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Honesty: A Traditional Value

Stealing from one another was almost unheard of, so was lying, etc.. this ethical behavior allowed our ancestors to live in harmony with each other even under harsh conditions. The first white men who came in contact with us were amazed that although none of the laws were written down, rules were strictly adhered to. These first white men who truly understood Indian society had nothing but praise for our ancestors’ character.

Contrast that with today.... Today, we have many written laws yet we exhibit some of the most unethical behavior; we falsify time sheets, we take tribal property for personal use ... we tribal members are the first to have low opinions of our leaders’ characters...

According to Johansen (2007),

"Among the Dakotas lying and stealing from other tribal members was a capital offense. A person who was capable of lying was believe to be capable of committing other cowardly crimes against the tribe and was put to death to prevent the evil from doing more harm. If a person stole from another tribal member he was forever after called Wamanon (thief) and this distinction followed him for the rest of his life."