Oglala (Sioux) Concepts of Homosexuality and the Determinants of Sexual Identification

Abstract

<h3>To the Editor.—</h3> Historical accounts of Plains Indian social life give scattered references to the<i>berdache</i>(homosexuals or "men-women") who work and dress as women.¹⁴Contemporary Oglala Indians of the Pine Ridge Reservation, S Dak, do not recognize the word<i>berdache</i>, and Beuchel's Dictionary of the Teton Dakota Sioux Language⁵does not list it. Lakota orthography gives few words that begin with "b," and all are followed by either "1" or "u."<i>Winkte</i>, in Beuchel, is defined as "hermaphrodite," but reservation people use the word to designate homosexuality, and cases are seen from time to time at health care clinics. The notions embodied in the following quotations from Oglala informants represent some commonly agreed upon views of sexual identity. My first informant was Robert Holy Dance, age 83, a herbalist and curer: "<i>Winkte</i>is a freak, a morphodite. One that lived here died two years ago. Another one