ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the relationship between food and culture among the Oglala Sioux of the Pine Ridge reservation in southwestern South Dakota. Our focus is on traditional Indian foods, and, in particular, the special way in which the Oglala regard buffalo meat, dog meat, and wasna. These foods derive symbolic importance from the manner in which they are prepared and eaten in ceremonies such as the sun dance, memorial feast, and Yuwipi, a modern curing ritual. The present food system is very much a reflection of Oglala social organization, particularly noticeable in the manner that foods are distributed. The Oglala represent the largest of seven divisions of the sociopolitical unit known as Teton, or Western Sioux. Food systems may be treated as codes, bearing messages relative to everyday social interactions: If food is treated as a code, the message it encodes found in the pattern of social relations being expressed.
