Language Information

Sioux, also known as Dakota, is spoken principally in South Dakota, and to a lesser degree in North Dakota, Montana, and Nebraska. It is the largest division of the Siouan family, which includes Winnebago, Crow, and a number of other languages. There are about 15,000 speakers of Sioux. The name Dakota is a Sioux word meaning "friends" or "allies."

Family: North American Indian
Subgroup: Siouan

Writing Sample

Translation

A long time ago, the crow was a bird that was completely white. He was also a very good friend of the buffalo. When the Indians would try to catch and kill the buffalo, the crow would come and warn them. For this reason, the Indians were very angry at the crow. Finally, the Indians caught the crow. In order to punish the crow, they tied him to the top of a tall pole and built a big fire under him. As the black smoke rose, the crow became completely black. Finally, the fire burned the rope in two and the crow flew away,—but he has been black ever since.

—How the Crow Became Black