Lakota essays

Lakota essays The Lakota/Dakota/Nakota Nation is also known as the Great Sioux Nation. The word Sioux was adopted by the United States government from the term (Nadowesioux), which comes from a Chippewa (Ojibwa) word which means little threatened snake or enemy. This was because the Ojibwa or Chippewa learned to respect and fear the respective territories and hunting and fishing grounds set in place by the Sioux. The people of the Sioux Nation refer to themselves as Lakota or Dakota which means friend or ally. The French traders and trappers who worked with the Chippewa Ojibwa people latter shortened the word to Sioux. The Black Hills are a sacred land to the Lakota and are located in the center the Great Sioux Nation. The Black Hills are spiritually connected to the Lakota/ Dakota people and are now considered an important part of their sacred lives. The 7th Cavalry led by General George A. Custer entered the Black Hills in violation of an 1868 treaty, the center of the Great Sioux Nation and discovered gold. This was the catalyst that sparked The Gold Rush in the Black Hills opening the conflict between the United States and Great Sioux Nation. The United States Government recognizing the value of the land wanted to buy or rent the Black Hills from the Lakota people. The Great Sioux Nation refused to sell or rent their sacred lands. They believed that this land was given to them by the (White Buffalo Women) and that they had always been a part of the Black hills. This did not stop the United States from moving forward to seize the land. General George Custer was assigned the task of relocating the Lakota onto constricting reservation lands that had very little use and lacked substantial natural resources. This is the premise for one of the more famous Indian battles known as the Battle of the Little Big Horn, one of the great blunders of the military. General George Custer full of bravado greatly underestimated his adversaries result...