He flies through all the domain of the Sky, hidden in a robe of clouds, and if one of mankind sees His substance he is thereby made a heyoka, and must ever afterwards speak and act clownishly in an anti-natural manner. Yet, if He so wills, He may appear to mankind in the form of a giant man, and if so, He is then the God, Heyoka. One who looks upon the God, Heyoka, is not thereby made a heyoka. The potency of the Winged God cannot be imparted to anything. His functions are to cleanse the world from filth and to fight the Monsters who defile the waters and to cause all increase by growth from the ground.

The acceptable manner of addressing Him is by taunt and villification, the opposite of the intent of the address. He may be visualized as a bird whose wings have four joints. His symbol is a zigzag red line forked at each end. His akicita are the dog, swallow, snowbird, night hawk, lizard, frog, and dragon fly, and if either of these is seen in a vision the one to whom it appears is thereby made a heyoka.

Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 16, Part 2, The Sun Dance and Other Ceremonies of the Oglala Division of the Teton Dakota, p. 83-84