Prayer to the Great Mystery
Religion was integrated in all aspects of the daily life of the Plains Indians. They viewed their very existence as dependent upon the willingness of the Great Spirit to bless and guide all their endeavors. Prayers were offered to various heavenly bodies, animals, birds and rocks, in the believe that the Great Spirit, or God, would communicate through them.
In the vast stillness of a Montana landscape, a Sioux warrior, in full headdress, stands in the center of a sacred medicine ring of rocks and skulls hidden by the tall prairie grass. He prays to the Great Mystery in the hopes that the buffalo would be plentiful for his people.
- Paul Calle