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Lakota (Sioux) Indians

The Lakota tribe are located in the Great Plains (Alan, 6)

 

  • In the 1600s, the Lakota were living off of small animals, deer, and plants but when they were forced to move west they started hunting buffalo which was introduced to them by the French in the 1700s (Weiser-Alexander)

  • Around the Black Hills there was an abundance of plants, over 600 species (Saunt, 161)

  • Buffalo became the base of their economy; they used it for food, shelter, clothes, almost everything (Thomas)

Homes:

  • They used tipis which were made by putting poles togethers in a triangle shape and then covering it with animal hide, usually buffalo (Thomas)

  • They used tipis because they were easy to pack up and move so that they could follow the buffalo to hunt them; they were a nomadic people (Thomas)

INTERESTING  FACT: 

  • Lakota is a branch of the Sioux Indians and the Lakota Indians has seven "subbands" (the Oglala, Brule, Sans Arcs, Blackfeet, Minnekonjou, Two Kettle, and Hunkpapa (Weiser-Alexander)

Men & Women:

  • Men were the providers and protectors of the family; they would hunt the buffalo for them (Weiser-Alexander)

  • Women basically controlled the home life, so the kids and the house or tipi in this case (Weiser-Alexander)

  • Below is a picture of dolls that were symbols of the men and women's roles by Sandra Brewer

Sandra Brewer (1964-), Lakota, Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota, 1992

Sioux-Ft. Yates 1890

Who was in control politically?

  • the male leaders of the tribe made the decisions; whether or not to attack (Thomas)

  • pictured above is Red Cloud a Sioux cheif in the 1800s (Thomas)

Did they get along?

  • with Europeans:

    • ​they encountered French people who introduced buffalo to them (Thomas)

    • they would steal horses when they went on raids which led to them becoming nomadic

    • the Lakota were affected by the smallpox epidimic which was caused by Europeans (Thomas)

  • with other tribes:

    • the Lakota were known to be savages so they would most likely attack; they were pretty violent in their attacks (Saunt, 157)

 

RELIGION:

  • their clearest expression of religion was the Sun Dance: "an annual ritual performed during the summer encampment and lasting several days" (Thomas)

  • they believed in an omnipotent god called Wakan Tanka and they praised him by slashing themeselves: the Sun Dance is an example (Weiser- Alexander) 

  • the Sun Dance was basically them torturing themselves which they viewed as worship because they could show themselves as a warrior (Thomas)

Citations:

 

  • Saunt, Claudio. West of the Revolution. New York: W. W. Norton, 2014. Print

  • Thomas, Kathyrn. "Indians of the Dakotas." Indians of the Dakotas. North Dakota State University Libraries, 23 Feb. 2004. Web. 11 Sept. 2015. <http://library.ndsu.edu/exhibits/text/indians/dakotas.html>.

  •  Sioux Nation." Legends of America. N.p., 2003. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. Weiser-Alexander, Kathy. "Native American Legends; Lakota, Dakota, Nakota - the Great <http://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-sioux.html>. 

  • Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.

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