SIOUX, sou, or DAKOTA. One of the most important Indian tribes north of :Mexico, being the largest in the United States with the pos sible exception of the Ojibwa. Their popular name ic supposed to be an abbreviation from Nadovesiwag (corrupted by the French to Yada ocCsiou.r), 'little snakes,' i.e, 'enemies,' their ancient name among the Ojibwa, as distinguished from the !cadowe or Iroquois. the 'snakes' proper. They are now more usually called Baavay, 'enemies.' by the Ojibwa. whence As/id-Imo/lag. 'Stone Sioux' of Assiniboin. The Sioux call them selves Lakota, Yakola, or Dakota, according to the respective dialect, the word meaning 'allies.' According to concurrent linguistic, traditional. and historical evidence the Sioux, with all the cognate tribes of the Siouan stock (q.v.), origi nally lived east of the Alleghanies. When first known to the French in 1632 they had their prin cipal seats in northwestern Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota. about the west end of Lake Superior and the heads of the Mississippi. The Assiniboin were already a distinct tribe farther to the north west, by secession from the 'Yankton division. From this position the Sioux were driven by the Ojibwa advancing from the east, the latter being aided by the French. and gradually moved out into the plains, crossing time Missouri and taking possession of the Black Hills and the Platte region after driving out the previous occupants, the Crows. Cheyenne. and Kiowa. In this migra tion they lost the agrieultural habit. with the exception of the Santee hands remaining behind in Minnesota, and became an equestrian nation of buffalo hunters. In 1815 the eastern bands made their first treaties of friendship with the Govern ment after haying sided with the English in the War of 1812. By the general treaty made at Prairie du Chien in 1825 an end was made to the hereditary war between the Sioux and the Ojibwa by the adjustment of tribal boundaries, and the Sioux were confirmed in possession of an immense territory stretching from the east bank of the Mississippi almost to the Rocky Moun tains and from about Devil's Lake southward to about the present Sioux City, including nearly half of Minnesota, two-thirds of the Dakotas, and large portions of Wisconsin, Iowa, ,Missouri, and Wyoming. The headwaters of the Mississippi were left to the Ojibwa by right of former eon quest and existing occupancy. In 1835 missions were established among the eastern (Santee) bands by the American Board, which started schools and printed books in the language. In
1837 the Sioux sold all their claims east of the In 1851 they sold the greater part of Minnesota. but dissatisfaction at the delay of the Government in fulfilling the terms of the treaty led to a massacre of settlers at Spirit Lake on the Minnesota-Iowa border in 1857. fol lowed a few years later by a second rising inau gurated by the terrible 'Minnesota Massacre' in 1862, in which nearly 1000 settlers lost their lives. The outbreak was put down by General Sibley. who crushed the Indians and hung 39 of the leaders from the same scaffold. The result was the expulsion of the Sioux from Minnesota. From this time until 1868 the western bands, together with the Cheyenne. Kiowa, and other plains tribes and under the leadership of Red Cloud and other noted chiefs, were almost con stantly at war with the whites. A principal event of this was the massacre of Fetterman's entire command of about 100 men near Fort Kearney, Neb., in 1866. In 1868 a treaty of peace was made which remained unbroken until the invasion of the Black Hills by the consequent upon the discovery of gold, led to another war in 1876-77. the principal event of which was the massacre of General Custer's entire command of nearly 300 regular troops, June 25. 1876. (See CUSTER. GEORGE ARNI STRONG. ) Sitting Bull (q.v.), the leader of the irreconcilables, escaped to Canada with several thousand followers, but returned in 1881 on promise of amnesty. After being held two years as a prisoner of war. Sitting Bull again took up his residence at Standing Rock Agency, where he remained until his death. In 1889 another treaty was made by which the 'Great Sioux Res ervation,' embracing, all of South Dakota west of the Missouri, was reduced by about one-half and the remainder cut up into five distinct smaller reservations. The opposition of a powerful mi nority to this sale. coupled with dissatisfaction at treaty grievances and the excitement aroused by the reported advent of an Indian messiah in the West, led to another outbreak in the winter of 1890-91. Leading events were the killing of Sitting Dill, December 15. 1890, and the Wounded Knee Massacre, December 29, 1390, by which about 300 Indians lost their lives. The outbreak was soon afterwards successfully brought to a (dose by General The Sioux have seven principal divisions, N i Z.