Wakan Tanka (Great Mystery/Great Spirit) is not an anthropomorphic deity but the all-encompassing sacred force permeating the universe. From Han (primordial darkness), Wakan Tanka emanated Inyan (Rock), Maka (Earth), Skan (Sky), and Wi (Sun) — sixteen Wakan Tankas total. All beings are aspects of this unified sacred field. The Sacred Hoop (Cangleska Wakan) represents the interconnection of all things.

Seven Lakota virtues. Seven Sacred Rites given by White Buffalo Calf Woman. The Sacred Pipe (Chanunpa) as covenant object. Knowledge transmitted through vision quest, ceremony, and elder teaching.

To maintain balance and relationship with Wakan Tanka, all beings, and the Sacred Hoop. Individual purpose discovered through Hanbleceya (Vision Quest) — personal, unrepeatable revelation. The Sun Dance (Wiwanyang Wacipi) is communal sacrifice for the well-being of the people and all life. Purpose is relational, not individual liberation.

Suffering arises from broken relationships — with Wakan Tanka, with other beings, with the land. When the Sacred Hoop is disrupted, imbalance follows. Suffering is also addressed through ceremony: the Inipi (sweat lodge) purifies, the Sun Dance offers sacrifice, and the vision quest provides guidance. Historical trauma (genocide, forced assimilation) is understood as a massive disruption of the Sacred Hoop.

No apocalyptic eschatology. Time is cyclical/spatial (four directions) rather than linear. The prophecy of White Buffalo Calf Woman includes a return to restore the people. After death, the free soul travels the Wanagi Tacanku (Spirit Path / Milky Way). The Keeping of the Soul (Wanagi Yuhapi) ceremony honors the dead for a year. Focus is this-worldly: restoring the Sacred Hoop.