Greater Prairie-Chicken

Tympanuchus cupido (Linnaeus)

Šiyóka (Lakȟóta)

The importance of Native tribes’ co-evolution with other animals on the Great Plains may well be epitomized by their relationship with the Greater Prairie-Chicken, whose courtship dance (and that of its close relative, the Sharp-tailed Grouse) was influential upon many Plains Indian dances, which are replete with many feathers aflutter and ritualized strutting gestures in imitation of the birds’ dancing. The bird species is also endangered, having been extirpated from much of its range due to habitat loss.