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Taniya Wakanwin
(Holy Breath / Elizabeth Lecaine)
1895-1994
Taniya Wakanwin, the daughter of Tasunke Nupawin and Okute sica, was born while the family was was camped at Wood Mountain. Her paternal grandmother Ape Lutawin was a major influence in
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WMHS
James and Elizabeth Ogle
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her childhood. Ape Lutawin was part Lakota, part
Cherokee. At the Lakota camp at Moose Jaw Taniya |
Wakawin learned beading and quilling from her grandmother and other older women in the camp. She
was quite skilled by the time she was thirteen years old.
In 1907 Taniya Wakanwin moved with her family to Wood Mountain and in 1913 she married James Ogle. Although she had little time for beading during the years when her children were small, she never forgot the art of beading. By the time her first grandchildren were born she was already very involved with the art again. As they grew older she created ceremonial costumes for them so they could take part in traditional Sioux dancing. She also made hundreds of objects, mostly moccasins and necklaces, for sale. No two necklaces were ever alike. When asked where her designs came from, she said that they came to her in dreams, and then in the morning when she woke she
started to work immediately before she forgot the design. |
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Taniya Wakanwin, known to the community as Mrs.Ogle or Lizzie, did not have any formal education, but her informal education enabled her to learn and pass on many Lakota traditions. She became a highly respected elder of the Lakota.
Besides raising her family and working with her husband on the ranch, she found time to take part in parades and programs in the Wood Mountain community. For more than twenty years she sold roast beef sandwiches and saskatoon pie from a booth at the Wood Mountain Stampede.
In gratitude for her community service and benevolence Toniya Wakanwin was honoured many times. In 1973 she was invited to attend a banquet held for the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, at which she presented the Queen with a beaded bag. In 1990 on the 100th Anniversary of the Wood Mountain Sports and Rodeo, the RCMP performed the musical ride in her name.
Taniya Wakanwin is buried in the Ogle family cemetery at Wood Mountain |
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BIOGRAPHIES
Fort Berthold | Okanagan | Wood Mountain
Introduction | Early Ranching | Ranching Life | Contemporary Ranching Life | Community Stories | Transition to Rodeo
SACRED BEINGS | RANCHING | ENTERTAINMENT | RODEO | ARTS AND INDUSTRIES
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