Sioux Indians Essay -- American History

Sioux Indians We're going to tell you about a tribe of Indians known as the Sioux Indians. The Sioux Indians lived on the great plains. The Sioux's tribe is partially and fully located in 7 states. The states are known as Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Their natural resources include deer, beans, wild rice, and buffalo. The Sioux nation was divided into 7 groups. They were known as the 7 council fires. Each council fire had its own leaders and own group of families that always camped together. The largest Council Fire lived on the western plains. It was so big it was divided into 7 groups. It was called the Teton Sioux. They spoke the Lakota dialect of the Sioux language. Two councils lived on the middle plains, they were called Yankton Sioux. The language they spoke was the Nakota dialect of the Sioux language. The other Council Fires lived on the plains in the east. The name that they called themselves was Santee Sioux. The dialect that they spoke was the Dakota dialect of the Sioux language. The councils lived far away from each other, but they could understand each other's dialect. The families in each council fire met once a year , during the summer. When they met they shared news and traded things they had gotten from other tribes. They gave gifts away at special feats that were c alled giveaways. They also played ball games and raced horses. It was time to give thanks for the past year , and ask for help in the new year. They did this by taking part in a Sun Dance. The Sioux never camped in one place for very long. They were nomads and moved their camps to follow the buffalo and to find fresh grass for their ponies. Because of this they lived i... ... The plate was sometimes made out of buffalo horn hair pipes. The Sioux were also excellent riders. They trained their horses well and fast. The horses allowed the men to move quickly in battle and out of danger. As time passed, the Sioux traded with Europeans for guns. They became excellent marksmen. Sitting Bull was a well respected medicine man, and later became a chief. He led the Sioux through many battles. One of the most famous was called the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Sitting Bull believed the Ghost Dance would unite the Sioux. He encouraged his people to perform the dance. The U.S. government banned the dance and Sitting Bull was arrested and then killed. The Sioux Indians had very interesting traits and still live on reservations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Minnesota. The reservations have about 106,500 members.