The Many Languages of the Dakota

The Sioux Indians had one language with many different dialects of that language, all of which were memorized and weren’t written down until missionaries came into the area. The Sioux language is one of the Siouan languages. The Dakota, Nakota, and Lakota each spoke a dialect of the Sioux language, called Mississippi Valley Siouan. Mississippi Valley Siouan is also known as Central Siouan. Central Siouan is then broken down into 3 separate dialects. Dakotan is the dialect we will focus on, and then it broken down further, into 3 more dialects. One of these is the Sioux dialect, and we will be focusing on the Sioux dialect. This dialect is then further broken down into more dialects. Each separate group (Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota) speaks its own dialect. The Dakota people speak the Santee-Sisseton dialect. The Nakota people speak the Yankton-Yanktonai dialect. The Lakota people speak the Teton dialect. These people either speak Northern Teton or Southern Teton. None of these languages were ever written down until missionaries recorded them back in about 1840. The only way these languages survived was through people passing it on through other people. As you can see, there are many different dialects that just this group of Native Americans had, and there are still many more in other parts of North America.
By: Josh Russell

Dakota Picture Writing

Writing is a classification of communicating with others and recording information. Some writing systems are from cave walls of rock or writing in a certain language. The picture writings are not used for art, but to tell stories. Indians used writings on rock walls to tell of legends and oral tradition. There are many forms of writing these different styles. The Chippewa’s used bone or stone to write of their healing medicine, ancient rituals, and ceremonies. They also used bark scrolls to record genealogical reports. From the writing styles of the past are completely different from the ones that are from our modern day writing systems.
By: Thomas Jancik

The Poetry and Stories of the Dakota Indians

The Dakota were famous for their writings; myths, legends, stories, and poems were among many things written by them. Often times their literature was originally a story passed on through oral tradition, and eventually written down or paraphrased. Literature was about anything from the creation of a tribe to a story intended to teach or entertain young children. More often than not a poem or story was written to teach a lesson or explain why something is the way it is. Take, for instance, the story “How the Sioux came to Be” this story explains how the Indian tribe believed they came into existance. Even though these stories might seem far-fetched to us, to the Dakota they were very real and believable. As you can tell we can learn a lot about about what the Dakota valued and believed through their literature.
By: Claire Cunningham

The Oratory of the Dakota

An Oratory is a speech made by a highly thought of person. Written notes were not used in Dakota culture as much as memorized speeches, which impressed European settlers. Great Chiefs were effective orators. Speeches were written to impress their target audience. Speeches from a great Indian became monuments of how speeches are given today.
By: Lauren Rowan