The Lakota Sioux is a Native American tribe that has been beautifully depicted in the media, thanks to such films as Thunderheart, and Kevin Costner’s Dances With Wolves. From movies such as these one can deduce that the Lakota Sioux is a Native American tribe with a unique heritage and a courageous history, but what exactly is this history, and how did Costner depict them in his groundbreaking movie?
About the Lakota Sioux
The Lakota Sioux is a culture that is historically known as being largely nomadic. Like the Cheyenne. Their swiftness throughout the Dakotas was due in great part to their use of horses. Indeed, the Lakota Sioux was a Native American tribe that largely depended on their horses, not only in battle, but as a means of transportation and for trading. The name “Lakota” comes from a word within their language that means allied, friendly, united, or feeling affection.
Today the Lakota Sioux live throughout the Unites States. Although some live on reservations, more than half of the Sioux people now no longer live on reservations (the most famous one being the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which is primarily for the Oglala Sioux). Indeed, the Lakota are but one branch of the Sioux nation, a nation that encompasses much of the current Native American population.
The Lakota Sioux and Dances With Wolves
In 1990 a movie was released that became one of the most respected pieces of media that had Native Americans as the subject matter. The movie was directed by and starred Kevin Costner. The basic premise of the movie was one man’s relationship with a group of Lakota Sioux. This movie showed the inner workings of a 1860s Lakota Sioux tribe. The movie was not only beautiful in its cinematography, but also in its depictions of love, loss, and tradition within the tribe.
The Lakota Sioux is a famous Native American tribe, with an excellent movie to illuminate some of its cultural uniqueness. With such a strong cultural background, there is no doubt that the Lakota Sioux, and indeed the entire Sioux nation will continue to educate their people in their ancient traditions, as well as everyday society, about their interesting heritage.