Mitakuye Oyasin Explained

Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ (All Are Related) is a phrase from the Lakota language. It reflects the world view of interconnectedness held by the Lakota people of North America.^[1] This concept and phrase is expressed in many Yankton Sioux prayers,^[2] as well as by ceremonial people in other Lakota communities.^{[3] [4]}

The phrase translates in English as "all my relatives," "we are all related," or "all my relations." It is a prayer of oneness and harmony with all forms of life: other people, animals, birds, insects, trees and plants, and even rocks, rivers, mountains and valleys.^[2]

From work in the 1940s, American scholar Joseph Epes Brown wrote a study of Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ and its relevance in the Sioux ideology of "underlying connection" and "oneness.”^[5]

Notes and References

1. Book: François, Damien . The Self-destruction of the West: critical cultural anthropology. 2007. Publibook. 978-2-7483-3797-6. 28.
2. Book: Maroukis, Thomas Constantine . Peyote and the Yankton Sioux: The Life and Times of Sam Necklace. 2005. University of Oklahoma Press. 0-8061-3649-9. 160.
3. Web site: US: Indigenous Lakota women face harsh winter wrath under climate change. November 2, 2010.
4. Book: Lupton, Mary Jane. James Welch: A Critical Companion. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2004. 0-313-32725-4. 23–24.
5. Web site: Lakota Country Times . https://web.archive.org/web/20170222134353/http://www.lakotacountrytimes.com/common/PastArchives/1237.html. dead. 22 February 2017. Lakota Country Times. 25 February 2017.