Grade 1–4—An introduction identifies this story as part of the longer Lakota creation legend that was passed from generation to generation as oral history. The story begins with the Great Spirit Skan, who created "our ancestors," taking "our bones from Stone, our bodies from Earth, and our souls from himself and Wind and Thunder." The Lakota lived in the Underworld until Spider, the Trickster, sent Wolf to persuade Tokahe, the strongest man, that life would be easy on the surface. However, Tatanka, the holy man, warned him not to go. When the people found life was difficult, Spider laughed at them, but Tatanka helped them by turning into a buffalo able to communicate with the Spirits and to give the people the sustenance they needed to survive.
