Sioux Indians

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 called 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 in tipis. Tipis were made of buffalo hides. They were easy to put up and take down. The top of a tipi had two flaps that allowed smoke to escape from the fire pit. Tipi doors faced the east to great the morning sun and to honor the first direction.

The Sioux ate what they found in the homelands. Buffalo was an important food, it was mostly hunted in the fall. None of the buffalo was wasted. It was eaten and made into clothing, tipi coverings, shields, and weapons. The Sioux also made pemmican from dried meats, dried berries, dried fruits, nuts, and melted buffalo fat. The meat, berries, fruits, and nuts were crushed. Then they poured melted buffalo fat over the mixture. The pemmican was stored in animal intestines and bladders. The containers were lightweight, watertight, and safe from insects.

The Sioux made clothes from animals in their homelands. The men wore breechcloths and thigh length leggings. The leggings often had fringes or porcupine quills on the outside seams. Their shirts were made from a whole animal hide. The hide was sewn under the arms to make loose sleeves. The bottom of the shirt and sleeves had fringes. The shirts were decorated with porcupine quills, beads, hair locks, or animal tails. Women wore deerskin dresses and skirts. The dresses were sewn from 2 or 3 animal skins. The hem and sleeves had fringes. Some dress tops had quill work, beads, elk teeth, or seashell decorations. Men and women wore moccasins. Sometimes they made them with fur still attached. When it was winter, the moccasins could be turned with the fur inside.

Sioux women were skilled at making clothes. They often decorated them with porcupine quills. The quills are hard and need to be softened so the women could make them into a geometric design. To soften the quill, she placed it in her mouth and ran it through her teeth. This flattened the quill. She had to work as fast as she could when she sewed the quill into her design. In the 1600's women began to decorate with European glass beads. Beading was quicker and easier, but quilling was still done. The women also decorated bags, pouches, sashes, and cradle board covers with beautiful bead and quill work.

Sioux men painted tipi covers. When a tipi was ready to be painted, the owner announced a feast. He invited friends and other tribesmen that specialized in tipi paintings. They sang songs and invited spirits to help them decorate the tipi. The men drew designs on the hide. They used pens made from buffalo bones and paint from clay and rocks.

Kinship is important to the Sioux. The Sioux believe that they are related not to only their human family, but also to the sun, wind, birds, plants, animals, trees, and the rest of nature. They also believe that protecting their extended family and nature is their job. They do this by performing ceremonies and rituals. They also use rituals and ceremonies to retain balance and restore harmony with nature.

Sioux families followed a lot of rules. The rules made life more comfortable for everyone. A tipi door that was open meant that anyone was welcome to visit. A door that was closed meant