Saint Paul Public Schools


	Multicultural Resource Center

Home > Collection > Object of the Month > December > Find Out More

Lakota Horse Dance Stick

The horse is very important to the Lakota people; it was an ally on hunts
and a comrade in battle. In tribute to a special horse that had died, its owner
would create a horse dance stick to carry in society dances to honor his lost companion. The horse dance stick is a uniquely Sioux artistic form. Traditionally, the owner would carve the horse’s head and hoof on the stick
and use actual hair from the fallen horse as mane and tail.

The Horse was first introduced by the Spanish in the early 1500's. Some escaped or were released and became the founders of a vast

An additional Horse Dance Stick in the MRC collection.

nation of wild mustangs. The coming of the horse dramatically changed Indian life. Horses permitted tribes to travel greater distances in a much shorter period of time. They made it possible for the tribes to follow buffalo herds and other game this added greatly to their prosperity. To many Native Americans the horse symbolizes stamina, mobility, and strength.

http://www.musee-mccord.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/M5396?Lang=1&accessnumber=M5396