It covers all causality in the universe, but the emphasis is on ethical causality or responsibility. According to Eastern doctrines, no living being is excepted from karma, not even a god, though the karma of a god is on a different level from that of a man, who is often guided by personal desires and selfish motivations. The Oglala Indians of South Dakota belong to those tribes who called themselves Oceti Sakowin, or Seven Fireplaces, now generally known as Sioux Indians.
Much eternal wisdom is concealed under the surface of their myths.
In summarizing their story on cosmogenesis, our emphasis will be on the concept of Skan, a divine being of great interest in relation to their ideas on ethical causality. His spirit was Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit or Great Incomprehensible. Although Skan was the third of the sacred beings, he was the highest, because Inyan and Maka were material, and the world of matter has no powers except those given by Skan. Maka demanded all kinds of things for herself, such as light and shadow, warmth and adornments. Thus Skan was established as the final judge of all things.