Souix Indians
January 18,2022
Vocabulary
• A tribe is a single group of Native
Americans.
• Nation is a group of several Native
American tribes.
• Nomadic means they were constantly
moving.
In your own words define each word....
• Nomad-
• Tribe-
• Nation-
Cont......
• Often times, similar tribes
would join together to form a
nation. A nation would work
together to protect their land from
other tribes and settlers. In this
lesson, you will learn about one of
the largest Native American
nations: the Sioux.
Souix Indians
• In the 1700s and 1800s, the Sioux were made up of about
one-fourth of all Native American tribes in North America.
Each of the tribes lived in the same region and spoke a
similar language, making it easy for the tribal leaders to
meet and communicate. Each of the Sioux tribes was also
divided into three major divisions: Eastern Dakota, Western
Dakota, and Lakota. The language a particular Sioux tribe
spoke determined their division.
The Sioux primarily lived in the Great Plains region of the United States.
The Great Plains are considered the present-day states of North Dakota,
South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Use the draw feature to circle
each state.
Lifestyle
• The Sioux were constantly moving (Nomads) to follow their food source, the buffalo. Sioux Native
Americans primarily ate meat, so they had to make sure they always had access to the buffalo.
Hunting the buffalo was a dangerous job.
Importance of
Buffalo
The Sioux used every part of the buffalo.
They would make their shoes and
clothing out of the skin of the buffalo.
Winters on the Great Plains are very cold,
so they created large coats and blankets
out of the buffalo’s fur. Even buffalo hair
and tendons were used to make thread
to sew the skins together.
• Horns
Tail
• Bones
Stomach
• Skin
Hair
• Homes
Dress
What is the importance of the Buffalo?
Please use complete sentences...
Sioux
Indians Used Buffalo for:
Sioux Indians Used
Buffalo for:
List something the
Buffalo was used to
make......
Homes
• The Sioux lived in tipis. Tipis made a good home for the
Sioux because they were portable. Since the Sioux were
constantly moving, they needed their homes to move with
them. A tipi had a cone shape. It was made from long
branches and buffalo skins. There was a flap in the front,
where people could enter and exit. Typically, there was a
small hole in the top where all the branches came together,
so that smoke from fires could escape. Tipis were easy to
assemble, take down, and reassemble in a new location.
Region & Climate
• Winters on the Great Plains are
very cold, so they created large
coats and blankets out of the
buffalo’s fur. Even buffalo hair
and tendons were used to make
thread to sew the skins together.
Keeping in mind the climate and
how the Souix structured their
homes. Why do you think the
structure of their tipis and the
buffalo skin was important?