Sioux Native Americans

1. Sioux Native Americans By: Blade Brooks

2. Region The original Lakota/Dakota homelands were in what is now Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota. The Sioux traveled freely, however, and there was also significant Sioux presence in the modern states of Iowa, Nebraska, Montana, and northern Illinois, and in south-central Canada. Today, most Sioux people live in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Saskatchewan.

3. Foods Originally the Lakota and Dakota Indians were corn farmers as well as hunters, but once they acquired horses they mostly gave up farming, and moved frequently to follow the seasonal migrations of the buffalo herds. Most of their diet was meat, especially buffalo, elk and deer, which they cooked in pits or dried and pounded into pemmican. The Sioux also collected chokecherries, fruit, and potatoes to eat.

4. Clothing Sioux women wore long deerskin or elkskin dresses. Sioux men wore breechcloths and leggings and buckskin shirts. The Sioux also wore moccasins on their feet and buffalo-hide robes in bad weather. In colonial times, the Sioux adapted European costume such as vests, cloth dresses, and blanket robes. Here are more pictures of Sioux clothing styles, and some photographs and links about Native American clothes in general. Sioux warriors and chiefs were well-known for their impressive feathered warbonnets, but they didn't wear them in everyday life. Both Sioux men and women wore their hair long, cutting it only when they were in mourning. There were many different traditional Sioux hairstyles, but long braids were the most common. Men often wrapped their braids in fur or tied quillwork strips around them. On special occasions, Sioux people painted their faces and arms with bright colors and animal designs. They used different patterns for war paint and festive decoration.

5. Shelter The Dakota and Lakota people lived in large buffalo-hide tents called tipis (or teepees). Tipis were carefully designed to set up and break down quickly. An entire Sioux village could be packed up and ready to move within an hour. Originally tipis were only about 12 feet high, but after the Sioux acquired horses, they began building them twice that size. Here are some pictures of tipis and other Indian houses. Today, Native Americans only put up a tepee for fun or to connect with their heritage. Most Sioux families live in modern houses and apartment buildings, just like you.

6. Interesting facts Sioux warriors used bows and arrows, spears, war clubs, and buffalo-hide shields. Hunters also used snares, and when Lakota or Dakota men hunted buffalo, they often set controlled fires to herd the animals into traps or over cliffs.

7. References http://www.bigorrin.org/sioux_kids.htm http://www.google.com