The Dakota tribe inhabited regions beyond North and South Dakota, including Wisconsin and Minnesota. They are now found throughout North America, with 13 political subdivisions and 7 tribal groups. Dakota Indians traditionally lived in tipis and traded with other tribes. They have their own language and gender roles were divided. Today, they have their own government and public services, and leaders are elected by popular vote.
Contrary to what one might expect, the homelands of the Dakota tribe were not just North and South Dakota. Dakota Indians also inhabited the Wisconsin and Minnesota regions of the U.S. Today, Dakota Indians are found throughout North America, with high concentrations in the Iowa, Nebraska, Montana, Illinois, South Dakota, and North Dakota areas of the U.S. and Saskatchewan, Canada. The Dakota people are divided into thirteen distinct political subdivisions.
In addition to political subdivisions, Native Americans of the Dakota Tribe identify with one of seven distinct tribal groups: Mdewakanton, Sisseton, Teton, Wahpekute, Wahpeton, Yankton, and Yanktonai Sioux. Tribal differences are largely cultural. Indian tribes may prefer to call themselves Dakota, Lakota, Nakota or Sioux. While the first three monikers have the same meaning in the language of the Dakota Indian nations: “allies,” the fourth is an Ojibwa word meaning “little snakes.”
American Indians living on government-assigned lands, called reservations, are self-reliant, but people of Dakota heritage don’t always identify with these groups. Each group has its own government, public services, rules and police. The leaders of the Dakota tribe are elected by popular vote and can be of either gender. Despite these differences, it is nearly impossible to distinguish a member of the Dakota tribe from any other person in a modernized country.
Traditionally, Dakota Indians lived in buffalo hide tents called tipis. These tents were 12 feet (3.66 m) to 24 feet (7.32 m) high and could be easily dismantled in case a tribe needed to move quickly. The Sioux interacted with other Native American tribes, trading regularly with the tribes of the Great Plains. Though normally peaceful, Dakota Indians often fought with Assiniboine, Ojibwe, and Kiowa groups. They participated in arts and crafts such as quillwork and painting.
Dakota Indians have their own language. While most speak English as their primary language, many are bilingual. In addition to the Lakota language, the Dakota Indians of the past were skilled in a series of gestures called Great Plains Sign Language, which enabled members of different Native American tribes to communicate with one another.
In the past, gender roles in the Dakota tribe were divided. Women were in charge of all household things and were also in charge of building their own house, which the women also owned. The men were charged with hunting and warfare. Traditionally, only men could become leaders, and both genders entertained the time with storytelling, the arts, medicine, and music.
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