4: Iron Crow, Wounded Bear
181:Tradition 1: No Ears, John Colhoff,
492:McClure, Nancy (5 December 2015).
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703:Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Count)
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676:, 1895-6 Annual Report, 1898.
191:Tradition 3: White Cow Killer
120:Scholars have noted that the
674:Bureau of American Ethnology
197:Tradition 5: Red Horse Owner
221:Battiste Good and High Hawk
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318:Percy Creighton, 1831-1938
129:Lewis and Clark Expedition
524:www.smithsoniansource.org
333:Foolish Woman, 1833-1870s
200:Tradition 6: Cloud Shield
136:Creation of winter counts
760:Native American painting
617:Greene and Thornton, 310
608:Greene and Thornton, 309
599:Greene and Thornton, 306
590:Greene and Thornton, 304
578:Greene and Thornton, 300
569:Greene and Thornton, 302
555:Greene and Thornton, 314
546:Greene and Thornton, 301
411:. (retrieved 4 Feb 2010)
709:Lone Dog's Winter Count
520:"Lone Dog Winter Count"
442:Greene and Thorton, 300
300:Lone Dog's winter count
188:Tradition 2: Short Man
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409:The National Archives
368:Harry Ware, 1860-1887
330:Butterfly, 1833-1870s
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388:Plains hide painting
498:Centerofthewest.org
466:10.5479/10088/22478
288:Hardin Winter Count
209:Tradition 8: Breast
168:Known winter counts
153:Corroborating dates
478:Sundstrom, Linea.
371:Quitone, 1825-1921
185:, Baptiste Garnier
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359:Settan, 1833-1892
262:Miniconjou Lakota
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651:Hansen, Emma I.
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39:wanĂyetu wĂłwapi
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203:Tradition 7:
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175:Oglala Lakota
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31:Winter counts
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687:Winter Count
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527:. Retrieved
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502:. Retrieved
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253:Long Soldier
215:Brulé Lakota
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61:, and other
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454:AnthroNotes
353:, 1860-1940
351:Silver Horn
183:Flying Hawk
69:Description
739:Categories
624:References
383:Ledger art
256:Major Bush
233:Iron Shell
227:Swift Bear
750:Calendars
306:Blackfeet
297:The Flame
291:Mato Sapa
230:Swift Dog
98:Sun Dance
47:Blackfeet
460:(2): 1.
377:See also
346:Tohausen
294:Northern
249:Lone Dog
245:Iron Dog
122:Lone Dog
79:Lone Dog
713:YouTube
529:27 June
504:27 June
224:Rosebud
659:
637:
324:Mandan
282:Dakota
280:, and
278:Lakota
276:Other
162:Leonid
114:Lakota
112:, and
110:Nakota
106:Dakota
59:Lakota
51:Mandan
35:Lakota
394:Notes
339:Kiowa
94:Kiowa
86:bison
55:Kiowa
21:Kiowa
657:ISBN
635:ISBN
531:2017
506:2017
363:Anko
268:Swan
695:by
672:US
462:doi
41:or
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