The Native American Sioux lived in the Great Plains and were nomadic hunter-gatherers who followed buffalo herds. They had strong kinship ties and encountered white explorers in the 1600s. The Sioux agreed to trade their lands for money and to stay on reservations, but the US government failed to deliver payments, leading to violent attacks. The most famous conflict was the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn. Today, the Sioux live on reservations, and some have made attempts to reclaim their lands and demand better living conditions and rights.
A Native American Sioux is a person who identifies with one of several Siouan-speaking tribes that make up the Sioux Nation. The Sioux lived in the Great Plains country, bordered by the Rocky Mountains to the west, Lake Winnipeg to the north, and the Arkansas River to the south. Today, this area roughly includes parts of Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota.
The first Native American Sioux were nomadic hunter-gatherers. The tribes lived on roots, berries, wild rice and game. More important were the herds of buffalo that the Sioux Native Americans followed on the Great Plains. The buffalo had a deep spiritual purpose in Sioux culture, and many ceremonies and rituals centered around the animals. The Sioux also used buffalo meat and fashioned their bones, hides and ligaments into tools and clothing.
The harsh conditions of the Great Plains fostered strong kinship ties among the Sioux Native Americans. All had to fulfill rigorous duties to ensure food, safety, and spiritual fulfillment for their families and tribe. Saying “live as if you have no relatives” was considered a biting insult.
The Sioux first encountered white explorers in the 1600s. French explorers and soldiers built forts and trading posts in the area, and missionaries soon followed. In 1685, the French formally reclaimed the land and began driving the Sioux Native Americans further north and west.
By the 1800s, non-Indians had established towns and farms in Native American Sioux territory. The tribes agreed to trade 35,000,000 million acres (14,164,000 hectares) of their lands west of the Mississippi River in exchange for $3,000,000 US Dollars (USD). The Sioux agreed to stay on reservations. When the US government failed to deliver payments, the Sioux were outraged. Violent attacks on white settlers aggravated hostilities between whites and Native Americans.
In 1862, a Sioux tribe known as the Santee took out their frustration with the government and white settlers by attacking several settlements. Minnesota courts convicted 303 Sioux of raping and murdering nearly 1,000 whites and sentenced them to death. The Sioux were refused witnesses and lawyers. Finally, Abraham Lincoln stepped in and jailed 284 of the Sioux; 38 Santee Sioux were hanged the day after Christmas in 1862.
The process further poisoned relations between the Native American Sioux and white communities. Many Sioux left for Canada or Missouri; others went west to join other Sioux warriors fighting the US Army. War and strife continued to define the remainder of the 19th century for the Sioux.
The most famous conflict between the Native American Sioux and the US military was the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn, or “Custer’s Last Stand”. The Sioux and other tribes were angry that gold prospectors were exploring a region known as the Black Hills for gold, because the Black Hills held a deep spiritual purpose for Native Americans. In response, the Sioux joined the Cheyenne in fighting for their sacred lands. The U.S. Army sent troops to force them out, but headstrong General Custer decided to attack without waiting for orders. He led his he men to slaughter: the Sioux counted the strength of him many times over.
Although the Sioux won the Battle of the Little Bighorn, it was the beginning of the end of their military power. The actions of the famous Sioux chief Sitting Bull and the warrior Crazy Horse infuriated the American public. The US government became reluctant to keep its promises of land, food and money to the Sioux. The skirmishes culminated in the 1891 massacre of 200 Sioux at Wounded Knee.
Today the Sioux live on reservations, mainly in South Dakota. In the 20th century, some members made radical attempts to reclaim Sioux lands and bring attention to the tribe. Beginning in the 1960s, some young Native American Sioux staged protests demanding better living conditions, rights, and opportunities. In 2007, a group of Sioux known as the Lakotah Freedom Delegation declared the Lakotah Sioux a sovereign nation. They traveled to Washington, DC, to protest settlement on lands that had been given to the Sioux.
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