The Lakota: A Closer Look

Hey all-

All this talk about the Lakota got me interested, so I thought I'd do some research. I thought a bit of background and what resulted from the conflict at Little Bighorn would lend some insight to the actual incident itself. Here's what I found:

The Lakota people are an indigenous people of the Great Plains of North America. They are part of a confederation of seven related Sioux tribes. Notable persons include Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake (Sitting Bull) [from the Húnkpapȟa band*] and Tȟašúŋke Witkó (Crazy Horse).

Initial contact with the Lakota people first occurred during the Lewis and Clark Expedition, when the Lakota refused to let the explorers to continue their expedition upstream. Both sides prepared for battle, but none was forthcoming. The next incident, over half a century later, occurred in lieu of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851, which was negotiated to protect travelers on the Oregon Trail after the U.S. Army had built Fort Laramie without permission on Lakota land. The treaty acknowledged Lakota sovereignty over the Great Plains in exchange for free passage for travelers along the Oregon Trail for “as long as the river flows and the eagle flies”.

Later, in 1868, the U.S. signed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, which exempted The Black Hills (land considered sacred by the Lakota) from all white settlement forever. However, once gold was discovered by Lieutenant Colonel Custer, settlers and gold-seekers descended upon the area en mass.

A battle between Custer’s 7^th Cavalry and the Lakota known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn, (the Greasy Grass Fight to the Lakota), occurred not long after these settlers arrived, prompted by multiple attacks upon the settlers by the Lakota. (1876) The Lakota won the battle, but Congress soon authorized funds to expand the army by 2,500 men, which then engaged the Lakota in a series of battles that finally ended with a Lakota defeat, ending the Great Sioux War in 1877.

The Lakota were eventually confined onto reservations, not allowed to hunt buffalo and forced to accept government food distribution.

Today, the Lakota are found mostly in the five reservations of western South Dakota. Though the Lakota people ceded the Black Hills to the U.S. government in 1877, many small Lakota towns remain in the sacred hills today.

Important Lakota Figures:

Rain-in-the-Face (Ité Omáǧažu), Hunkpapa war chief who fought in the Battle of Little Bighorn

Sitting Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake), Hunkpapa chief

Spotted Tail (Siŋté Glešká), noted warrior and leader. Uncle of Crazy Horse.

Crazy Horse (Tȟašúŋke Witkó

Black Elk (Heȟáka Sápa) Son of Crazy Horse.

*Húnkpapȟa ("End Village" or Camps at the End of the Camp Circle)

Hope this helps, and good luck studying! 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakota_people