The Arikara / The Sioux

The Arikara, also, The Sioux. . , The Arikara , The Arikara lived in villages along the Missouri River in central and north central South Dakota. Their villages were fortified with poles, earth, and brush, which made them tough to scale and difficult to penetrate with bow and arrow. Inside the fortifications were several round dwellings between forty to seventy feet in diameter. Extended families lived together in these large mud and wood dwellings. Outside the village were fields of corn, squash, pumpkin, gourds, and tobacco. The Arikara traded these agricultural products to tribes living farther west on the plains for animals skins and buffalo meat. The Arikara also made and traded pottery and baskets., The Arikara were estimated to number around 15,000 in 1700 C.E. before being exposed to small pox. The epidemic of 1795 in particular decimated the Arikara. In 1904, their population was estimated at 380. The Arikara merged with the Mandan and Hidasta who had also been devastated by the disease. The merger is now known as the Three Affiliated Tribes., The western end of the Oahe Dam was once an Arikara village. It was destroyed during the construction of the dam., Model of an Arikara lodge, The Sioux , The Sioux are a large group of people who occupied the northern plains. Present-day Sioux prefer to divide themselves up into three separate groups based on dialect and regions: the Dakota, Nakota, and Lakota. Bands of the Dakota include: Mdewakantonwan (People of Spirit Lake), Wahpekute (Shooters Among the Leaves), Wahpetonwan (Dwellers Among the Leaves), and Sisitonwan (People of the Swamp). The Dakota lived in the east and northeast glacial lakes region., Bands of the Nakota include: Ihanktonwan (Campers at the End) and Ihantonwanna (Little Campers at the End). The Nakota lived in the southeast part of the state. Bands of the Lakota include: Sicangu (Burnt Thighs), Oohenunpa (Two Kettles), Itazipacola (Without Bows), Miniconjou (Planters by the Water), Sihasapa (Black Feet), Hunkpapa (End of the Horn), and Ogallala (Scatter Their Own). The Lakota lived mainly west of the Missouri River., Sioux Village , Mounted party of Sioux , Sioux campsite