The NAIDs

The SiberCaans

The Siberian Indian Dog

The Native American Shepherds

The Sioux

When food and game were scarce, the dog served as a main reserve for the Native Americans and White Man alike. Lewis and Clark bought or traded for hundreds of dogs from the Native Americans. They were a high source of protein and fat and more nutritious than Mule Deer or Antelope.

In 1848 George Catlin describes a Sioux camp.  “...in the rear of this heterogeneous caravan at least five times the number of dogs, which fall into the rank, and follow in the train and company of the women, and every cur of them, who is large enough and not too cunning to be enslaved, is encumbered with a sledge on which he patiently drags his load- a part of the household of goods and furniture of the lodge to which he belongs.  Two poles about 15ft. long, one placed upon the dog’s shoulders, in the same manner as the lodge poles are attached to  the horses, leaving the larger ends to drag upon the ground behind him.  On which is placed a bundle or a wallet which is allotted to him to carry, with which he trots off amid the throng of dogs and squaws; faithfully and cheerfully dragging his load till night”  

 THE HIDATSA DOG vs. THE SIOUX DOG

“The Hidatsa dogs were 2 to 3 yrs. old before they were required to work. The Hidatsa dogs were good tempered and better trained.

Dogs of the Hidatsa were never trained to hunt or used for fishing until after Small Pox about wiped out the Hidatsa Nation.  Then they learned how to train their dogs to hunt and fish when they merged with their neighbors.”

“The Sioux dogs were wild and surly.  The Sioux dogs were all wolf colored and had slim legs like the wolf.  The smaller of the Sioux dogs were eaten.

Hidatsa dogs were considered to be sacred and weren’t eaten because the flesh was not good for the dogs fed on carrion and  human excrement.”

“The Sioux had two sizes of dogs.  The smaller ones were eaten and resembled the wolf in shape. The larger dogs hunted and pulled a travois and had a rank taste to them.”

An observation noted by Buffalo Bird Woman when asked about coyote content in the dogs of neighboring tribes was that the dogs bit the same way her dogs bit………grabbing flesh and hanging on where a coyote bit in rapid succession with quick snapping bites…. Thus eliminating the myth of the dogs of the Plains Indians being part coyote.

The Sioux, or Dakota, consisted of seven tribes in three major divisions: Wahpekute, Mdewakantonwan, Wahpetonwan, Sisitonwan (who together formed the Santee or Eastern division, sometimes referred to as the Dakota), the Ihanktonwan, or Yankton, and the Ihanktonwana, or Yanktonai (who form the Middle division, sometimes referred to as the Nakota), and the Titonwan, or Teton (who form the Western division, sometimes referred to as the Lakota). The Tetons, originally a single band, divided into seven sub-bands after the move to the plains, these seven including the Hunkpapa, Sihasapa (or Blackfoot), and Oglala.

The Pact of Fire

When the world was created, First Man and First Woman
struggled to stay alive and warm through the first
winter. First Dog struggled also.

Deep in the winter, First Dog gave birth to her pups.
Each night, she huddled in the brush of the forest,
longingly watching the fire which kept First Man and
First Woman warm.

First Winter was severe, so cold that First Dog dared
not leave her pups to search for food to fill her own
belly, fearing that her pups would freeze to death in
her absence. She curled around them, but the wind was
bitter. Her belly shrank with hunger, and soon she had
no milk. The smallest pup perished, and First Dog felt
her own life draining away as she struggled to care
for the remaining pups. Fearing for the fate of the
others, she knew she had no choice but to approach the
fire and ask First Woman and First Man to share their
food and the fire's warmth.

Slowly, she crept to the fire and spoke to First Woman
who was heavy with child. "I am a mother," said First
Dog, "and soon you will be a mother too. I want my
little ones to survive, just as you will want your
little one to survive. So I will ask you to make a
pact."

First Woman and First Man listened. "I am about to
die. Take my pups. You will raise them and call them
Dog. They will be your guardians. They will alert you
to danger, keep you warm, guard your camp, and even
lay down their life to protect your life and the lives
of your children. They will be companions to you and
all your generations, never leaving your side, as long
as Mankind shall survive. In return, you will share
your food and the warmth of your fire. You will treat
my children with love and kindness, and tend to them
if they become ill, just as if they were born from
your own belly. And if they are in pain, you will take
a sharp knife to their throat and end their misery. In
exchange for this, you will have the loyalty of my
children and their offspring until the end of time."

First Man and First Woman agreed. First Dog went to
her nest in the brush, and with the last of her
strength, one by one, she brought her pups to the
fire. As she did so, First Woman gave birth to First
Child, wrapped her in Rabbit skins, and nestled First
Child among the pups by the fireside. First Dog lay
down by the fire, licked her pups, then walked away to
die under the stars.

Before she disappeared into the darkness, she turned
and spoke once more to First Man, "My children will
honor the pact for all generations. But if Man breaks
this pact, if you or your children's children deny
even one Dog food, warmth, a kind word or a merciful
end, your generations will be plagued with war,
hunger, and disease, and so shall this remain until
the pact is honored again by all Mankind." With this,
First Dog entered the night and returned in spirit to
the Creator.

Lakota Sioux Legend

The Pact of the Fire