The Sioux, or Oceti Sakowin, are Native American tribes and First Nations peoples from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux are divided into two major linguistic groups: the Dakota and Lakota. Collectively known as the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, or "Seven Council Fires," these groups signify the alliances between the bands. The term "Sioux," derived from a French transcription ("Nadouessioux") of the Ojibwe term Nadowessi, can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or its various language dialects. Prior to the 17th century, the Santee Dakota (Isáŋyathi; "Knife," also known as the Eastern Dakota) resided around Lake Superior, with territories in what is now northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. They gathered wild rice, hunted woodland animals, and fished using canoes. Conflicts with the Ojibwe during the 18th century forced the Dakota to migrate west into southern Minnesota, where the Western Dakota (Yankton, Yanktonai) and Lakota (Teton) lived. In the 19th century, the Dakota signed treaties with the United States that ceded much of their land in Minnesota. The U.S. government's failure to fulfill treaty obligations led to starvation and the Dakota War of 1862, resulting in the Dakota's removal from Minnesota. They were relocated to reservations in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and some fled to Canada. After 1870, Dakota people began returning to Minnesota, establishing present-day reservations. The Yankton and Yanktonai Dakota (Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋ and Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋna; "Village-at-the-end" and "Little village-at-the-end"), collectively referred to by the endonym Wičhíyena, originally lived near the Minnesota River before ceding their land and moving to South Dakota in 1858. Despite the land cession, their treaty with the U.S. allowed them to retain their role as caretakers of the Pipestone Quarry, a cultural center for the Sioux. Historically, they have been mistakenly identified as Nakota, a term for the Assiniboine and Stoney peoples of Western Canada and Montana. The Lakota, also known as Teton (Thítȟuŋwaŋ; possibly "dwellers on the prairie"), are the westernmost Sioux group, renowned for their hunting and warrior culture on the Northern Plains. By the 1850s, with the introduction of the horse in the 18th century, the Lakota had become a formidable tribe. They engaged in the Sioux Wars against the U.S. Army, notably defeating the 7th Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Armed conflicts with the U.S. concluded with the Wounded Knee Massacre. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the Dakota and Lakota have continued to advocate for their treaty rights. This includes the Wounded Knee incident, Dakota Access Pipeline protests, and the 1980 Supreme Court case United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, where the court ruled that tribal lands covered by the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 were taken illegally by the U.S. government, with compensation owed to the tribe. As of 2018, this compensation exceeds $1 billion, which the Sioux have refused, instead demanding the return of the Black Hills. Today, the Sioux maintain separate tribal governments across reservations and communities in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Montana in the U.S., as well as reserves in Manitoba and Saskatchewan in Canada.

Sioux - Wikipedia