378 



DAKOTA 



[I 



and they conquered or drove out every 

 rival except the Chippewa. They are 

 educated in their own language, and 

 through the agency of missionaries of the 

 type of Jliggs, Williamson, Cleveland, 

 and Cook, many books in the Dakota 

 language have been printed, and papers 

 in Dakota are issued regularly. (See 

 Pilling, Bibliog. Siouan Lang., Bull. B. 

 A. E., 1887.) 



Socially, the Dakota originally consisted 

 of a large number of local groups or bands, 

 and, although there was a certain ten- 

 dency to encourage marriage outside the 

 band, these divisions were not true gentes, 

 remembered blood relationship, accord- 

 ing to Clark, being the only bar to mar- 

 riage. Personal fitness and popularity 

 determined chieftainship more than he- 

 redity, but where descent played any part 

 it was usually from father to son. The 

 tipi might belong to either parent and 

 was obtained by that parent through some 

 ancestor who had had its character re- 

 vealed in a dream or who had captured 

 it in war. The authority of the chief was 

 limited by the band council, without whose 

 approl)ation little or nothing could be ac- 

 complished. War parties were recruited 

 by individuals who had acquired reputa- 

 tion as successful leaders, while the sha- 

 mans formulated ceremonial dances and 

 farewells for them. Polygamy was com- 

 mon, the wives occupying different sides 

 of the tipi. Remains of the dead were 

 usually, though not invariably, placed on 

 scaffolds. 



Early explorers usually distinguished 

 these people into an Eastern or Forest 

 and a Western or Prairie division. A 

 more complete and accurate classification, 

 one which is also recognized by the peo- 

 ple themselves, is the following: 



1. Mdewakanton; 2. Wahpeton; 3. Wah- 

 pekute; 4. Sisseton; 5. Yankton; 6. Yank- 

 tonai; 7. Teton, each of which is again 

 subdivided into bands and subbands. 

 These seven main divisions are often 

 known as "the seven council fires." 

 The first four named together constitute 

 the Isanyati, Santee, or eastern division, 

 of which the Mdewakanton appear to he 

 the original nucleus, and speak one dia- 

 lect. Their home was in Mmnesota prior 

 to the outbreak of 1862. The Yankton 

 and Yanktonai — the latter subdivided 

 into («) Upper and (6) Hunkpatina or 

 Lower — held the middle territory be- 

 tween L. Traverse and Missouri r. in e. 

 Dakota, and together spoke one dialect, 

 from which the Assiniboin was an off- 

 shoot. The great Teton division, with 

 its subdivisions, Upper and Lower Brule, 

 Oglala, Sans Arcs, Sihasapa or Blackfoot, 

 Miniconjou, Oohenonpa or Two Kettle, 

 Hunkpapa, etc., and comprising together 

 more than half the nation, held the whole 



tribal territory w. of the Missouri and 

 spoke one dialect. 



The following are names of divisions, 

 groups, or bands that are spoken of as per- 

 taining to the Dakota. Some of these have 

 not been identified ; others are mere tem- 

 porary geographical or local bands: Black 

 Tiger, Broken Arrows, Cascarba, Cazazh- 

 ita, Chanshushka, Chasmuna, Cheokhba, 

 Cheyenne Sioux, Congewichacha, Farm- 

 er's band. Fire Lodge, Flandreau Indians, 

 Gens du Large, Grand Saux, Grey Eagle, 

 Horheton, Late Comedu, Lean Bear, Long 

 Sioux, Menostamenton, Micacoupsiba, 

 Minisha, Neecoweegee, Nehogatawonahs, 

 Newastarton, Northern Sioux, Ocatame- 

 netons, Ohahkaskatohyante, Oughetgeo- 

 datons, Oujatespouitons, Pehiptecila, 

 Pineshow, Psinchaton, Psinoumanitona, 

 Psinoutanhinhintons, Rattling Moccasin, 

 Red Leg's band. Redwood, Shahsweento- 

 wahs, Sioux of the Broad Leaf, Sioux of 

 the Des Moyan, Sioux of the East, Sioux 

 of the Meadows, Sioux of the West, Sioux 

 of the Woods, Sioux of the Lakes, Sioux 

 of the River St Peter's, Souon, Star band, 

 Talonapi, Tashunkeeota, Tateibombu's 

 band, Tatkannai, Ticicitan, Touchoua- 

 sintons. Traverse de Sioux, Upper Sioux, 

 W^aktonila, White Cap Indians, White 

 Eagle band, Wiattachechah. 



In 1904 the Dakota were distributed 

 among the following agencies and school 

 supermtendencies: Cheyenne River ( Min- 

 iconjou, Sans Arcs, and Two Kettle), 

 2,477; Crow Creek (Lower Yanktonai), 

 1,025; Ft Totten school (Sisseton, Wah- 

 peton, and Pabaksa), 1,013; Riggs Insti- 

 tute (Santee), 279; Ft Peck (Yankton), 

 1,116; Lower Brule (Lower Brule), 470; 

 Pine Ridge (Oglala), 6,690; Rosebud 

 (Brule, Waglukhe, Lower Brule, North- 

 ern, Two Kettle, and Wazhazha), 4,977; 

 Santee (Santee), 1,075; Sisseton (Sisseton 

 and Wahpeton), 1,908; Standing Rock 

 (Sihasapa, Hunkpapa, and Yanktonai), 

 3,514; Yankton (Yankton), 1,702; under 

 no agency (Mdewakanton in Minnesota) , 

 929; total, 26,175. Including the Assini- 

 boin the total for those speaking the 

 Dakota language is 28, 780. A comparison 

 of these figures with those taken in pre- 

 vious years indicates a gradual decline in 

 numbers, but not so rapid a decrease as 

 among most North American tribes. 

 Ab-boin-ee Sioux.— Ramsey in Ind. Aff. Rep., 83, 

 1850. Ab-boin-ug.— Warren in Minn. Hist. Coll., v, 

 36, 1885 (Chippewa name: 'roasters,' from their 

 custom of torturing foes). Abbwoi-nug.— Tan- 

 ner, Narr., 57, 1830. Ab-oin.— Warren in Minn. 

 Hist. Coll., v, 162, 1885. Aboinug.— Schoolcraft, 

 Ind. Tribes, ii, 141, 1852. Abwoinug.— School- 

 craft, Ind. Tribes, v, 39, 1855. Ba-akush'.— Gat- 

 schet, Caddo and Yatassi MS._vocab., B. A. E., 

 82 (Caddo name). Ba-ra-shup'-gi-o.— Hayden, 

 Ethnog. and Philol. Mo. Val., 402, 1862 (Crow 

 name). Bevan-acs.— Ramsey in Ind. Aff. Rep., 70, 

 1849 (usual Chippewa name; ev misprint for w). 

 Bewanacs.— Lapham,BlossomandDousman,Inds. 

 of Wis., 15, 1870. Boin-acs.— Ramsey in Ind. Afl. 



