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Waktegli Waci
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The first tribal celebration held at Rosebud was in late summer of 1876 after the Sicangu Lakota Oyate learned of the June 25 annihilation of General George A. Custer and the 7th Calvary. It was a victory celebration to honor many Lakota warriors, including Fool Bull and Two Strike, who fought in the Battle of the Little Big Horn.
The Akicita also carried home the personal guidon flag of the fallen General Custer along with several troop guidon flags. In 1994 Francis White Bird, Sicangu tribal member and Decorated Vietnam Veteran, had replicas of the captured flags made. A ceremony was held at Fort Meade in Sturgis to dedicate the flags. The flags were carried in the grand entry at the Wacipi that year for the first time and Mr. White Bird gave the history of them and celebration's origins. All the Lakota descendents present that day were proud to be part of the Waktegli Waci (Victory dance). |
In the book, The Sioux of the Rosebud, Anderson and Hamilton write of the Fourth of July festivities in 1897 where "The celebration lasted for six days...On July 1 the Indians went to the fairgrounds...one mile north of the Rosebud Agency and set up their great circle of tipis...on July 6 the Indian police held a drill followed by a...reenactment of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. This event should not have required much coaching, since almost every Indian present over twenty-one years old had been at the original battle in 1876."
My late Grandmother often reminisced about how the celebration was when she was a child. She used to tell me that people at Rosebud would know it was fair time when a steady procession of horse-drawn wagons would arrive from all four directions. Some tribal members from the different reservation communities would come to Rosebud a couple of weeks early to prepare their family camping area by building shades and outhouses. They would also build the arbor for the Wacipi and prepare the rodeo arena. All of this was volunteer work.
Also, a large building once served as a display area for the tribal fair. Garden produce, canned goods, handmade clothing, drawings, beadwork, quillwork, plus other arts and crafts items would be judged in the contest. The displays were organized according to the districts of the Rosebud Reservation.
Families would travel with essentials and food to last the duration of the fair. Grandma used to say that the people were so self-sufficientthat they didn't have to depend on anyone for anything. Wagons were loaded with clothing, bedding, tipis, poles, canvas tents, firewood, tools, along with cooking and eating utensils.
Families camped according to the district they came from. It was a very organized circle, with everyone respecting each other and their camping area. Travelers would also haul their own water in wooden barrels. Cooks would pack dried meat, biscuits, boiled potatoes, and home canned fruit for their families to eat while camping.
On the first day of the fair, there would be a morning charge. Many young men and women would mount their horses for a long charge through camp. Lakota victory songs were sung and the women sounded their trill. The Wacipi was held for people to dance and enjoy themselves. Other ceremonies, such as a young woman's coming out celebration or memorial feasts for deceased loved ones, would also be held during the Wacipi.
Now, more than a century after Custer fell at Little Big Horn, the Sicangu Lakota still remember the accomplishments of our ancestors by hosting the Rosebud Fair at the end of August.
My late Grandmother often reminisced about how the celebration was when she was a child. She used to tell me that people at Rosebud would know it was fair time when a steady procession of horse-drawn wagons would arrive from all four directions. Some tribal members from the different reservation communities would come to Rosebud a couple of weeks early to prepare their family camping area by building shades and outhouses. They would also build the arbor for the Wacipi and prepare the rodeo arena. All of this was volunteer work.
Also, a large building once served as a display area for the tribal fair. Garden produce, canned goods, handmade clothing, drawings, beadwork, quillwork, plus other arts and crafts items would be judged in the contest. The displays were organized according to the districts of the Rosebud Reservation.
Families would travel with essentials and food to last the duration of the fair. Grandma used to say that the people were so self-sufficientthat they didn't have to depend on anyone for anything. Wagons were loaded with clothing, bedding, tipis, poles, canvas tents, firewood, tools, along with cooking and eating utensils.
Families camped according to the district they came from. It was a very organized circle, with everyone respecting each other and their camping area. Travelers would also haul their own water in wooden barrels. Cooks would pack dried meat, biscuits, boiled potatoes, and home canned fruit for their families to eat while camping.
On the first day of the fair, there would be a morning charge. Many young men and women would mount their horses for a long charge through camp. Lakota victory songs were sung and the women sounded their trill. The Wacipi was held for people to dance and enjoy themselves. Other ceremonies, such as a young woman's coming out celebration or memorial feasts for deceased loved ones, would also be held during the Wacipi.
Now, more than a century after Custer fell at Little Big Horn, the Sicangu Lakota still remember the accomplishments of our ancestors by hosting the Rosebud Fair at the end of August.
