The Canadian Sioux

The Canadian Sioux are descendants of Santees, Yanktonais, and Tetons from the United States who sought refuge in Canada during the 1860s and 1870s. Living today on eight reserves in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, they have been largely neglected by anthropologists and historians and are the least well known of all the Sioux groups. This study by a long-time student of Sioux and other Indian cultures fills that gap in the literature.

Based on fieldwork done in the 1970s supplemented by written sources, The Canadian Sioux presents a descriptive reconstruction of their traditional culture, many aspects of which are still practiced or remembered by Canadian Sioux today although long forgotten by their relatives in the United States. It is rich in detail and presents an abundance of new information on topics such as tribal divisions, documented history and traditional history, warfare, their economy, social life, philosophy and religion, and ceremonialism. Nearly half the book is devoted to Canadian Sioux religion and describes such ceremonies as the vision quest, medicine feast, medicine dance, sun dance, warrior society dances, and the Ghost Dance.

A welcome addition to American Indian ethnography, James H. Howard’s study provides a valuable overview of Canadian Sioux culture and a fine introduction to these little-known groups.