For generations, the Lakota people recorded their history through a powerful and visually striking tradition known as the Winter Count. Instead of books or written manuscripts, they preserved each year with a single iconic symbol painted on bison hide, and later on cloth or canvas. Each symbol represented far more than an event - it held a lesson, a memory, and a story passed down through generations.
Today, Winter Counts remain one of the most remarkable Indigenous historical records in North America.
What Is a Winter Count?
A Winter Count is a visual calendar in which each year is represented by one pictograph. When the first snow of winter arrived - a natural marker of time -Lakota communities gathered with elders to decide which event was most meaningful to record that year.
These recorded events could include:
- A significant battle
- A harsh winter
- The passing of a respected elder
- A major celestial or natural event
- Widespread sickness
- A life-changing vision or spiritual sign
- A communal turning point
Unlike modern calendars, which simply measure time, the Winter Count captures what truly mattered to the people.
A designated keeper - often a respected elder - was responsible for maintaining the Winter Count and retelling the associated stories, ensuring that knowledge flowed from one generation to the next.
Why Winter Counts Matter
A Winter Count is not just a sequence of drawings - it is history preserved through memory and meaning.
These pictographs provide deep insight into:
- How the Lakota experienced the world
- The events that shaped their identity
- How communities interpreted hardships and triumphs
- The values they chose to pass down
Many Winter Counts today span more than two centuries of Indigenous history, offering a rare timeline told directly by the Lakota themselves - not filtered through outsiders, governments, or textbooks.
Winter Counts remind us that history is not only recorded in documents…it lives in the memories of those who endured it.
A Living Tradition
While traditional Winter Counts are no longer created in the same form, the spirit of the practice continues.
Today, many Lakota families preserve yearly memory through: artwork, regalia and traditional patterns, oral storytelling, family archives and photographs, or digital forms of memory keeping.
And most importantly, through the powwow.
Powwows: The Modern Echo of the Winter Count
The powwow is often seen as the closest contemporary expression of what the Winter Count once represented.
Each year, Native people of all ages come together to dance, sing and drum, pray, share stories, or strengthen cultural identity.
It is in the powwow circle that children, teenagers, and even the smallest toddlers learn who they are and where they come from.
They feel the heartbeat of the drum, the prayers of the people, and the presence of ancestors.
Just as the Winter Count captured each year’s defining memory, powwows preserve culture in a living, breathing form - one that can be felt, heard, and witnessed.
Why This Matters Today
In a world moving faster than ever, the Winter Count challenges us to pause and reflect:
What moment from this year will truly matter a century from now?
Which story will we choose to remember and pass on?
For Indigenous communities, preserving culture is not tradition - it is survival.
For supporters and allies, learning about Winter Counts is a powerful way to honor Indigenous resilience, memory, and truth.
Carry the Story Into Your Home
As the year comes to an end, many people look for gifts that carry meaning - pieces that honor history, culture, and identity.
Our store works with Native artisans and creators to bring culturally respectful designs that help keep these stories alive. If you’d like to explore pieces inspired by Indigenous art and storytelling, visit our collection: