The Lakota

The Lakota are a people that lived in the plains of North America. Reduced to small numbers, the remaining Lakota have been pushed into reservations. While many Lakota leave the reservations at some point in their lives, it may be the only place where they can practice their culture.

Origins of the Lakota
Joseph M Marshall III, author of the Lakota Way, describes that in the time before horses the Lakota made up one big group of people. When the people split, three groups emerged: the Lakota, the Dakota, and the Nakota. The three groups are then split again into what is now known as the Seven Council Fires. In the Seven Council Fires there are four Dakota tribes, two Nakota tribes, and one Lakota tribe. The Lakota tribe is called the Oglala.

Throughout history the Lakota have been incorrectly referred to as the Sioux. This originates from when French fur trappers and settlers would have run ins with the Lakota. The French would call the Lakota "Nadouessioux", meaning snakes. It was then shortened to just 'Sioux', but the meaning stays.

The Lakota People
In movies when Native Americans are showcased, it is the Lakota that come to mind, regardless of the tribe. If a movie is about Cheyenne Indians, the culture that is still shown is Lakota. The Lakota are the stereotypical Plains Indians that have been infamously engraved in American western films. Even though the Lakota have been recreated in movies again and again, their on screen portrayal lacks accuracy. Now the Lakota live spread throughout the nine Indian reservations of the American Midwest.