Sioux

1. A great nation tribe Sioux

2. History • Battle of Little Big Horn1875: Sioux and Cheyenne Indians gathered in Montana. They were angry due to the many intrusions of white settlers into their sacred lands. (Had two victories) • Wounded Knee Massacre 1890: Wovoka started a new “religion” that the whites didn’t approve of. The new religion believed the Ghost Dance Shirts would protect them.150 Indians had been killed and 50 wounded.

4. Location • Originally from the Western Great Lakes. They were forced west by the Ojibwe people into Minnesota. • Then they moved on to dominate the northern plains. • Today, the Sioux maintain many separate tribal governments scattered across several reservations Nebraska, Minnesota, and Montana in the United States and in Canada.

5. Climate, Resources, and Technology Climate Resources Almost always natural Corn, crops, buffalo. Some technology and arts are beaded turtles, shields, and stakes.  • Usually mild and very hot, but winter was very cold. • Used bows and arrows, spears, war clubs, and buffalo-hide shields. Hunters also used snares. TECHOLOGY

6. Economic Lifestyle • Traditionally agricultural • Approximately 15,803 acres of reservation land is devoted to crops; another 115,921 acres are grazing lands for cattle and smaller herds of horses, bison and elk

7. Decline in Status • European settlers brought new diseases for which the Sioux had no immunity. Cultural differences caused distrust, leading to numerous clashes and battles.  • Treaties were made, then changed, then ignored. The Sioux and other nations were given reservation land to live on, but frequently they were relocated when valuable commodities such as gold were found on their lands. 

8. Government • Village Councils: Each village council selected a chief who served for life. (Women had no say in government). • Tribal Councils: Jobs were assigned to smaller groups within the council. This made sure that no one group took dominance in the decisions of the tribal council. • Seven Fires Council: The Seven Fires Council was the top governing group. This Council made decisions for the entire Sioux Nation.

9. Relationships • The Sioux traded regularly with other tribes of the Great Plains. They particularly liked to trade buffalo hides and meat. • The Sioux also fought wars with other tribes. They didn't fight over territory but instead to prove their courage, and so Plains Indian war parties rarely fought to the death or destroyed each other's villages.

10. Culture • Medicine Wheel: The shape of the wheel represents the circle of life and death, which is considered never ending and most importantly represents the unity in the Great Spirit or Grandfather. • Dream Catcher: The good is captured in the web of life and carried with the people, but the evil in their dreams drops through the hole in the center of the web. • Sun Dance: It lasted four to eight days. It showed the balance and continuity between life and death and signified that there is no true end to life, but a cycle of symbolic and true deaths and rebirths. 

11. Contributions • The Tribe has farm land of over 7,000 acres. They supply primary crops such as corn, edible beans, wheat, and sunflowers. Smaller crops include alfalfa, milo, and potatoes. • Wind energy development and ideas for future enterprises include an ethanol processing plant, a riverfront marina and convenience store, a commercial fishery, a small strip mall, a bottled water supplier and distribution company, and a telemarketing call center. • This helps keep economic stability on their reserves

12. Religion/Belief • Believed that human beings, animals, and trees were all created by the Mother Earth. They believed the WakanTanka, the Great Spirit, created the universe. The Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the Earth, the very rocks, and the human soul were all creations of the WakanTanka.

13. Art • They decorated and bejeweled their moccasins and many other types of clothing with beads. They were much known for making star quilts. The Sioux Indians also adorned their tepees with art. The Sioux Indians were also known for their doll making.

14. Literature • The Sioux used some of the buffalo skin to make art designs to tell stories of the tribe with pictures. The many Sioux stories are referred to as Winter Counts.

15. Music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8TGv9Z27XY

16. Clothing • Sioux women wore long deerskin or elk skin dresses. • Sioux men wore breechcloths and leggings and buckskin shirts. • The Sioux also wore moccasins on their feet and buffalo-hide robes in bad weather. In colonial times, the Sioux adapted European costume such as vests, cloth dresses, and blanket robes.

17. Customs Marriage • Some Sioux men preferred to have only one wife. Others had several wives.  • During the Sioux marrying season, a man might ask five or six women to marry him. Two or three might say yes. • To seal the bargain, the groom had to give each bride's family a horse as a gift.  • When couples married, they made a new home. The men would kill a buffalo and bring the hide to the women. The women would sew a new tipi.  • Divorce was accepted.

18. Cuisine and Education • The Sioux Indians' diet consisted largely of meat. They also ate many wild fruits, nuts, and berries in addition to meat. Wild turnips, potatoes, and other roots were favorite foods which they added to soups. • Education system was very simple. Mothers taught their daughters and fathers taught their sons.

19. Work Cited • http://www.bigorrin.org/sioux_kids.htm • http://www.sioux.org/index.php/main/inner/sioux/committees_commissions_boards • http://www.sioux.org/index.php/main/inner/sioux/our_history • http://www.indians.org/articles/sioux-art.html • http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/plains/sioux/clothing.html • http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_climate_for_the_Sioux • http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_Sioux_religion