History of South Dakota

The Sioux

The Sioux are a confederacy of numerous tribes that speak three different local languages, the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota. The Lakota (also known as the Teton Sioux) and Nakota primarily reside in South Dakota, where their rich heritage still lives on to this day. The Lakota were warriors and buffalo-hunters that lived on small game, deer, and wild plants. When white settlers began pushing west and moving onto their lands, the fustrated Sioux resisted in acts of retaliation that resulted in three major wars and other battles. One of the most brutal battles was at Wounded Knee, where US troops massacred about 150-370 Sioux, putting an end to the resistence.

The Dakota/Santee Sioux were forced onto reservations when they lost their only source of food, buffalo. US railroad companies hired hunters to kill buffalo herds, almost bringing them to extinction. The US government instead tried to exchange the Sioux domestic cattle and crops, making the Sioux dependent on the government for food and basic necessities.