Sioux Indian Tribe

Learn about the tribes that comprise the Sioux Indian tribe.

The Sioux Indian tribe is actually made up of smaller tribes.  These smaller sections comprise the Great Sioux Nation.  The Sioux Indian tribe is also referred to as the Seven Council Fires.  These are the original seven small tribes that made up the Sioux Indian tribe.  Today there are three main groups of Sioux Indian tribe including Dakota, Nakota, and Lakota.

The Sioux Indian tribe language has three different dialects.  These dialects are Yankton, Lakota, and Santee.  These can be associated with the Dakota, Nakota, and Lakota groups of the Sioux Indian tribe.  The Dakota speak one of two Santee dialects, while the Nakota speak one of two different Yankton dialects, and Lakota speak either a Northern Lakota or Southern Lakota dialect.

There have been many famous members of the Sioux Indian tribe. Chief Red Cloud was a great leader of the Sioux Indian Tribe that was known for his wisdom and bravery. Perhaps one of the most famous Native Americans from the Sioux Tribe was Sitting Bull. Sitting Bull was a famous medicine man.  He was involved with the notorious incident at Wounded Knee where many Native Americans were massacred.

The Sioux Indian tribe had many of the same beliefs of other Native American tribes. They took care of their families, their tribes, their animals, and their lands. However, like many Native Americans they were forced from their lands and could not avoid conflicts with the white man. 

Despite the hardships that the Sioux Indian tribe went through they still left their mark in United States geography. The names South Dakota, and North Dakota were both directly derived from the Sioux Indian tribe. Sioux Falls, Sioux City, the Little Sioux River, and the Big Sioux River were also named after the Sioux Indian tribe.  This doesn’t even include the names that were derived from languages of the Sioux Indian tribe.