Guide Note:

The Sioux comprise three different divisions based on tribal identity and language: the Dakota, or Santee; the Nakota, or Yankton; and the Lakota, or Teton.

Fast Facts:

1. Population: 150,000+
2. Regions: Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Manitoba, Saskatchewan
3. Language: Sioux
4. Battles: Battle of the Little Big Horn

Brief History

One of the first Native American peoples to adopt the horse, after its importation by the Spanish to North America in the 17th century, the Sioux inhabited a broad swath of territory in what is now the northern United States and southern Canada. The Sioux are really three different ethnic groups who, as part of the Great Sioux Nation prior to European contact, met to coordinate hunting and raiding parties. Each of these three ethnic groups is further divided into sub-groups with their own practices and tribal identification. In the 19th century, as settlers from the United States began moving onto Sioux tribal lands, resistance to this settlement increased and resulted in violence, first in the Dakota War of 1862, and later in Red Cloud's War, the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and, finally, in 1890, the Wounded Knee Massacre.