Sica Hollow State Park
Encyclopedia
Sica Hollow State Park (also Sieche Hollow State Park) is a state park
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...

 of South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...

, USA. It was named Sica, a Dakota
Sioux language
Sioux is a Siouan language spoken by over 33,000 Sioux in the United States and Canada, making it the fifth most spoken indigenous language in the United States or Canada, behind Navajo, Cree, Inuit and Ojibwe.-Regional variation:...

 word for bad or evil, due to the iron-red tinted water which was seen as blood by the Dakota tribe in the area.

The Legend of Sica Hollow

Sica Hollow once protected many peaceful Indian camps. Its trees blocked the North Wind. But, a stranger named Hand came. He scared the females of the tribe. The old men said he would leave come spring.

However Hand did not leave when expected. Instead he taught the young boys to strike and kill. The old men sought help from Wicasa Wakan (wee-cha-sha wah-kahn), Medicine Man. They wanted to know what should be sacrificed to make the Hollow as it was.

Wicasa Wakan returned to his lodge and waited for Wakantanka (wah-kahn-tahn-kah), the Great Spirit
Great Spirit
The Great Spirit, also called Wakan Tanka among the Sioux, the Creator or the Great Maker in English, and Gitchi Manitou in Algonquian, is a conception of a supreme being prevalent among some Native American and First Nations cultures...

, to reply. Soon Wakantanka sent his messenger, Thunderer. Thunderer's eyes flashed. His dark wings beat the air, and he brought a cloud that rained over the Hollow. Madness seized Hand. He tried to run, but vines encircled his ankles. The water filled his screaming mouth. Thunderer's talons ripped out his eyes so he would never see the Happy Hunting Ground.

Of all the people in the Hollow, only a raven-haired maiden called Fawn was saved from the rising water. She fled to the top of the highest hill and sang her grief and remorse to the Great Spirit. Then she slept many days. When she awoke, the Hollow was clean and bright. Yet the memory and the evil name linger.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK