The Lakota's own name for themselves was Ocheti Shakowin, the "Seven Council Fires" or seven tribes who originally made up their nation: The Mdewakanton, Walpeton, Wahpekute, Sisseton, Yankton, Yanktonai and Teton. In time these groups became separated by dialect and geography into three distinct divisions.

A Group of Sioux, 1851. Reproduced from an Original Möllhausen Sketch
 

   The easternmost group, comprising the first four became the Dakota or Santee retaining their agricultural tradition between the forks of the Missouri and Mississippi. The second group moved west and lived between the Missouri and James rivers. These were the Yankton and Yanktonai who became the Nakota. The Teton or Lakota moved even further west onto the Great Plains and divided into a further seven sub tribes: Oglalas (Those Who Scatter Their Own), Brule (Burnt Thighs), Miniconjou (Those Who Plant By The Stream), Sans Arcs (No Bows) , Oohenopa (Two Kettles), Sihasapa (Blackfoot) and Hunkpapa (Those Who Camp By The Entrance). Ideally the seven tribes united each summer to renew the nation's unity but each tribe was self ruling and independent.
 

   The word Sioux is totally meaningless and is a corruption of Nadouessioux, a Chippewa word meaning adders or enemies. This word was corrupted by the early French settlers to Sioux.
 

   The Sioux originated from the woodlands east of the Mississippi, where they hunted, grew corn and foraged for wild nice in the lakes and streams of the region. Their neighbours and enemies the Chippewa acquired guns through trade with the white man through the Hudson's Bay Company set up in 1670. With the balance of power increased in the Chippewa's favour the Sioux found themselves pushed slowly westward, in turn pushing the Cheyenne before them. Eventually the Lakota arrived at the edge of the Great Plains and ventured onto them. This meant a huge change in culture and also that the tribes already living on the plains had to be moved out of the way. The Sioux were very aggressive and soon pushed tribes such as the Crows west and the Kiowas south. By the early 1700's the Sioux were firmly established on the Great Plains.

     When the Lakota first ventured onto the plains they had no horse and walked everywhere. Their belongings were either carried by themselves or on small "A" shaped frames, called travois, pulled by dogs. With the acquisition of the horse travel became quicker, hunting for food was easier and the travois could become bigger, meaning that the lodge poles of the tipi could be kept and transported with the band, instead of having to make new ones each time they camped.

Lakota Sioux