Lakota

The Lakota ("friends" or "allies", sometimes also spelled "Lakhota") are a Native American tribe, also known as the Sioux (see Names). They form one of a group of seven tribes (the Great Sioux Nation or Seven Council Fires) that speak three different dialects, including Titonwan or Lakota proper, Santee or Dakota, and Nakoda. The Lakota, or Teton (Titonwon), are the westernmost of the three groups, occupying lands in both North and South Dakota. The Nakoda or Nakota, the smallest division, reside on the Yankton reservation in South Dakota, the Northern portion of Standing Rock Reservation, and Canada (the Stoney and Assiniboine), while the Dakota live mostly in Minnesota and Nebraska, but include bands in the Sisseton-Wahpeton, Flandreau, and Crow Creek Reservations in South Dakota.

Derived placenames

The U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota are named after the Dakota. Two other U.S. states have names of Siouan origin: Minnesota is named from mni ("water") plus sota ("hazy/smoky, not clear"), while Nebraska is named from a language close to Dakota, in which mni plus blaska ("flat") refers to the Platte (French for "flat") River. Also, the states Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri are named for cousin Siouan tribes, the Kansa, Iowa, and Missouri, respectively, as are the cities Omaha, Nebraska and Ponca City, Oklahoma. The names vividly demonstrate the wide dispersion of the Siouan peoples across the Midwest U.S.

Related Topics:
North Dakota - South Dakota - Minnesota - Nebraska - Kansas - Iowa - Missouri - Omaha, Nebraska - Ponca City, Oklahoma - Midwest U.S.

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More directly, several Midwestern municipalities utilize Sioux in their names, including Sioux City (IA), Sioux Center (IA) and Sioux Falls (SD). Midwestern rivers include the Little Sioux River in Iowa and Big Sioux River along the Iowa/South Dakota border.

Related Topics:
Sioux City - Sioux Falls - Little Sioux River - Big Sioux River

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Many smaller towns and geographic features in the Northern Plains retain their Sioux names or bear English translations of those names, including Wasta, Owanka, Oacoma, Hot Springs (Minnelusa), Minnehaha County, Belle Fourche (Mniwasta, or "Good water"), Inyan Kara, and others.

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