Winter count
Encyclopedia
Winter counts are pictorial calendars or histories in which tribal records and events were recorded. The Blackfeet
, Mandan, Kiowa
, Lakota, and other Plains tribes
used winter counts extensively. There are approximately one hundred winter counts in existence, but many of these are duplicates.
Traditionally each band would chose a single keeper of the winter count. Until the 20th 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, which would often be a family member.
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.
, a Smithsonian scholar, recognized that one of those events, "The Year the Stars Fell," correlated with the Leonid
meteor storm of November 1833 and used that event to correlate the Lakota winter counts with western calendars.
Oglala Lakota
Blackfeet
The Piegan Blackfeet are a tribe of Native Americans of the Algonquian language family based in Montana, having lived in this area since around 6,500 BC. Many members of the tribe live as part of the Blackfeet Nation in northwestern Montana, with population centered in Browning...
, Mandan, Kiowa
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
, Lakota, and other Plains tribes
Plains Indians
The Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. Their colorful equestrian culture and resistance to White domination have made the Plains Indians an archetype in literature and art for American Indians everywhere.Plains...
used winter counts extensively. There are approximately one hundred winter counts in existence, but many of these are duplicates.
Description
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 snow fall to first snowfall. Kiowa winter counts usually feature two marks per year – one for winter and one marking the summer Sun Dance. The glyphs representing significant events would be used as a reference that could be consulted regarding the order of the years. More extensive oral histories were passed down using the winter counts as guide posts.Traditionally each band would chose a single keeper of the winter count. Until the 20th 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, which would often be a family member.
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.
History of discovery
Garrick MalleryGarrick Mallery
Garrick Mallery was an American ethnologist.-Ancestry:His family was of English origin, he himself being in direct descent from Peter Mallery, who landed at Boston in 1638. Some of his ancestors were military officers in the colonial service, and at a later period others of them served in the...
, a Smithsonian scholar, recognized that one of those events, "The Year the Stars Fell," correlated with the Leonid
Leonids
The Leonids is a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Tempel-Tuttle. The Leonids get their name from the location of their radiant in the constellation Leo: the meteors appear to radiate from that point in the sky. They tend to peak in November.Earth moves through the meteoroid...
meteor storm of November 1833 and used that event to correlate the Lakota winter counts with western calendars.
Oglala LakotaOglala LakotaThe Oglala Lakota or Oglala Sioux are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people; along with the Nakota and Dakota, they make up the Great Sioux Nation. A majority of the Oglala live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the eighth-largest Native American reservation in the...
- Tradition 1: No Ears, John Colhoff, Flying Hawk, Baptiste Garnier
- Tradition 2: Short Man
- Tradition 3: White Cow Killer
- Tradition 4: Iron Crow, Wounded Bear
- Tradition 5: Red Horse Owner
- Tradition 6: Cloud Shield
- Tradition 7: American HorseAmerican HorseWašíčuŋ Tȟašúŋke or American Horse was a chieftain of the Oglala Lakota during the Sioux Wars of the 1870s. He was also the nephew of the elder American Horse and son-in-law of Red Cloud....
- Tradition 8: Breast
Blackfeet
- Bad Head, 1810-1883, oral count recorded
- Bull Plume, 1794-1924, survives only as copied drawings from 1912
- Percy Creighton, 1831-1938
Kiowa
- Tohausen
- Silver HornSilver HornSilver Horn or Haungooah was a Kiowa Ledger Artist from Oklahoma.-Background:Silver Horn was born circa 1860 and was a member of the Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma. His Kiowa name, Haungooah, refers to sunlight reflecting off a buffalo horn, making it gleam like a polished, white metal...
, 1828-1904 - Haba, 1828-1909
- Settan, 1833-1892
- Anko Seasonal, 1864-1892 and Anko Monthly, August 1889-August 1892
- Harry Ware, 1860-1887
- Quitone, 1825-1921
External links
- Lakota Winter Counts: An Online Exhibit by National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
- Anderson Winter Count, articles by Tanis Thorne