Lakota Winter Count Robes

For thousands of years, Native American tribes would leave records carved and painted on cliffs, rock outcrops, and boulders. These pictographs and petroglyphs recorded visions and history.

According to the Plains Native Americans, there are 3 types are picture art: supernatural, a man's individual accomplishment, and...

Records of the history. 

A BRIEF description of winter count robes. This is a very detailed subject.

Winter counts were used all over the plains, but the best preserved counts were Lakota winter counts. Although there are some Blackfeet and Kiowa counts as well.

Winter Counts or waniyetu wo'wapi (Lakota word) were the way of keeping years of oral traditions documented.

Waniyetu- season or span of 1st snow -1st snow
Wo'wapi- anything that can be marked or can be read

One simple pictograph are selected for each year. They used as mnemonic devices and a guide for the "Symbol Makers" or "Keepers" of the counts. They were responsible for recording the histories and discussing with the elders what event was going to represent the season. Once the symbol maker for each band of 150-300 people was done with his responsibilities, his son or nephew would copy his winter count robe and recite the traditions. The previous robe would be buried with the keeper and the new robe would continue the traditions.

 Garrick Mallery was the first to acquire and research winter counts. 

Once the winter counts were copied and collected, there was a similarity between many of the counts...

 This symbol was present on most of the winter counts. It was compared with western calendars and it was identified as the Leonid Meteor Shower (1833). They could then number the years of each symbol and also relate each count to one another.

Below are images of the first counts acquired. Since, there are have been a few others that have been added.
To find more information on Lakota Winter Counts, visit the online exhibit. http://wintercounts.si.edu/


 All of the images were found in the book, The Year the Stars Fell


Green, Candace S., and Thorton, Russell. (2007). The year the stars fell: Lakota winter counts at the Smithsonian. Smithsonian Institution.

Lone Dog

A recreation of the Lone Dog winter count.

Obtained by Lt. Hugh Reed in 1876. This was a cloth copy made by an interpreter, Basil Clement. Basil showed his cloth copy from Lone Dog. Lone Dog was a Yankton Sioux living near Fort Peck, Montana. 

Flame

Traced by an army officer (Reed) in the late 1870's, this was drawn on muslin cloth with black and red ink. Pictographs are numbered from 1to 91. The keeper, The Flame, was Sans Arc by birth. This count resembles Lone Dog closely, but includes 2 additional years.

Swan

Traced on architects linen with ink and colored pencil, this is a copy of the cloth version, which was a copy of the original on hide. This was kept in the Swan family for 70 years. Swan was a member of the Mniconjou, in the Cheyenne River Reservation. His father was a well-known chief and his death was recorded on the Swan, Flame and Lone Dog winter counts. 

Long Soldier

Drawn on cloth with red and black in, beginning in the top left corner. Long Soldier provided interpretations for the years. This count was collected between 1902 and 1923. Long Soldier was a Hunkpapa chief and settled on the Standing Rock Reservation.

American Horse

Army officer, Corbusier, provided a sketchbook for American Horse to draw a copy of his winter count, using the original. American Horse drew several pictographs per page and then were numbered later. The book version spans from 1777 to 1878. American Horse provided the interpretation and was a well-known Oglala chief. Several winter counts mark his death.

Cloud Shield

Cloud Shield copied his winter count in the same sketchbook as American Horse. Also, he provided the interpretation. Army officer, Corbusier, added sequential numbering and dates.