Sioux Totally Explained

Everything about The Sioux totally explained

The Sioux are a Native American and First Nations people. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many dialects. The Sioux comprise three major divisions based on dialect and subculture:

Isanti ("Knife," originating from the name of a lake in present-day Minnesota): residing in the extreme east of the Dakotas, Minnesota, and northern Iowa, and are often referred to as the Santee or Dakota.

Ihanktowan-Ihanktowana ("Village-at-the-end" and "little village-at-the-end"): residing in the Minnesota River area, they're considered to be the middle Sioux, and are often referred to as the Yankton or Nakota.

Teton or Tetonwan (uncertain, perhaps "Dwellers on the Prairie"): the westernmost Sioux, known for their hunting and warrior culture, and are often referred to as the Lakota. Today, the Sioux maintain many separate tribal governments scattered across several reservations, communities, and reserves in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and also in Manitoba and southern Saskatchewan in Canada.

Oceti Sakowin

The historical Sioux referred to the Great Sioux Nation as the Oceti Sakowin (Očhéti Šakówį [oˈtʃʰetʰiʃaˈkʰowĩ]), meaning "Seven Council Fires". Each fire was symbolic of an oyate (people or nation). The seven nations that comprise the Sioux are: Mdewakanton, Wahpetowan (Wahpeton), Wahpekute, Sissetowan (Sisseton), the Ihantowan (Yankton), Ihanktowana (Yanktonai), and the Teton (Lakota). The seven divisions would select four leaders known as Wicasa Yatapicka from among the leaders of each division. In any of the three main dialects, "Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota" all translate to mean "friend," or more properly, "ally." Usage of Lakota, Dakota, or Nakota may then refer to the alliance that once bound the Great Sioux Nation together.

Political organization

The historical political organization was based on the participation of individuals and the cooperation of many to sustain the tribe’s way of life. Leaders were chosen based upon noble birth and demonstrations of bravery, fortitude, generosity, and wisdom. Societies were similar to fraternities; men joined to raise their position in the tribe. Societies were composed of smaller clans and varied in number among the seven divisions. It was first used by Jean Nicolet in 1640. This information was interpreted by some that the Ottawa borrowing was an insult. However, this Proto-Algonquian term most likely is ultimately was derived from a form *-a·towe·, meaning simply "speak foreign language",

Teton (Lakota)

The Sioux likely obtained horses sometime during the seventeenth century (although some historians date the arrival of horses in South Dakota to 1720). The Teton (Lakota) division of the Sioux emerged as a result of this introduction. Dominating the northern Great Plains with their light cavalry, the western Sioux quickly expanded their territory further to the Rocky Mountains (or Heska, "white mountains"). The Lakota once subsided on the buffalo hunt and corn-trade with the eastern Sioux and their linguistic cousins the Mandan and Hidatsa along the Missouri.
In Canada, the Canadian government recognizes the tribal community as "First Nations." The land-holdings of the these First Nations are called "Reserves".

Modern Reservations, Reserves, and Communities of the Sioux

Reserve/Reservation	Community	Bands residing	Location
Fort Peck Indian Reservation	Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes	Hunkpapa, Lower Yanktonai, Wahpekute, Sisseton, Wahpeton, Assiniboine (Canoe Paddler, Red Bottom)	Montana, USA
Spirit Lake Reservation_{(Formerly Devil's Lake Reservation)}	Spirit Lake Tribe_{(Mni Wakan Oyate)}	Wahpeton, Sisseton, Upper Yanktonai	North Dakota, USA
Standing Rock Indian Reservation	Standing Rock Sioux Tribe	Upper Yanktonai, Hunkpapa, Blackfoot	North Dakota, South Dakota USA
Lake Traverse Indian Reservation	Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate	Sisseton, Wahpeton	South Dakota, USA
Flandreau Indian Reservation	Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe	Mdewakanton, Wahpekute, Wahpeton	South Dakota, USA
Cheyenne River Indian Reservation	Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe	Minneconjou, Blackfoot, Two Kettle, Sans Arc	South Dakota, USA
Crow Creek Indian Reservation	Crow Creek Sioux Tribe	Lower Yanktonai	South Dakota, USA
Lower Brule Indian Reservation	Lower Brule Sioux Tribe	Brulé	South Dakota, USA
Yankton Sioux Indian Reservation	Yankton Sioux Tribe	Yankton	South Dakota, USA
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation	Oglala Sioux Tribe	Oglala, few Brulé	South Dakota, USA
Rosebud Indian Reservation	Rosebud Sioux Tribe (also as Sicangu Lakota or Upper Brulé Sioux Nation)_{(Sićangu Oyate)}	Sićangu, few Oglala	South Dakota, USA
Upper Sioux Indian Reservation	Upper Sioux Community_{(Pejuhutazizi Oyate)}	Mdewakanton, Sisseton, Wahpeton	Minnesota, USA
Lower Sioux Indian Reservation	Lower Sioux Indian Community	Mdewakanton, Wahpekute	Minnesota, USA
Shakopee-Mdewakanton Indian Reservation_{(Formerly Prior Lake Indian Reservation)}	Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community	Mdewakanton, Wahpekute	Minnesota, USA
Prairie Island Indian Community	Prairie Island Indian Community	Mdewakanton, Wahpekute	Minnesota, USA
Mille Lacs Lake Indian Reservation	Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe (Mille Lacs Indians, St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Minnesota)	Ojibwa, Mdewakanton	Minnesota, USA
St. Croix Indian Reservation	St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin	Ojibwa, Mdewakanton	Wisconsin, USA
Santee Indian Reservation	Santee Sioux Nation	Mdewakanton, Wahpekute	Nebraska, USA
Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Reserve, Fishing Station 62A Reserve*	Sioux Valley First Nation	Sisseton, Mdewakanton, Wahpeton, Wahpekute	Manitoba, Canada
Dakota Plains Indian Reserve 6A	Dakota Plains Wahpeton First Nation	Wahpeton, Sisseton	Manitoba, Canada
Dakota Tipi 1 Reserve	Dakota Tipi First Nation	Wahpeton	Manitoba, Canada
Birdtail Creek 57 Reserve, Birdtail Hay Lands 57A Reserve, Fishing Station 62A Reserve*	Birdtail Sioux First Nation	Mdewakanton, Wahpekute, Yanktonai	Manitoba, Canada
Canupawakpa Dakota First Nation Reserve, Oak Lake 59A Reserve, Fishing Station 62A Reserve*	Canupawakpa Dakota Nation	Wahpekute, Wahpeton, Yanktonai	Manitoba, Canada
Standing Buffalo 78 Reserve	Standing Buffalo Dakota First Nation	Sisseton, Wahpeton	Saskatchewan, Canada
Whitecap Reserve	Whitecap Dakota First Nation	Wahpeton, Sisseton	Saskatchewan, Canada
	Dakota Plains Wahpeton First Nation	Wahpeton	Saskatchewan, Canada
Wood Mountain 160 Reserve, Treaty Four Reserve Grounds Indian Reservation 77*	Wood Mountain	Hunkpapa	Saskatchewan, Canada
Carry the Kettle Nakota First Nation Indian Reserves, Assiniboine 76 Reserve, Treaty Four Reserve Grounds Indian Reservation 77*	Carry the Kettle First Nation	Assiniboine	Saskatchewan, Canada
Little Black Bear 84 Reserve, Treaty Four Reserve Grounds Indian Reservation 77*	Little Black Bear Cree-Assiniboine First Nation	Cree, Assiniboine	Saskatchewan, Canada
Mosquito 109 Reserve, Grizzly Bear's Head 110 & Lean Man 111 Reserves, Mosquito, Grizzly Bear's Head, Lean Man Treaty Land Entitlement Indian Reserve 1, Golden Eagle Indian Reserve	Mosquito, Grizzly Bears Head, Lean Man First Nations (Mosquito, Grizzly Bear's Head, Lean Man)	Assiniboine, Cree	Saskatchewan, Canada
White Bear 70 Reserve, Treaty Four Reserve Grounds Indian Reservation 77*	White Bear First Nation	Assiniboine, Cree, Ojibwa	Saskatchewan, Canada
Stoney 142-143-144 Reserves, Stoney 142B Reserve, Big Horn 144A Reserve, Eden Valley 216 Reserve	Bearpaw, Chiniki and Wesley	Stoney	Alberta, Canada

Dakota War of 1862

When 1862 arrived shortly after a failed crop the year before and a winter starvation, the federal payment was late. The local traders wouldn't issue any more credit to the Santee and one trader, Andrew Myrick, went so far as to tell them that they were 'free to eat grass or their own dung'. As a result, on August 17, 1862 the Dakota War began when a few Santee men murdered a white farmer and most of his family, igniting further attacks on white settlements along the Minnesota River. The Santee then attacked the trading post, and Myrick was later found among the dead with his mouth stuffed full of grass.
On November 5, 1862 in Minnesota, in courts-martial, 303 Santee Sioux were found guilty of rape and murder of hundreds of American settlers and were sentenced to be hanged. No attorneys or witness were allowed as a defense for the accused, and many were convicted in less than five minutes of court time with the judge. President Abraham Lincoln remanded the death sentence of 284 of the warriors, signing off on the execution of 39 Santee men by hanging on December 26, 1862 in Mankato, Minnesota, the largest mass-execution in U.S. history.
Afterwards, annuities to the Dakota were suspended for four years and the money was awarded to the white victims. The men who were pardoned by President Lincoln were sent to a prison in Iowa, where more than half died.

Black Hills War

Between 1876 and 1877, the Black Hills War took place. The Lakota and their allies fought against the United States military in a series of conflicts. The earliest being the Battle of Powder River, and the final battle being at Wolf Mountain. Included are the Battle of the Rosebud, Battle of the Little Bighorn, Battle of Warbonnet Creek, Battle of Slim Buttes, Battle of Cedar Creek, and the Dull Knife Fight.

Wounded Knee Massacre

The Battle at Wounded Knee Creek was the last major armed conflict between the Lakota and the United States, subsequently described as a "massacre" by General Nelson A. Miles in a letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
   On December 29, 1890, five hundred troops of the U.S. 7th Cavalry, supported by four Hotchkiss guns (a lightweight artillery piece capable of rapid fire), surrounded an encampment of the Lakota bands of the Miniconjou and Hunkpapa with orders to escort them to the railroad for transport to Omaha, Nebraska.
   By the time it was over, 25 troopers and more than 150 Lakota Sioux lay dead, including men, women, and children. Some of the soldiers are believed to have been the victims of "friendly fire" because the shooting took place at point blank range in chaotic conditions. Around 150 Lakota are believed to have fled the chaos, many of whom may have died from hypothermia.
   Usage of the Ghost Dance reportedly instigated the massacre.

Forced relocation

Later in the 19th century, as the railroads hired hunters to exterminate the buffalo herds, their primary food supply, the Santee and Lakota were forced to accept white-defined reservations in exchange for the rest of their lands, and domestic cattle and corn in exchange for buffalo, becoming dependent upon annual federal payments guaranteed by treaty. In Minnesota, the treaties of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota in 1851 left the Sioux with a reservation twenty miles (32 km) wide on each side of the Minnesota River.

Wounded Knee incident

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The Wounded Knee incident began February 27, 1973 when the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota was seized by followers of the American Indian Movement. The occupiers controlled the town for 71 days while the U.S. Marshals Service laid siege.

Republic of Lakotah

The Lakotah Freedom Delegation, a group of Native American activists, declared on December 19, 2007 the Lakotah were withdrawing from all treaties signed with the United States to regain sovereignty over their nation. One of the activists, Russell Means, claims that the action is legal and cites Natural, International and U.S. law. The group consider Lakotah to be a sovereign nation, although as yet the state is generally unrecognized. The proposed borders reclaim thousands of square kilometres of North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Montana.

Derived names

The U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota are named for the Sioux. The name for Minnesota originated as the name of a river in the heart of Isanti territory: Mnisota (mni translates to "water" and sota means "hazy or smoky").
   Several Midwestern municipalities utilize Sioux in their names, including Sioux City, Iowa, Sioux Center, Iowa, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Midwestern rivers include the Little Sioux River in Iowa and Big Sioux River along the Iowa/South Dakota border.
   Many smaller towns and geographic features in the northern Great Plains retain their Sioux names (some are heavily Anglicized) or English translations of those names. These are: Wasta (from "Waste" meaning "good"), Owanka, Oacoma, Rapid City (Mne luza: "cataract" or "rapids"), Sioux Falls/Minnehaha County (Mne haha: "waterfall"), Inyan Kara, Sisseton (derived from the orgiinal tribal name "Sissetowan"), Winona ("first daughter"), etc.
   Frontwoman Siouxsie Sioux of the postpunk band Siouxsie and the Banshees also derived her stage name from the "Sioux."
   The University of North Dakota's athletic team is known as the "Fighting Sioux." While there's a local desire to retain the mascot, numerous Sioux tribes have issued resolutions asking the university to abolish it.

Derived names from other Siouan languages

The name Nebraska comes from the related Chiwere language of the Siouan language family. Furthermore, the names of the states Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri derive from the names of other tribes within the Siouan language family: Kansa, Iowa, and Missouri, respectively. The names of the cities of Omaha, Nebraska and Ponca City, Oklahoma also derive from the Omaha and Ponca tribes. The names vividly demonstrate the wide dispersion of the Siouan language family across the Midwestern United States. Though they're considered part of the Siouan language family, none of these tribes or their languages are considered Sioux.

Media

The HBO movie Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee depicts the relocations and reservations from the Sioux perspective.

The films Dances with Wolves and Thunderheart contain depictions of the Sioux People.

"Elegy to the Sioux," a poem by Norman Dubie

The mini-series Into the West depicts the Sioux, specifically the Lakota, during some of first ventures of the "White Man" into the great plains and to the Rocky Mountains.

Famous Sioux

Historical

Taoyateduta (Little Crow) — Chief famous for role in the Dakota War of 1862

Tatanka Iyotanke (Sitting Bull) — Chief famous for role in the Battle of Little Bighorn

Tasunka Witko (Crazy Horse) — Famous for leadership and courage in battle

Makhpiya-luta (Red Cloud) — Chief famous for role in Red Cloud's War

Tasunkakokipapi (Young Man Afraid Of His Horses) — Oglala chief who participated in Red Cloud's War

Ishtakhaba (Sleepy Eye) — Chief of the Sisseton band in the mid 19th century; signed four treaties

Hehaka Sapa (Black Elk) — Lakota holy man, source of Black Elk Speaks and other books

Tahca Ushte (Lame Deer) — Lakota holy man, carried traditional knowledge into modern era

Ohiyesa Charles Eastman — Author, physician and reformer

Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington — World War II Fighter Ace and Medal of Honor recipient; 1/4 Sioux

Wambditanka - Big Eagle - Mdewakanton Dakota chief - Narrated his account of the Dakota War of 1862

Contemporary

Robert "Tree" Cody, Native American flautist (Dakota)

Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, activist, academic, and writer

Mary Crow Dog, writer and activist

Vine Deloria, Jr., activist and essayist

Indigenous, blues band (Nakota)

Illinois Jacquet, jazz saxophonist (half Sioux and half African American)

Russell Means, activist (Oglala)

Ed McGaa, author, (Oglala) CPT US Marine Corp F-4 Phantom Fighter Pilot

Billy Mills, only American ever to win the 10,000 meters at the Olympics (1964) – Oglala

Eddie Spears, actor (Lakota Sioux Lower Brule)

Michael Spears, actor (Lakota Sioux Lower Brule)

Terry Ree, comedian

John Trudell, actor

Floyd Red Crow Westerman, singer and actor (Dakota)

Leonard Peltier, imprisoned for allegedly killing two FBI agents in 1975

Woodrow Keeble, first Sioux Medal of Honor recipient for his valor during the Korean War

Luther Standing Bear, Sioux author, actor, and rights activistFurther Information

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