The Sioux Nation

1
The Sioux Nation
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Objectives

• To understand
• The culture and history of one Native American
  Tribe
• To be able to give an account of family life and
  the role of each member of a sioux family
• To show some understanding of the beliefs of the
  Sioux nation

3
Look at the is image of a Sioux warrior. What
does it tell you about the Sioux Nation.
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The Sioux

• The Sioux Indians were just one of the many
  different people who lived on the Plains of North
  America. Others were the Osage, Crow, Cree,
  Blackfoot and the Pawnee.
• The name given to all the Sioux people was the
  Sioux Nation. There were 25,000 people in the
  Sioux nation and it was very hard to organise
  them all.
• Why do you think it was hard to organise the
  Sioux Nation?

5
The Structure of the Sioux Tribe

• To help organise the people the Nation was
  divided into 7 tribes and the 7 tribes all had 6
  sub-tribes. Thats 42 tribes in all!
• Each tribe had a Chief he was usually the
  bravest, strongest and cleverest man in the
  tribe. It was his job to keep the people in his
  tribe safe and decided when it was time to move
  to find more food. All the people of the tribe
  would listen to him. The Chief was a very
  important man.

6
Check up time!

• Name the 6 different Indian peoples mentioned in
  the text.
• The name given to the Sioux people was the
  Sioux________
• children b) who c) nation

• How many people were members of the Sioux?

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Rituals and customs

• The Sioux Indians
• had many rituals
• and customs,
• which they
• followed strictly.

8
The Sioux Council

• The Sioux Indians did not have written laws. They
  had a Council instead. The Sioux Indians would
  select from among the tribe people who were quiet
  and honest to be councilmen or leaders. These
  councilmen would sit on the Council and discuss
  things that were important to the Sioux tribe.
  This could be anything from murder to war with
  another tribe. These leaders would often dress in
  ceremonial clothes when making decisions.

9
Sioux Religion
The Sioux were a deeply spiritual people,
believing in one god, Wakan Tanka, or the Great
Mystery. Religious visions were important to
them and the people communed with the spirit
world through music and dance. Rituals of
self-sacrifice, by inflicting slashes upon
themselves or other self-inflicted wounds, were
carried out by warriors. This was also practiced
by mourners during burial ceremonies.
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Exposure

• The Sioux Indians had to travel to find food.
  When a person was too old to keep up with the
  tribe, she or he was left behind to die. This
  custom was known as exposure and was considered
  perfectly normal by the Sioux Indians.
• What do you think about it?

11
Family Life

• No other race of people had a deeper love of
  family than the
• Sioux Indians
• They were very fond of their children, whom they
  spoilt, and never punished, except in extreme
  cases, when they would throw a bucket of cold
  water over them. Many white people slap their
  children, snatch them by the ears, or beat them
  with straps and sticks, but not the Sioux
  Indians. When boys needed discipline they were
  denied the right to play war games and go
  hunting. Girls were denied the privileges of
  playing with their dolls, or helping their
  mothers.
• Which family would you have preferred if you
  lived in those days?