The Lakota
The Lakota (“dwellers of the prairie”) are a tribe of Native Americans of North America. Together
with the Dakota and Nakota they are also known as Sioux. In the middle of the 19th century they
occupied lands in today´s South and North Dakota and Nebraska, first of all living in the Black Hills of
South Dakota.
Culture and way of life
Life in the Great Plains was hard. There is no notable mountain range, so the Lakota were exposed to the elements without protection. In the winter, arctic storms can sweep across the country and temperatures below -20 are no rarity. In the summer months, periods of great heat often ravage the land accompanied by sand storms, heavy thunderstorms and even tornados.
History
The Sioux living in the area to the west of the Great Lakes during the 17th century, were expelled from the Algonkin to the West. There they split up. When the Lakota arrived at the Missouri in 1740, they began to tame horses.
At the same time they acquired rifles from the French in the North and both horses and rifles, became the basis for their later power. Horses increased their mobility, so they could follow the gigantic buffalo herds nearly everywhere. Rifles not only made their hunt on buffalos much more efficient but also their warfare. They first reached the Black Hills, which became their sacred mountains, in about 1765.
Life
The Lakota typically represented the Great-Plaines Culture. They lived in big round camps of tipis
which were covered with buffalo skins. They were nomads and moved all their belongings on travois
pulled by horses when changing camp. Their livelihood was completely dependent on buffalo.
The meat, giblets and bone marrow served as food, the skin was used for clothes, shoes and covering of
the tipis. Out of the tearproof tendons the Lakota manufactured bowstrings and sewing material. The
horns of the buffalos were worn as jewelry on the head. As the Great Plains are almost treeless, they
even carefully gathered the dry buffalo dung to use as burning material. Male Lakota wore leather
breechcloths and moccasins in summer and leather shirts, leggings and fur coats in winter.
