Native Americans : The Sioux Tribe

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In today´s post we are going to talk about The Sioux Tribe. The word Sioux means “the enemies”. However, this nation is also called Dakota or Lakota, which means “the allies”.

The Sioux nation is a large group of Native American tribes that traditionally lived in the Great Plains. There are three major divisions of Sioux: Eastern Dakota, Western Dakota, and the Lakota. The Sioux Indians actually came to North America from the continent of Asia about 30,000 years ago.

Generally, the Sioux Indians were nomadic, meaning that they never really stayed in one place for a very long amount of time. Typically they followed the pattern of the buffalo, assuring them that there would be food and clothing wherever they traveled. The Spanish introduced horses to the Sioux in the 1500’s. Once they began to use horses as a means of carrying articles and transportation, life became much easier, particularly since they were living a nomadic lifestyle. The tribe had chiefs designated for various aspects of life, including war, civil rules, and of course, medicine men. The men of the tribe could become chiefs eventually if they demonstrated strong warrior skills.

They lived in teepees made from long wooden poles and covered with bison hides. The poles would be tied together at the top and spread wide at the bottom to make the shape of an upside down cone. Teepees could be taken down and set up quickly. This enabled entire villages to move on a regular basis.

Nearly all Lakota and Dakota people speak English, but about 15,000 Sioux Indians are bilingual in their native Lakota or Dakota language. Despite pronunciation differences, Lakota and Dakota speakers can understand each other easily, just like people who speak American English and Canadian English can.

Regarding their food, some Sioux grew crops like corn, squash, and beans, however the majority of the Sioux gained most of their food from hunting. Their primary food source was meat from bison, but they also hunted deer and elk. They would dry the bison meat into a tough jerky that could be stored and lasted for over a year.

Sioux women are known for their quillwork and beadwork, and the men are known for their elaborate buffalo-hide paintings. Sioux artists also make pottery, parfleche, and ceremonial calumets (pipes carved from catlinite.)

To give some more information, once the 1860’s came around, the fight over land got quite intense. The Sioux Indians battled the white man in order to keep their land. Eventually, the United States government signed a treaty allowing them to keep a portion of the land, otherwise known as a reservation. Once the gold rush took place, rumors abounded that there was gold located on Sioux land. Again, a battle ensued and the Sioux joined up with the Cheyenne tribe. The battle was led by the legendary Sitting Bull. Over the next couple of decades, the Sioux Indians traveled to the Dakotas. They took place in the famous battle known as Custer’s Last Stand, and ended up killing all of the soldiers that attempted to attack them. Unfortunately in 1891 the Battle of Wounded Knee occurred, and the Sioux lost the battle, losing many people in the fray. Today, there are about 30,000 Sioux Indians living in South Dakota, and still other in Nebraska, Montana, and Canada.