Name: Lakota (Sioux)

The Lakota

1 The Great Sioux Nation was in the present-day central United States. It was made up of seven smaller Native American tribes. The western most tribe was the Lakota. They lived on the Great Plains in North and South Dakota and Montana. These seven tribes spoke one of three dialects of the Siouan language. The Sioux called themselves the Seven Council Fires. Each “fire” was a tribe in the nation. This large group was nomadic. This meant they moved around following the bison herds.

2 The Great Plains is a large area with rolling prairies. This grassy plain goes between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. The weather through this region can have very cold and windy winters. The summers are hot and humid. The land is rich with minerals and great for growing crops. The flat and grassy fields were perfect for buffalo grazing.

3 There were clear roles for adults and children in each village. Kids had to help their family and tribe work. Women took care of the family, cleaned the home, and cooked. They gathered plants and nuts too. The men hunted, planted crops, and fought wars. The children watched the adults to learn how to fulfill their role in the village. The Lakota believed in learning by example. Good behavior was praised by adults for all to see. Bad behavior brought a public shame in front of the village.

4 The Lakota loved nature. Like other tribes, this was a big part of their religion. The Black Hills of South Dakota were sacred to them. Also, the spirit world played a huge part of their culture. During religious ceremonies, shaman, or medicine men, would perform dances for the spirits to offer thanks or beg for help. One of these was the Sun Dance. This was done to ask the spirits for a large harvest or victory in battle.

5 The Lakota felt that spirits talked to people through dreams, or visions. This happened when a person went through much pain, sacrifice, or hardship. Medicine men would read these visions. These shamans were powerful members of the tribe. When a child entered adulthood he performed a vision quest. That person went off into the wilderness alone without food or sleep until they had a vision of their spirit guide.

6 Gathering roots, nuts, and growing crops provided food for the Lakota. Women grew pumpkins, beans, squash, and corn. Anything not eaten was dried in the sun and stored in clay jars. The men hunted deer and antelope, but giant bison were the largest of the game. The rumble of these massive herds echoed over the prairie in all directions. Before using horses, warriors would cover themselves with a bison hide and slowly approach the herd. The animals could not tell the difference. When close enough, each warrior would attack with bow and arrows. Sometimes they would herd buffalo over a cliff. They always used every part of their kill for tools, weapons, and clothing.

7 Being nomadic, the Lakota needed shelter that could be quickly put up and taken down. This allowed them to follow the roaming herds of bison. They used tipis which were cone-like tents covered with buffalo hides. Tipi means “they live” and could be easily rolled up and carried away. Those members who were more sedentary built earth lodges. These were more permanent structures with wood beam walls covered in a layer of sod.

8 Most of the Lakota clothing was made from animal hides and very colorful. In the hot summer months, men wore a thin shirt, leggings, and a loin cloth. Women wore dresses decorated them with feathers, beads, and colors. Both dressed in thick robes of bison hides during winter. They also wore moccasins made from thick animal hides to protect their feet. Only the men had colorful headdresses of feathers with strips of fur hanging from the sides. The different feathers were symbolic of certain acts of bravery in combat.

G 5.5 ©2013 Integrated Lessons.com 1

Lakota (Sioux)

9 The Lakota traveled the Great Plains on foot before Europeans brought horses. This required them to be in great shape so

G 5.5 ©2013 Integrated Lessons.com 2

2. How did the Lakota meet all of their basic needs?

A. By growing food andhunting

B. By building homes

3. Why would the Lakota cover the walls of earth lodges in mud?

A. It would make earth lodges safer

B. They could not makeigloos

C. To keep out the noiseof bison herds

4. What can you infer from a warrior having a large and colorful headdress?

A. The warrior made hisheaddress to impresspeople

B. The warrior had foughtmany battles and had manyacts of bravery

5. What does the word massive mean in paragraph 6?

A. huge B. small

C. The warrior was anold and wise member ofthe tribe

6. Which of the following would be the best title for paragraph 2?

A. Bison of the GreatPlains

C. The Weather of thePlains

D. By making shelter outof mud and wood

D. Life on the Great PlainsB. The Climate and Landof the Great Plains

D. averageC. tiny

D. The warrior wantedmany types of colorfulfeathers

D. The Great Plains hadplenty of it. Mud kept outthe cold

C. By using theirsurroundings for all oftheir needs

A. between the Appalachiansand Mississippi

B. in the EasternWoodlands

D. in MichiganC. between the Mississippiand Rockies

as to cross the huge distances quickly. Hunting bison and large game became far easier from then on. Over time, these Native Americans became expert horsemen.

1. Lakota land was —

Directions: Read each question and circle the best answer.

Lakota (Sioux)

G 5.5 ©2013 Integrated Lessons.com 3

9. Which resource would have more information about the article?

A. an encyclopedia B. an atlas C. a thesaurus D. a website on huntingbuffalo

10. Which of the following could be another title for the article?

A. Shamans and VisionQuests

B. Life with the LakotaTribe

D. How the Lakota Survived

11. Which word or phrase best completes the analogy?

Bison are to men as

A. gathering roots B. cleaning

C. Hunting Buffalo on theGreat Plains

D. mothers

12. Which paragraph contains information about hunting buffalo?

A. paragraph 7 B. paragraph 4 C. paragraph 5 D. paragraph 6

13. What would be an antonym for the word nomadic in paragraph 7?

A. unmoving B. roaming C. drifting D. wandering

are to women

8. What was the author’s purpose for writing this article?

A. to inform you about theLakota Tribe

B. to persuade you that lifefor the Lakota was hard onthe Great Plains

C. to entertain you with astory about vision quests

D. to inform you aboutliving on the Great Plains

7. Which research question would best be answered by this article?

A. The Lakota were part ofwhat larger tribe?

B. How did the Lakota usethe all parts of an animal?

C. Why were the BlackHills sacred to the LakotaSioux?

D. What experiencescaused vision quests?

C. making clothing

Name: Lakota (Sioux)

The Lakota *

1 The Great Sioux Nation was in the present-day central United States. It was made up of seven smaller Native American tribes. The western most tribe was the Lakota. They lived on the Great Plains in North and South Dakota and Montana. These seven tribes spoke one of three dialects of the Siouan language. The Sioux called themselves the Seven Council Fires. Each “fire” was a tribe in the nation. This large group was nomadic. This meant they moved around following the bison herds.

2 The Great Plains is a large area with rolling prairies. This grassy plain goes between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. The weather through this region can have very cold and windy winters. The summers are hot and humid. The land is rich with minerals and great for growing crops. The flat and grassy fields were perfect for buffalo grazing.

3 There were clear roles for adults and children in each village. Kids had to help their family and tribe work. Women took care of the family, cleaned the home, and cooked. They gathered plants and nuts too. The men hunted, planted crops, and fought wars. The children watched the adults to learn how to fulfill their role in the village. The Lakota believed in learning by example. Good behavior was praised by adults for all to see. Bad behavior brought a public shame in front of the village.

4 The Lakota loved nature. Like other tribes, this was a big part of their religion. The Black Hills of South Dakota were sacred to them. Also, the spirit world played a huge part of their culture. During religious ceremonies, shaman, or medicine men, would perform dances for the spirits to offer thanks or beg for help. One of these was the Sun Dance. This was done to ask the spirits for a large harvest or victory in battle.

5 The Lakota felt that spirits talked to people through dreams, or visions. This happened when a person went through much pain, sacrifice, or hardship. Medicine men would read these visions. These shamans were powerful members of the tribe. When a child entered adulthood he performed a vision quest. That person went off into the wilderness alone without food or sleep until they had a vision of their spirit guide.

6 Gathering roots, nuts, and growing crops provided food for the Lakota. Women grew pumpkins, beans, squash, and corn. Anything not eaten was dried in the sun and stored in clay jars. The men hunted deer and antelope, but giant bison were the largest of the game. The rumble of these massive herds echoed over the prairie in all directions. Before using horses, warriors would cover themselves with a bison hide and slowly approach the herd. The animals could not tell the difference. When close enough, each warrior would attack with bow and arrows. Sometimes they would herd buffalo over a cliff. They always used every part of their kill for tools, weapons, and clothing.

7 Being nomadic, the Lakota needed shelter that could be quickly put up and taken down. This allowed them to follow the roaming herds of bison. They used tipis which were cone-like tents covered with buffalo hides. Tipi means “they live” and could be easily rolled up and carried away. Those members who were more sedentary built earth lodges. These were more permanent structures with wood beam walls covered in a layer of sod.

8 Most of the Lakota clothing was made from animal hides and very colorful. In the hot summer months, men wore a thin shirt, leggings, and a loin cloth. Women wore dresses decorated them with feathers, beads, and colors. Both dressed in thick robes of bison hides during winter. They also wore moccasins made from thick animal hides to protect their feet. Only the men had colorful headdresses of feathers with strips of fur hanging from the sides. The different feathers were symbolic of certain acts of bravery in combat.

G 5.5* ©2013 IntegratedLessons.com 1

Lakota (Sioux)

9 The Lakota traveled the Great Plains on foot before Europeans brought horses. This required them to be in great shape so

A. between the Appalachiansand Mississippi

B. in the EasternWoodlands

D. in Michigan

2. How did the Lakota meet all of their basic needs?

A. By growing food andhunting

B. By building homes

3. Why would the Lakota cover the walls of earth lodges in mud?

A. It would make earth lodges safer

B. They could not makeigloos

C. To keep out the noiseof bison herds

4. What can you infer from a warrior having a large and colorful headdress?

A. The warrior made hisheaddress to impresspeople

B. The warrior had foughtmany battles and had manyacts of bravery *

5. What does the word massive mean in paragraph 6?

A. huge * B. small

C. The warrior was anold and wise member ofthe tribe

6. Which of the following would be the best title for paragraph 2?

A. Bison of the GreatPlains

C. The Weather of thePlains

D. By making shelter outof mud and wood

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D. Life on the Great PlainsB. The Climate and Landof the Great Plains *

D. averageC. tiny

D. The warrior wantedmany types of colorfulfeathers

D. The Great Plains hadplenty of it. Mud kept outthe cold *

C. By using theirsurroundings for all oftheir needs *

C. between the Mississippiand Rockies *

as to cross the huge distances quickly. Hunting bison and large game became far easier from then on. Over time, these Native Americans became expert horsemen.

1. Lakota land was —

Directions: Read each question and circle the best answer.

Lakota (Sioux)

8. What was the author’s purpose for writing this article?

A. to inform you about theLakota Tribe *

B. to persuade you that lifefor the Lakota Tribe washard on the Great Plains

C. to entertain you with astory about vision quests

D. to inform you aboutliving on the Great Plains

9. Which resource would have more information about the article?

A. an encyclopedia * B. an atlas C. a thesaurus D. a website on huntingbuffalo

10. Which of the following could be another title for the article?

A. Shamans and VisionQuests

B. Life with the LakotaTribe *

D. How the Lakota Survived

11. Which word or phrase best completes the analogy?

Bison are to men as

A. gathering roots * B. cleaning

C. Hunting Buffalo on theGreat Plains

D. mothers

12. Which paragraph contains information about hunting buffalo?

A. paragraph 7 B. paragraph 4 C. paragraph 5 D. paragraph 6 *

13. What would be an antonym for the word nomadic in paragraph 7?

A. unmoving * B. roaming C. drifting D. wandering

G 5.5* ©2013 IntegratedLessons.com 3

are to women

7. Which research question would best be answered by this article?

A. The Lakota were part ofwhat larger tribe? *

B. How did the Lakota usethe all parts of an animal?

C. Why were the BlackHills sacred to the LakotaSioux?

D. What experiencescaused vision quests?

C. making clothing