The Happy Hunting Ground
The Lakota believe the soul journeys after death to the happy hunting ground, a realm resembling the living world with better weather and more plentiful animals that are easier to hunt. Some traditions say the soul travels along the Sky-Road (Milky Way) to reach this destination. At the entrance, the deceased must present proper tattoos to Hihankara (Owl-Maker). Those with correct tattoos are admitted; those without are pushed back to Earth to wander as restless ghosts. The dead may also travel along the Spirit Path, another name for the Milky Way, to reach their final resting place among the