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Resources

Dictionaries and Reference

  • Riggs, S.R. — Dakota-English Dictionary (1890, Smithsonian) — The foundational Dakota dictionary; available free online at archive.org. Outdated orthography but comprehensive.
  • Williamson, T.S. — Dakota-English Dictionary — An earlier missionary dictionary; useful for comparison.
  • New Lakota Dictionary — Covers Lakota (closely related); useful for cognates and cross-reference.

Language Learning

  • Dakota Language Institute — The leading academic center for Dakota language research and curriculum.
  • Dakhóta Iápi Okhódakičhiye (Dakota Language Society) — Community organization promoting Dakota language revitalization.
  • Wóiyake Magazine — Dakota-language materials and teaching resources.
  • Bdote Learning Center, Minneapolis — Urban Dakota language and culture education.

History and Culture (AIS 112 Context)

  • Westerman, Gwen & Bruce White. Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota — Essential, accessible history of Dakota people in Minnesota.
  • Wingerd, Mary Lethert. North Country: The Making of Minnesota — Chapter on Dakota history and the 1862 war.
  • Chomsky, Carol. "The United States–Dakota War Trials" — Legal analysis of the 1862 military tribunals (Stanford Law Review, 1990).
  • Anderson, Gary Clayton. Kinsmen of Another Kind: Dakota-White Relations in the Upper Mississippi Valley — Pre-contact through treaty era.

Primary Sources on the 1862 War

  • Minnesota Historical Society — U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 — mnopedia.org/article/u-s-dakota-war-1862
  • Dakota 38 Documentary (2012, Smooth Feather Productions) — Feature documentary on the Wokiksuye memorial ride; widely available.
  • National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition — boardingschoolhealing.org
  • 1851 Treaty of Traverse des Sioux — Full text available at the Minnesota Historical Society
  • 1851 Treaty of Mendota — The second 1851 treaty
  • 1858 Minnesota Treaties — Established current reservation boundaries
  • Mille Lacs Band v. Minnesota (1999) — Supreme Court case affirming 1837 treaty hunting and fishing rights

Land and Maps

  • Native Land Digital (native-land.ca) — Interactive map showing Dakota territories, treaty areas, and language regions
  • Bdóte Memory Map (bdotememorymap.org) — Interactive map of the Dakota homeland in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area with historical layers

Contemporary Dakota Communities

  • Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (smsc.com)
  • Prairie Island Indian Community (prairieisland.org)
  • Upper Sioux Community (uppersiouxcommunity-nsn.gov)
  • Lower Sioux Indian Community (lowersioux.com)
  • Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate (swo-nsn.gov)
  • Spirit Lake Nation (spiritlakenation.com)
  • Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (standingrock.org)

Start Here

New to the course? Begin with:

  1. Native Land Digital — look up whose land your school is on
  2. Mni Sota Makoce (Westerman & White) — most accessible Dakota history
  3. The Pronunciation Guide on this site before Chapter 1