For the Lakota and Apache tribes their similarities are surprising, but their differences are fairly clear to see. The medicine bag tradition started when Grandpa’s father, Iron Shell, decided to put together a medicine bag to protect the wearer. Now, the oldest male descendant receives the medicine bag. Meanwhile, the practice of the Apache’s coming-of-age ritual dwindled greatly in the early 1900’s. During this time it was illegal to perform the act. Whereas in “The Medicine Bag” by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, Martin received the medicine bag without doing any trials, in “Apache Girl’s Rite of Passage” Dachina had to earn womanhood through difficult trials. Similarly, they both involve the children’s process of entering adulthood. This
