The Dakota (pronounced , or ) are a Native American

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

and

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

band government In Canada, an Indian band (), First Nation band () or simply band, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subject to the ''Indian Act'' (i.e. status Indians or First Nations). Bands are typically small groups of people: the largest in ...

in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

people, and are typically divided into the Eastern Dakota and the Western Dakota. The four bands of Eastern Dakota are the , , , and and are sometimes referred to as the Santee ( or ; 'knife' + 'encampment', 'dwells at the place of knife flint'), who reside in the eastern Dakotas, central

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

and northern

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. They have federally recognized tribes established in several places. The Western Dakota are the Yankton, and the Yanktonai ( and ; "Village-at-the-end" and "Little village-at-the-end"), who reside in the Upper

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

area. The Yankton-Yanktonai are collectively also referred to by the

endonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

('Those Who Speak Like Men'). They also have distinct federally recognized tribes. In the past the Western Dakota have been erroneously classified as

Nakota Nakota (or Nakoda or Nakona) is the endonym used by those Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native peoples of North America who usually go by the name of ''Assiniboine people, Assiniboine'' (or ''Hohe''), in the United States, and of ''Nakoda ...

, who are located in Montana and across the border in Canada, where they are known as Stoney.

Name

The word ''Dakota'' means "ally or friend" in the

Dakota language The Dakota language ( or ), also referred to as Dakhóta, is a Siouan language spoken by the Dakota people of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, commonly known in English as the Sioux. Dakota is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the Lak ...

, and their autonyms include ''Ikčé Wičhášta'' ("Indian people") and ''Dakhóta Oyáte'' ("Dakota people").Barry M. Pritzker, ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000; pg. 316

Ethnic groups

The Eastern and Western Dakota are two of the three groupings belonging to the

nation (also called Dakota in a broad sense), the third being the

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

(Thítȟuŋwaŋ or Teton). The three groupings speak dialects that are still relatively

mutually intelligible In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between different but related language varieties in which speakers of the different varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. Mutual intellig ...

. This is referred to as a common language, Dakota-Lakota, or

. The Dakota include the following bands: *Santee division (Eastern Dakota) (''Isáŋyathi'', meaning "knife camp") **

Mdewakanton The Mdewakanton or Mdewakantonwan (also spelled ''Mdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'' and currently pronounced ''Bdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'') are one of the sub-tribes of the Isanti (Santee) Dakota people, Dakota (Sioux). Their historic home is Mille Lacs Lake (Da ...

(''Bdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'' "Spirit Lake Village" or "people of the mystic lake") **:notable persons: Taoyateduta **Sisseton (''Sisíthuŋwaŋ'', translating to "swamp/lake/fish scale village") **Wahpekute (''Waȟpékhute'', "Leaf Archers") **:notable persons:

Inkpaduta Inkpaduta ( Dakota: Iŋkpáduta, variously translated as "Red End," "Red Cap," or "Scarlet Point") (about 17971881) was a war chief of the Wahpekute band of the Dakota (Eastern or Santee Dakota) during the 1857 Spirit Lake Massacre and later W ...

**Wahpeton (''Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ'', "Leaf Village") *Yankton-Yanktonai division (Western Dakota) (''Wičhíyena'') **Yankton (''Iháŋkthuŋwaŋ'', "End Village") **Yanktonai (''Iháŋkthuŋwaŋna'', "Little End Village") ***Upper Yanktonai *** Húŋkpathina or Lower Yanktonai

Language

The Dakota language is a Mississippi Valley Siouan language, belonging to the greater Siouan-Catawban language family. It is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the

Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. Lakota is mutually intelligible with the two dialects of the Dakota language, especially Dakot ...

, and both are also more distantly related to the Stoney and

Assiniboine The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nakoda ...

languages. Dakota is written in the

Latin script The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae in Magna Graecia. The Gree ...

and has a dictionary and grammar. #

Eastern Dakota The Dakota (pronounced , or ) are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into the Eastern Dakota and the Wester ...

(also known as Santee-Sisseton or Dakhóta) #* Santee (Isáŋyáthi: Bdewákhathuŋwaŋ, Waȟpékhute) #* Sisseton (Sisíthuŋwaŋ, Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ) # Western Dakota (or Yankton-Yanktonai or Dakȟóta) #* Yankton (Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋ) #* Yanktonai (Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋna) #** Upper Yanktonai (Wičhíyena)

History

Before the 17th century, the Santee Dakota (; "Knife" also known as the Eastern Dakota) lived around

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

with territories in present-day northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. They gathered wild rice, hunted woodland animals and used canoes to fish. Wars with the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

throughout the 1700s pushed the Dakota into southern Minnesota, where the Western Dakota (Yankton, Yanktonai) and Teton (Lakota) were residing. In the 1800s, the Dakota signed treaties with the United States, ceding much of their land in Minnesota. Failure of the United States to make treaty payments on time, as well as low food supplies, led to the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota people, Da ...

, which resulted in the Dakota being exiled from Minnesota to numerous reservations in Nebraska, North and South Dakota and Canada. After 1870, the Dakota people began to return to Minnesota, creating the present-day reservations in the state. The Yankton and Yanktonai Dakota ( and ; "Village-at-the-end" and "Little village-at-the-end"), collectively also referred to by the

, resided in the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It rises in southwestern ...

area before ceding their land and moving to South Dakota in 1858. Despite ceding their lands, their treaty with the U.S. government allowed them to maintain their traditional role in the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ as the caretakers of the Pipestone Quarry, which is the cultural center of the Sioux people. They are considered to be the Western Dakota (also called middle Sioux), and have in the past been erroneously classified as

.for a report on the long-established blunder of misnaming as "Nakota", the Yankton and the Yanktonai, see the article

The actual Nakota are the

and Stoney of

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

and

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

Santee (Isáŋyathi or Eastern Dakota)

Migrations of

people from the east in the 17th and 18th centuries, who were armed with muskets supplied by the French and British, pushed the Dakota further into Minnesota and west and southward. The US gave the name "

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

" to the northern expanse west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

and up to its headwaters. After the

, the federal government expelled the Santee (who included the

) from Minnesota. Many were sent to Crow Creek Indian Reservation east of the Missouri River in what is now South Dakota. In 1864 some from the Crow Creek Reservation were sent to St. Louis and then traveled by boat up the Missouri River, ultimately to the Santee Sioux Reservation. In the 21st century, the majority of the Santee live on reservations and reserves, and many in small and larger cities in Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Canada. They went to cities for more work opportunities and improved living conditions.

Iháŋkthuŋwaŋ-Iháŋkthuŋwaŋna (Yankton-Yanktonai or Western Dakota)

The Iháŋkthuŋwaŋ-Iháŋkthuŋwaŋna, also known by the

anglicize Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English languag ...

d spelling Yankton (Iháŋkthuŋwaŋ: "End village") and Yanktonai (Iháŋkthuŋwaŋna: "Little end village") divisions consist of two bands or two of the seven council fires. According to ''Nasunatanka'' and ''Matononpa'' in 1880, the Yanktonai are divided into two sub-groups known as the Upper Yanktonai and the Lower Yanktonai (Húŋkpathina). They were involved in quarrying pipestone. The Yankton-Yanktonai moved into northern Minnesota. In the 18th century, they were recorded as living in the

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The population was 44,488 at the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Mi ...

(''Maka To'' – Earth Blue/Blue Earth) region of southwestern Minnesota along the

Blue Earth River The Blue Earth River () is a tributary of the Minnesota River, long, in southern Minnesota in the United States. Two of its headwaters tributaries, the Middle Branch Blue Earth River and the West Branch Blue Earth River, also flow for short di ...

. Most of the Yankton live on the

Yankton Indian Reservation The Yankton Indian Reservation is the homeland of the Yankton Sioux Tribe of the Dakota tribe. The reservation occupies the easternmost 60 percent of Charles Mix County in southeastern South Dakota, United States and abuts the Missouri River ...

in southeastern South Dakota. Some Yankton live on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation and

Crow Creek Reservation The Crow Creek Indian Reservation (, '), home to Crow Creek Sioux Tribe ( or Húŋkpathi Oyáte) is located in parts of Buffalo, Hughes, and Hyde counties on the east bank of the Missouri River in central South Dakota in the United States. ...

, which is also occupied by the Lower Yanktonai. The Upper Yanktonai live in the northern part of the

Standing Rock Sioux Reservation The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota controls the Standing Rock Reservation (), which straddles the border between North and South Dakota in the United States, and is inhabited by ethnic " Hunkpapa and Sihasapa bands of Lak ...

, and on the

Spirit Lake Reservation The Spirit Lake Tribe (in Santee Dakota, Santee Dakota language, Dakota: ''Mniwakaƞ Oyate'', also spelt as ''Mni Wakan Oyate'', formerly known as Devils Lake Sioux Tribe) is a federally recognized tribe based on the Spirit Lake Dakota Indian res ...

, in areas within central North Dakota. Others live in the eastern half of the

Fort Peck Indian Reservation The Fort Peck Indian Reservation (, ) is located near Fort Peck, Montana, in the northeast part of the state. It is the home of several federally recognized bands of Assiniboine, Lakota, and Dakota peoples of Native Americans. With a total ...

in northeastern Montana. In addition, they reside at several Canadian reserves, including Birdtail, Oak Lake, and Whitecap (formerly Moose Woods).

Modern geographic divisions

The Dakota maintain many separate tribal governments scattered across several reservations and communities in North America: in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Montana in the United States; and in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, southern

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

in Canada. The earliest known European record of the Dakota identified them in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. After the introduction of the horse in the early 18th century, the Sioux dominated larger areas of land—from present day Central Canada to the

Platte River The Platte River () is a major American river, in the state of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, w ...

, from Minnesota to the

Yellowstone River The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the Western United States. Considered the principal tributary of the upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountain ...

, including the Powder River country.

Modern reservations, reserves, and communities of the Sioux

(* ''Reserves shared with other First Nations'')

Notable Dakota people

Historical

* Hazaiyankawin (

Azayamankawin Azayamankawin (), also known as Hazaiyankawin, Betsey St. Clair, Old Bets, or Old Betz, was one of the most photographed Native Americans in the United States, Native American women of the 19th century. She was a Mdewakanton, Mdewakanton Dakota wo ...

), Mdewakanton Dakota woman who ran canoe ferry service in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

*Inkpaduta ( Scarlet Point/Red End), Wahpekute Dakota war chief * Ištáȟba ( Sleepy Eye), Sisseton Dakota chief * Maḣpiya Wic̣aṡṭa ( Cloud Man), Mdewakanton Dakota chief * Ohíyes'a (

Charles Eastman Charles Alexander Eastman (February 19, 1858 – January 8, 1939, born Hakadah and later named Ohíye S'a, sometimes written Ohiyesa) was an American physician, writer, and social reformer. He was among the first Native Americans to be certifie ...

), Dakota author, physician and reformer who helped found the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

* Snana ( Maggie Brass), Mdewakanton woman who saved Mary Schwandt during the U.S.–Dakota War of 1862 *Tamaha ( One Eye/Standing Moose), Mdewekanton Dakota scout for the U.S. during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

* Thaóyate Dúta ( Little Crow III/His Red Nation), Mdewakanton Dakota chief of

Kaposia Kaposia or Kapozha was a seasonal and migratory Mdewakanton, Dakota settlement, also known as "Little Crow's village," once located on the east side of the Upper Mississippi River, Mississippi River in present-day Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Kapos ...

band and military leader during U.S.–Dakota War of 1862 * Ti'wakan ( Gabriel Renville), Sisseton Wahpeton chief from 1866 to 1892 *Wapahaśa ( Wabasha II), head chief of Mdewakanton Dakota and Kiyuksa band in early 1800s *Wapahaśa ( Wabasha III), head chief of the Santee Sioux *Wánataŋ ( Wanata), Yanktonai Dakota chief * Wánataŋ ( Wanata#Chief Wanataan II), Sisseton Dakota chief, son of the former * Waŋbdí Okíčhize ( War Eagle), Yankton Dakota chief of Santee origin * Waŋbdí Tháŋka ( Big Eagle), Mdewakanton Dakota sub-chief * Zitkala-Ša ( Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, 1876–1938), Yankton author, educator, musician and political activist

Contemporary

Ella Cara Deloria Ella Cara Deloria (January 31, 1889 – February 12, 1971), also called Aŋpétu Wašté Wiŋ ("Beautiful Day Woman"), was a Yankton Dakota educator, anthropologist, ethnographer, linguist, and novelist. She recorded Native American oral history ...

(1889 – 1971), author, ethnographer, linguist * Vine Deloria Jr. (1933–2005), Standing Rock author, activist, historian and theologian * Floyd Red Crow Westerman/''Kanghi Duta'' (1936–2007), Sisseton Wahpeton actor *

John Trudell John Trudell (February 15, 1946December 8, 2015) was a Native American author, poet, actor, musician, and political activist. He was the spokesperson for the Indians of All Tribes' takeover of Alcatraz beginning in 1969, broadcasting as ''Rad ...

(1946–2015), Santee activist,

American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is an Native Americans in the United States, American Indian grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues ...

leader Contemporary Sioux people are also listed under the tribes to which they belong:

By individual tribe

* Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation * Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of the Crow Creek Reservation * Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe * Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation *

Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC; Dakota: ''Bdemayaṭo Oyate'') is a federally recognized, sovereign Indian tribe of Mdewakanton Dakota people, located southwest of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, within parts of the cities of Prior ...

* Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate * Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota * Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota

Citations

External links

About Dakota Wicohan
* {{authority control First Nations in Manitoba First Nations in Ontario First Nations in Saskatchewan Native American tribes in Minnesota Native American tribes in Nebraska Native American tribes in North Dakota Native American tribes in South Dakota Plains tribes Sioux