Sicangu man wants to revive Tokala Society

Phil Two Eagle is the Executive Director of the Sicangu Lakota Treaty Council and would like to revive the traditional form of tribal governance, through the Tokala Society. (Photo Courtesy Phil Two Eagle)

PIERRE – A Rosebud man wants to revive an old tradition of governance which is made up of a council of leaders, which would maintain the language, history and culture of the tribe.
Phil Two Eagle (Sicangu Lakota) is the Executive Director of the Sicangu Lakota Treaty Council and is working to revive the Tokala Akicita Okolakiciye on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in Rosebud, SD. He plans to work on these efforts from the perspective of inherent, sovereign rights. These types of societies existed long before the establishment of the IRA governments, which were founded with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. He feels a formal tribal motion or resolution is not needed, as these societies have existed for thousands of years.
“Our tribe adopted the IRA Constitution, as did all of our Oceti Sakowin Oyate. It literally ripped our Oyate in half,” he said. Two Eagle claims tribes chose to follow the democratic election process to choose its leaders. “Before the IRA, the leadership of the Oyate was selected by the Akicita Societies with the approval of the Tiospaye.”
Following the change to the IRA government, the chiefs and headmen continued in the traditional manner and formed treaty councils, which continue today. These treaty councils continue to maintain the traditional lifestyle and fight for sovereign treaty rights, according to Two Eagle. “The IRA elected leadership resembles a government of the U.S. Congress where there is much debate and voting. I look at the IRA as a business card, as a way to do business with the federal government”
Two Eagle feels the current form of tribal governance provides direct access to federal funding, but tribes have a unique position in inherent powers. Powers which existed prior to European contact. This was traditional, tribal government, not practiced today. Tribes maintained their own land, language, history, and culture, he said. An important component of these traditional systems was economics. He refers to these economies as Buffalo Economics, as it was the buffalo which provided much of the tribe’s needs.
“Today, we are seeing a lot of dysfunction by our people trying to adapt to the wasicu way of life, we call this kiwasicu, or assimilation and colonization. We know that the tiwahe (tribe) is the very first form of Lakota traditional government. This is the beginning of life for many families,” he said. “The first born and last born hold a special position in every tiwahe. The tiwahe is where the children get their beginning leadership training on how to become a productive member of Lakota society.”
Understanding of structure, and understanding of male and female roles in the society was a key component in this traditional. Sons and daughters were prepared at a young age to provide their contributions to the group, or tribe. “This is the beginning of the akicita societies, the ate’ (father) trained his son to hunt, provide and protect the tiwahe. The son is also prepared to join one or more of the Akicita Okolakiciye. As you can see, the Lakota way of life was highly structured and organized,” he said.
Two Eagle explained the akicita (warrior) societies were the law enforcement arm of the traditional Lakota government. These warriors defended the camps and people. The less glamorous tasks of these groups were the hauling of wood, getting food and meat to the needy families, and chores like cleaning and maintenance of the camps. The akicita societies were formed at a critical time when they were needed. This was the time when grueling migrations to the plains and warfare with the tribes required their services.
Two Eagle feels the Sicangu Nation is in need for a return to some semblance of traditional practice. He said the time has arrived where the akicita okolakiciye, the warrior societies are needed once again. “There is too much disorder among the Lakota oyate, including the alcohol, drugs, gangs, suicides, domestic violence, missing and murdered women, as well as the exploitation of our ceremonies,” he said.
The executive director said his group receives information regarding the misuse and abuse of eagle feathers during powwows in the area. This would include women carrying eagle feathers and eagle staffs, fake medicine men, and the making of chiefs inside the sun dances, according to Two Eagle. “We are also seeing the murder of our relatives, abuse of elders, children and women in the tiwahe,” he said.
“I will be visiting with the elders to get their guidance, we had a meeting on November 1, 2019 at Rosebud, SD with the attendance of the members of the Oceti Sakowin. There is interest in going forward with more meetings and to discuss what will a new Tokala Society would look, like what role will they serve the Oyate and what will be there qualifications,” Two Eagle said.
Part of these discussions include allowing felons into the societies. He currently does not believe they should be allowed. People in the Tokala Society should be clean and sober warriors, he said.
“They need to be hard working, self-sufficient, and of good moral character. They must protect the Lakota history, language and culture to ensure that these continue on for thousands of generations. We are working on customary laws that the akicita will be enforcing to prevent abuse and violations,” Two Eagle proclaimed.
There is not currently a timeline for this revival to take place, currently. Two Eagle feels it will take at least a year of meetings, consultations with elders and old “warriors”, and the developing the traditional laws which the society will be enforcing, should this become a reality.
“I don’t think the warrior society itself has ever stopped, but the role of the akicita has been stripped from the tiwahe and tiospaye. The tiospaye will serve an important role as part of this, for those that want to hold on to the Lakota way of life,” he said.
Two Eagle would like to revive the akicita as a means to address the problems tribal members are experiencing on the reservation. He does not want to take away from duties of current law enforcement agencies, but rather he would like to see the recruitment of men and women to take on the role of the akicita (warrior). “They will be responsible for policing up there tiwahe, so the main goal here is to rebuild the tiwahe. We will be able to give Lakota leadership training to those young men and women,” he said.
The Lakota elder and veteran, said he envisions a future in which the Tokala Society would be placed at major events to help keep peace and order. He sees them protecting homes, housing areas, and public space from gangs, drugs, and violence. These warriors would be responsible for chopping would for elders, and go hunting for the mothers who could use extra support with an absent father.
“You can’t help but ask where is the Lakota man? Why are there so many single mothers out there? Why isn’t anyone talking Lakota to the children? You take a look at most sun dances, but there are very few men sun dancing. From the old way, the sun dancers were only the men, this brings up rites of passage. They say when your son’s voice starts changing, he must start his rites of passage ceremony. He will need to go on hanblecheya, when he comes down he will earn his Lakota name and he will sun dance,” closed Two Eagle.
For more information regarding the reviving of the Tokala Akicita on the Rosebud Reservation, contact Phil Eagle at phil.twoeagle@rst-nsn.gov.