The Lakota/Dakota/Nakota Nation is also known as the Great Sioux Nation. The word Sioux was adopted by the United States government from the term (Nadowesioux), which comes from a Chippewa (Ojibwa) word which means little threatened snake or enemy. This was because the Ojibwa or Chippewa learned to respect and fear the respective territories and hunting and fishing grounds set in place by the Sioux. The people of the Sioux Nation refer to themselves as Lakota or Dakota which means friend or ally. The French traders and trappers who worked with the Chippewa Ojibwa people latter shortened the word to Sioux.
The Black Hills are a sacred land to the Lakota and are located in the center the Great Sioux Nation. The Black Hills are spiritually connected to the Lakota/ Dakota people and are now considered an important part of their sacred lives. The 7th Cavalry led by General George A. Custer entered the Black Hills in violation of an 1868 treaty, the center of the Great Sioux Nation and discovered gold. This was the catalyst that sparked The Gold Rush in the Black Hills opening the conflict between the United States and Great Sioux Nation. The United States Government recognizing the value of the land wanted to buy or rent the Bla
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The oral tradition is still passed down from the elders to the youth. Families on the reservations receive an average of 32 dollars every two weeks from the welfare system in South Dakota. One of the newer problems the Lakotas face is the exodus of many of its newly educated younger tribal members. From the massacre at Wounded Knee along with other atrocities that happened in the 19th century to the near repeat events that occurred in the 1970s, discrimination and an overwhelming sense to assimilate have existed from the beginning of western contact. The unfair treatment and accumulation of the Native Americans lands by the United States Government has devastated the communities within the reservation. The result of the rift ended up leaving the reservation split between the mixed bloods who openly accept a certain amount of assimilation of American culture and the full bloods who renounce any integration and want to live and maintain the traditional culture the Lakotas have lived for hundreds of years. The average yearly income of the Native Americans living in the Black hills is 4,781 dollars. This only serves to weaken the Lakotas.
Despite the social and economic problems faced by the Lakotas the communities still continue to grow. National revision of the welfare system will soon end what little welfare the Lakota’s receive only adding to the problems that the Native Americans face. This did not stop the United States from moving forward to seize the land.
Community activities such as powwow, rodeos, and races are celebrated in the summer months.
General George Custer was assigned the task of relocating the Lakota onto constricting reservation lands that had very little use and lacked substantial natural resources. The statistics that surround the Lakota’s include a 60% rate of diabetes among the women; over half of the children under the age of 6 live below the poverty level which is currently 12,000 dollars a year. There has been a movement to educate the younger tribal members in the ways of the Lakota.
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