Lakota Virtue:Respect

Respect
Respect. Respect a deep admiration for someone or something. “Respect is a close relative of tolerance, and both go a long way to prevent and alleviate the negative interactions between and among people” (Marshall 44). Respect is universal. How is it universal? It’s universal because it's something that’s natural in humans. It seems as you get older and when you begin to learn right from wrong that you either start losing respect or gaining respect. Respect is something that I feel most people don't have nowadays. The Lakota have story about respect; the story about deer women.

A boy named Koskalaka (means young boy) listens to stories from his grandmother. One day when he is about to become a young man and hunt on his own, his grandmother tells him of the deer woman. She tells him that the deer woman is the most beautiful woman any man has ever seen, with shiny black hair that runs to her ankles, big shiny eyes, and “her smile can turn the strongest man into a foolish boy” (Marshall 39). When Koskalaka’s grandmother dies, he decides to go on a big hunt with a few other hunters. Koskalaka goes off on his own for a little bit looking for some more deer or elk to find, and he comes across a beautiful woman; he instantly knows that this is the deer woman. At first is is tempted to sleep in the deer woman’s lodging and rest, but he knows that she will steal his soul, so he tells her no. The deer woman gets angry and is about to attack him in the form of a deer, but she instead runs off. Koskalaka goes back to his fellow hunters and tells them what just happened, and they believe him because they can tell by looking into his eyes and seeing that he had a new look of strength. So they end up praying for good things to happen and they ended up getting plenty of meat from hunting. In the end, Marshall tells the reader that the deer woman couldn’t hurt Koskalaka because of his respect for his grandma. He says that if he never respected his grandmother, he would’ve forgot what she said about the deer woman at that moment.

Respect is important to the Lakota people because shows you are obedient and calm. One story of respect that was shared through the Lakotas was a  man who went out hunting for days, he was known as Koskalaka (or young man). Another women named the deer woman was the most beautiful woman a man has ever met in their life, they get so attracted that she steals their soul and the men never come back from searching for her again. Koskalaka heard this story from his grandmother and said he must not fall for her tricks, and when he met her, he resisted her with the words from his grandmother. Thus, keeping his respect that his grandmother gave him.

Why is respect a universal importance? When you respect someone you may think highly of them, or you admire them. For example you may respect a parent or relative because you admire them. In the book The Lakota Way the hunter had respect toward his grandmother because she told his stories that help him in the future, he thought highly of his grandmother. I personally respect my mother, because we have gone through many obstacles and she still stays strong.