Mitakuye Oyasin
Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ (All Are Related) is a phrase from the Lakota language. It reflects the world view of interconnectedness held by the Lakota people of North America. This concept and phrase is expressed in many Yankton Sioux prayers, as well as by ceremonial people in other Lakota communities. The phrase translates in English as "all my relatives," "we are all related," or "all my relations." It is a prayer of oneness and harmony with all forms of life: other people, animals, birds, insects, trees and plants, and even rocks, rivers, mountains and valleys. From work in the 1940s , American scholar Joseph Epes Brown wrote a study of "Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ" and its relevance in the Sioux ideology of "underlying connection" and "oneness." He noted how the phrase has been misappropriated and misused as a slogan and salutation by peoples from outside the Lakota cultures. Francis White Bird asserts that only Lakota can use this phrase because it applies only to Lakota culture.