![]() The story of survival is highlighted within the US-Dakota War of 1862.ĭakota people survived extermination policies following the war though some were able to stay in their homelands of the Mni Sota region, most were forced out of the state. A harsh climate, tenuous food sources, and potential conflict with neighbors made it essential for Dakota communities to work together at such tasks as hunting and gathering food, cultivating crops, processing animal skins for clothing and shelter, and providing for communal defense. In the 1800s, daily life for the Dakota centered on survival. European and European American fur traders, and later the US government, would utilize (and at times exploit) these kinship networks to foster trade and establish political relationships with the Dakota communities in the region during the early 1800s. Community governance was accomplished through consensus, with all concerned parties being able to speak and be heard. Newcomers could be welcomed into Dakota communities through ritualized ceremonies where the obligations of kinship were bestowed upon the individuals involved. And to be civilized was to keep the rules imposed by kinship for achieving civility, good manners, and a sense of responsibility towards every individual dealt with."ĭakota kinship created an extensive social and communal structure that extended across the Dakota nation, ensuring that no matter the village or community visited, a Dakota would likely find a relative. To be a good Dakota, then, was to be humanized, civilized. Without that aim and the constant struggle to attain it, the people would no longer be Dakotas in truth. ![]() In the last analysis every other consideration was secondary-property, personal ambition, glory, good times, life itself. No Dakota who has participated in that life will dispute that. Yankton Dakota anthropologist Ella Deloria wrote in 1944: "The Ultimate aim of a Dakota life, stripped of accessories, was quite simple: One must obey kinship rules one must be a good relative. Kinship formed the basis for traditional Dakota social structure. This traditional lifestyle of communal support and a deep connection to the land and natural resources are the basis for Dakota society and culture. Winter months were spent living off the stores of supplies they built up during the previous year, along with continual fishing and hunting. In autumn, families moved to the year's chosen hunting grounds for the annual hunt that also prepared them for the upcoming winter. They also gathered wild rice along the vast lakes throughout Mni Sota. They processed the game and harvested traditional medicines and indigenous plants, as well crops such as corn, squash, and beans. ![]() During the summer months families gathered in villages to hunt and fish. In the spring, winter villages dispersed and men left on hunting parties while women, children, and the elderly moved into sugaring camps to make maple sugar and syrup. Men hunted and fished to provide game for the entire village, while also securing community safety. They gathered wood, processed hides, farmed, made clothes, and were the central keepers of the home. In Dakota society women have always held an essential role. Historically, the Santee Dakota moved their villages and varied their work according to the seasons. The Bdote area consists of many areas of historic and contemporary Dakota significance, such as Taku Wakan Tipi (Carver's Cave), Mni Sni (Coldwater Spring), and Oheyawahi (Pilot Knob). Mni Sota (Minnesota) is centered as the birthplace for the Dakota, with Bdote (where the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers meet) and Bde Wakan (Spirit Lake, now also known as Lake Mille Lacs) highlighted in Dakota creation stories. They form the Oceti Ŝakowiŋ (the Seven Council Fires, sometimes referred to erroneously as the Sioux). Collectively today, these groups have tribal lands that cover areas from present day Minnesota, to South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, and into Canada. To the west, in present day South Dakota, are the Yanktonai and Yankton (who identify as both Dakota and Nakota) and the Teton (Lakota). Dakota people are comprised of four groups: The Bdewakantunwan (Mdewakanton), Wahpetunwan (Wahpeton), Wahpekute, and Sissitunwan (Sisseton) people form what is known as the Isanti (Santee), or eastern Dakota (a word that means ally).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |