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Očhéthi Šakówiŋ — Seven Council Fires Network

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About This Sim

Click any node to learn about that Council Fire — its Dakota name, common name, dialect group, and historical homeland. The three color families represent the three dialect groups: blue (Dakota, eastern), green (Nakota, middle), gold (Lakota, western).

Lesson Plan

  • Subject: Dakota Language / AIS 112 — Chapter 1
  • Bloom Level: Understand
  • Learning Objective: Students will be able to explain the structure of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ and identify which dialect group each Council Fire belongs to.
  • Duration: 10 minutes
  • Prerequisites: Chapter 1 intro — tiyóšpaye and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ overview

Discussion Questions

  1. Why is this called the "Seven Council Fires" rather than "seven tribes"?
  2. Which four fires speak Dakota — the language in this course?
  3. How does the geographic spread (eastern → western) connect to the dialect differences?

References