The Lakota Sioux are a Native American tribe divided into seven groups, occupying lands in the northern plains of the United States and Canada. They adopted horse culture in the 18th century and focused on hunting buffalo. The Lakota are known for their iconic image of American Indians and their language contributed the word “tepee” to the American vocabulary. They judged families by their success in hunting, wealth in horses, sponsorship of religious ceremonies, and membership in fraternal societies. The Lakota are primarily concentrated on five reservations in South Dakota.
The Lakota Sioux are a Native American tribe indigenous to the United States. As one of the three major divisions of the Sioux Nation, the Lakota Sioux band is further subdivided into a confederacy of seven individual groups: the Oglala, meaning “Dispersers of Dust”; the Sihasapa, which means “black feet”; the Hunkpapa, meaning “End of the Circle”; the Sicangu, which means “burnt thighs”; the Miniconjous, meaning “planters beside the stream”; the Oohenupa, meaning “Two Kettles”; and the Itazipacola, which means “Without Strings”. The Lakota Sioux occupied lands spanning the northern plains of what is now the United States, from western Minnesota, east to Montana and north into the Canadian province of Alberta.
Although the Lakota are also known by the name Teton, meaning “prairie dwellers,” the tribe originally lived near the Great Lakes. As was the case with other Native American tribes, European-American settlements gradually encroached on their lands and were eventually forced to migrate westward from the Great Lakes area. This migration brought them into contact with other Native American tribes who introduced them to horse culture. After the Lakota Sioux adopted the horse in the early 18th century, life of the tribe focused on hunting buffalo.
It is the Lakota Sioux who have provided successive generations of the public with what has become the iconic image of American Indians. As a tribe, the Lakota were semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers, living in teepee dwellings and following the herds of buffalo to obtain the necessities of life. The Lakota language contributed the word “tepee” to the American vocabulary, along with the generalized Native American expression “like” used as a greeting.
Tribal life was built around the family’s hunting drive. The Lakota Sioux did not plant crops, instead relying on gathering wild plants or trading with settled farming tribes. The Lakota culture judged families by their success in hunting, wealth in horses, sponsorship of religious ceremonies, and membership in fraternal societies. Supernatural power, through visions or dreams, was also important to a family’s status.
Gender roles were specific. The Lakota women were responsible for the household and the men were warriors and hunters responsible for defending and feeding their families. Men were expected to practice the four cardinal virtues of generosity, courage, wisdom, and fortitude. Four slightly different cardinal virtues were required of women: generosity, courage, sincerity and pregnancy.
In the early 21st century, the Lakota are primarily concentrated on five reservations in South Dakota: Rosebud, Pine Ridge, Lower Brule, Cheyenne River, and Standing Rock Indian Reservations. Smaller numbers of Lakota live on reservations in Montana and North Dakota. They can also be found in small reserves in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
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