ABSTRACT
Every Plains Indian society has its own accounts of the past. Origins and history were saved and passed down through the generations in orally transmitted stories and, sometimes, via drawings on skin or rocks. Despite centuries of disruption, oral traditions have been one of the more enduring aspects of culture on the Plains. Some non-Indian scholars have struggled with the historical value of Native oral traditions. Plains Indian stories conform to different types. Oral narratives have many essential qualities that can never be adequately captured in writing. Yet unfortunately so much of what remains of Plains Indian oral traditions is in the form of stories collected, printed, and reprinted over many years. Native oral traditions are likely to remain alive on the Plains as long as their social and cultural contexts continue. As people tell and listen to the old stories today they align their lives with the intentions of the spirits and the wisdom of the ancestors.
