|
The dispute over the Black Hills
land sought by the Costner's dates to the Fort Laramie
Treaty of 1868. Under that agreement, the United States
recognized the Great Sioux Nation as a sovereign and
separate entity. Under the terms of the treaty, the
Great Sioux Nation consists of land west from the
Missouri River in South Dakota to the Bighorn Mountain
in Wyoming. In exchange for the undisturbed use of this
territory the Lakota agreed to vacate vast sections of
the Great Plains.
The Sioux (IPA /su/) are a Native American and First
Nations people. The term can refer to any ethnic group
within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's
many dialects. The Sioux comprise three major divisions
based on dialect and subculture:
Teton (“Dwellers on the Prairie”): the westernmost
Sioux, known for their hunting and warrior culture, and
are often referred to as the Lakota.
Isanti ("Knife," originating from the name of a lake in
present-day Minnesota): residing in the extreme east of
the Dakotas, Minnesota, and northern Iowa, and are often
referred to as the Santee or Dakota.
Ihanktowan-Ihanktowana ("Village-at-the-end" and "little
village-at-the-end"): residing in the Minnesota River
area, they are considered to be the middle Sioux, and
are often referred to as the Yankton-Yanktonai or Dakota.
Today, the Sioux maintain many separate tribal
governments scattered across several reservations and
communities in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and
also in Manitoba and southern Saskatchewan in Canada.
|
