Ella Cara Deloria | Page 3

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Playing with small things, a game (1887)
"Little play" is a game of make-believe where girls create toys such as tipis, cribs, and more. It is a game of being grown up, having children, and being married. They learn from their mothers and Elders and develop life skills through their playing.
Throwing chewed leaves in the eyes, a game (1887)
Boys would chew up leaves, plants, and deer sinew until it was wet and sticky. Then they would chase each other, often playing on teams, and try to get the paste in their opponents' eyes.
About the wíŋkte (1887)
Wíŋkte are considered very witty, shameless, and unafraid. They had a tradition of nicknaming people in ways that were funny, inappropriate, and/or mocking. Includes stories of a famous wíŋkte by the name of Wičhíte-Waštéla.
The heyókȟa who dreamed of his death (1887)
The heyókȟa are respected and revered. This is a tale of a one who knew how he would die, and painted himself and his horse in the manner of the lightning strikes that would kill them. Bushotter once experienced someone being struck by lightning too.
The man who could understand ravens (1887)
A man was said to understand the speech of ravens and magpies, which brought him exciting messages. Eventually the people taught a raven to speak, and that is why ravens can be taught like parrots to mimic human speech.