deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

The Oglala Sioux Tribe – South Dakota. The majority of this Host Nation People live on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. #nativeamericanheritagemonth

Oglala in the Lakota language means “to scatter one’s own”. They have given the Sioux and the United States two of the most famous Host Nation leaders: Chief Red Cloud and Chief Crazy Horse.

The flag is perhaps the best known Host Nation Tribal flag. It first appeared at the Sun Dance in 1961, then was officially adopted in 1962.

The red field symbolizes the blood shed by the Sioux in defense of their lands and the very idea of the ‘red people’. A circle of eight white tipis (tops pointing outward) represents the eight districts of the reservation: Porcupine, Wakpamni, Medicine Root, Pass Creek, Eagle Nest, White Clay, Lacreek, and Wounded Knee.

The flag’s clear design and universal symbolism make it one of the finest flags in the United States. (Reference Native American Flags by Donald Healy and Peter Orenski. University of Oklahoma Press).