Hand Games
By Laura Cox and Jamison Lamp The game is simple at first glance: two teams, 16 sticks and a hand drum.
But it gets trickier, like a game taught by the trickster Iktomi.
Students at Red Cloud High School get a daily dose of Lakota history and culture through an after school hand game club.
Hand games are a Lakota tradition that have roots in the creation story. The game consist of 16 sticks, representing eight good spirits and eight bad spirits, these are used for scoring. The team with the most sticks is considered the winner.
The game is based on trickery skills in order to reveal a set a marked bones held in the other teams hands. Hand signals are used to open the hands of the opposing team to reveal the marked bones.
“That’s how the game is played, through trickery and they try to trick them into opening the hands,” Roger White Eyes, hand games coach at Red Cloud High School said.
Singing and drumming are a big part of the game and teams use them to help get sticks, White Eyes said.
“Songs are specific to the games themselves,” he said. “The kids make up some songs that become popular and some songs I teach them.”
Taylor Wilson, a freshman, has been playing hand games with her family for years, but recently got involved in the after school group. She sings to accompany the trickery and hand signals involved in playing the game.
“There is a lot of pressure on me to sing at LNI (Lakota Nation Invitational) this year,” Wilson said. “My voice is already getting sore.”
The group meets Monday through Thursday after school for camaraderie and practice for invitationals and pow wows.
“I like hand games because it’s fun and it brings out the best sportsmanship and friendship,” sophomore William Fire Thunder said. “It’s a great stress reliever because you are with family and friends. We are a close knit group.”
Fire Thunder has been playing hand games since he was about two. His family has a long history of playing hand games.
“A lot of these kids are all very knowledgeable already about their culture,” White Eyes said.
“They are important to me because my sister is really into it,” Wilson said. “I remember my grandparents talking about the games.”
Once thought to be a lost part of the culture, hand games have been revived.
“The game used to be played to settle disputes and trade goods,” White Eyes said. “Now the game is played for prestige. There are tournaments for youth and in the North West coast area they play for $30,000.”
White Eyes has taught hand games at Red Cloud High School for three years and there have been organized teams at the school for the last 15 years.
“The club is good for the students, it encourages the students to stay on top of their grades,” White Eyes said.
Hand Games
By Laura Cox and Jamison Lamp
The game is simple at first glance: two teams, 16 sticks and a hand drum.
But it gets trickier, like a game taught by the trickster Iktomi.
Students at Red Cloud High School get a daily dose of Lakota history and culture through an after school hand game club.
Hand games are a Lakota tradition that have roots in the creation story. The game consist of 16 sticks, representing eight good spirits and eight bad spirits, these are used for scoring. The team with the most sticks is considered the winner.
The game is based on trickery skills in order to reveal a set a marked bones held in the other teams hands. Hand signals are used to open the hands of the opposing team to reveal the marked bones.
“That’s how the game is played, through trickery and they try to trick them into opening the hands,” Roger White Eyes, hand games coach at Red Cloud High School said.
Singing and drumming are a big part of the game and teams use them to help get sticks, White Eyes said.
“Songs are specific to the games themselves,” he said. “The kids make up some songs that become popular and some songs I teach them.”
Taylor Wilson, a freshman, has been playing hand games with her family for years, but recently got involved in the after school group. She sings to accompany the trickery and hand signals involved in playing the game.
“There is a lot of pressure on me to sing at LNI (Lakota Nation Invitational) this year,” Wilson said. “My voice is already getting sore.”
The group meets Monday through Thursday after school for camaraderie and practice for invitationals and pow wows.
“I like hand games because it’s fun and it brings out the best sportsmanship and friendship,” sophomore William Fire Thunder said. “It’s a great stress reliever because you are with family and friends. We are a close knit group.”
Fire Thunder has been playing hand games since he was about two. His family has a long history of playing hand games.
“A lot of these kids are all very knowledgeable already about their culture,” White Eyes said.
“They are important to me because my sister is really into it,” Wilson said. “I remember my grandparents talking about the games.”
Once thought to be a lost part of the culture, hand games have been revived.
“The game used to be played to settle disputes and trade goods,” White Eyes said. “Now the game is played for prestige. There are tournaments for youth and in the North West coast area they play for $30,000.”
White Eyes has taught hand games at Red Cloud High School for three years and there have been organized teams at the school for the last 15 years.
“The club is good for the students, it encourages the students to stay on top of their grades,” White Eyes said.
Photos by Christian McHugh
