"Heyokas are powerful. They can cure certain illnesses, and they can also change the weather. They can change a blizzard into a clear day and summer breeze into a hailstorm. They can part the clouds to let the sun shine through, and they can protect people from being hit by lightning...A heyoka is a 'thunder dreamer.' The moment you dream of thunder or lightning or of the Wakinyan, the Thunderbirds, you become a heyoka whether you want it or not. Even if you merely dream of one of the many symbols of lightning--a gray horse, for instance--you are turned into one of these contraries."

Gift of Power: The Life and Teachings of a Lakota Medicine Man

by

Arhcie Fire Lame Deer

&

Richard Erdoes