Images by Oscar Howe
Yanktonai artist Oscar Howe created a number of images of people playing traditional Lakota/Dakota games. He stresses the dynamics of human movement and the intensity of play and cometition in these paintings.
Elk Game 1946: This image shows two men playing the Elk Game. The man on the left has caught the hoop on one of the pegs of his wand. The other man is attemtping to take the hoop from his opponents wand. There are six onlookers. Note that one holds and bow and arrow, one holds a lance and that there are two bows and some arrows on the ground. This game was played before the elk hunt, this the players and onlookers have with them their hunting equipment.
Shinny Game 1952: This image shows five men playing shinny. The ball is in play in the center bottom of the image and the man at the top center of the picture is about to hook the ball as one of the men on the left tries to intercept it with his own hooked stick.
Woman Seed Player: This image depicts a woman counting up her score from the "dice" or peach pits that were tossed from a wicker basket. The basket is in the foreground and one can see four seeds. The woman is examining one of the seeds while toucing it with her right hand.
Woman Seed Player 1974 : This is an image of a single woman examining a seed and touching it with her right hand after a toss. Note that there are two seeds visible in this image as well as the bowl which is used to toss the seeds.
Webbed Hoop Game 1946 : Two young men are playing the webbed hoop game. One has thrown his spear successfully into the webbing while the spear of the other is in mid-throw. Four men and one woman are onlookers. One holds two other webbed hoops of different sizes. This image is provided courtesy of the State Historical Society of South Dakota.
Young Cow Game 1946 : Four men are depicted playing the young cow gameduring winter. One player has hurled his horned fletched projectile and it can be seen sliding along the ice. A second player is in mid-toss with the staff still in his hand. A third player has his horned javelin in his hand and a fourth player kneels on his left leg watching the ice playing field. To the very right is a man watching the action. This image is provided courtesy of the State Historical Society of South Dakota.
Shinny Game 1946: 11 players are engaged in playing shinny in this image-- five on each side and a single player in the center holding a shinny stick that has broken-- the long piece is seen in the foreground. Howe stresses the dynamic movements used in the game.
The Great Hoop Game 1946: This image depicts four men in mid-play. The hoop is rolling and both players have tossed their double spears at the rolling target. Another man stands with his left hand raised, serving as a referee. Note that Howe indicates the marks on the hoop that determine the score of the toss.