The Sioux: America's Fiercest Fighters
The Sioux
The term “Sioux” can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation—which comprises tribes from the Great Plains of North America, which is a massive area that covers the central US and parts of western Canada.
It’s split into two linguistic groups, the Dakota and Lakota.
The Sioux have a seriously compelling history of fighting fiercely for their rights and their land. Pushed to the brink of extinction multiple times, battling against brutality and injustice—the story of the Sioux isn’t for the faint of heart.
The Očhéthi Šakówiŋ
The name Sioux comes from what the French called the group, “Nadouessioux”, but the Sioux refer to the whole nation as Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, which means “Seven Council Fires”. There are seven nations that make up the Sioux.
One is known collectively as the Lakota, while the Eastern Dakota comprises four, and Western Dakota two.
All Are Related
One characteristic of the Sioux is their belief in a strong social bond that goes beyond kinship and extends to the natural world, as well as the supernatural.
This is represented by the phrase that represents their worldview, Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ, which means “All are related”.
This view has has been a guiding force throughout the history of the group, with an emphasis on the bonds of kinship above all. According to one historian, to be Sioux is to be a good relative.
Early History
The ancestral Sioux originated in the area around the Central Mississippi Valley and later, around Minnesota, where they lived for thousands of years.
Around 800 CE, they also began to live in Northwestern Wisconsin, and then, by 1300, they became the Seven Council Fires—but soon after, they found themselves in peril.
Trouble Begins
In the 17th century, the Lakota expanded westward into the plains, while the Dakota faced a pressing issue. Conflict with the Iroquois forced them to disperse from where they lived at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Though the nation grew, the Dakota, who made up the eastern part of the nation, had trouble defending that area.
They were plagued by diseases like smallpox and malaria, and faced further threat from the Iroquiois—in the forms of the tribes that were fleeing from them, into Sioux territory.
The consequences were brutal, and the Sioux’s eastern population, who lived in the Mississippi valley, declined by one third.
