Dakota

The Dakota People

The Dakota people's ability to survive and thrive is largely due to their cooperation with their two neighboring tribes. The group known as the Sioux was made up of the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota tribes, and their alliance made them all successful. Their culture was very similar, and this allowed them to join together in times of struggle, and share with each other in times of prosperity. The main similarities in their culture were their language, family structure, and religion. While the three goups did speak their own unique language, they all originated from the same base Dakota language, with very similar variations starting in the different regions of the Sioux territory. Also, their social structure was connected to the other two groups, with the seven council fires being split between them. This made it much easier to work together across family groups. Another culture parallel was their religion. The Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota all had the same religion, going to spiritual war together, honoring the same animals, and all performing the same important ritual, the Sun Dance. All of these cultural similarities allowed the three groups to work together for the benefit of everyone. Their most important endeavors together were when they allied to fight, or more commonly, to find food. They often collected wild rice from the same lakes, or hunted the same buffalo and deer, or fished from the same waters. This cooperation with the other Sioux tribes, is the most crucial component to the success of the Dakota.

Native Peoples Prior to European Arrival. Accessed September 8, 2015.

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