Gregory Smoak

But incorporating spiritual power from many different sources was not something unusual in Native Americans.

beliefs.

And so you find that adaption, right?

And so the Lakota adopt this dance and they make it their own.

So do the Cheyennes, so do the Arapahos, so do the Shoshones and Bannocks, the people at Fort Hall, Idaho, major conduits of this religion.

And so the important thing here is that it is a pan-Indian religion.

It is not for a single tribe.

It crosses those tribal boundaries.

It unites people, but it doesn't dictate or mandate that there's a single way to pursue this religion.

People interpret it on their own.

And in fact, you know, that's the way religious culture and religious distinctions evolve anyway.

In any civilization.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

It was reported widely in the news and in New York Times and all of the newspapers.

It was debated in Congress.

The United States responds with a major military expedition against the Lakotas to put down the unrest that is perceived there.

No, you know, that is really debatable.

Scholars have argued that, you know, this is the way in which the United States imposed colonialism, right?