Ihanktonwan Community College
"Seeking To Learn"
"A People Without History Is Like Wind In The Buffalo Grass …." Sioux
"I love a people who have always made me welcome to the best they had ... who are honest without laws, who have no jails and no poorhouse ... who never take the name of God in vain ... who worship God without a Bible, and I believe that God loves them also ... who are free from religious animosities...who have never raised a hand against me, or stolen my property, where there was no law to punish either ... who never fought a battle with white men except on their own ground ... and Oh! how I love a people who don't live for the love of money." George Catlin - 1868
The Yankton Sioux Tribe is a Federally Recognized Tribe established by the Treaty of 1858, between the United States and the Yankton Sioux. The correct name of the Yankton Sioux is the Ihanktonwan Oyate, which is translated as the People of the End Village. Also known as the People of the Friendly or the People of the Pipestone.
The Ihanktonwan Oyate are part of the “Great Sioux Nation” or better known as one of the Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires). The name "Sioux" is an abbreviated form of a word coined by the Canadian French. The name originates from the name Nadouessioux or Nadoüessioüak, which derives from the Chippewa or Ojibwa language meaning "little snake”.
The Oceti Sakowin is grouped by geographic location and language dialect. The three main geographic include the eastern or Isanti Council Fires i.e., Sisetonwan, Wahpekutewan, Wahpetonwan, Mdewakantonwan; the middle or Yankton council fires i.e., Ihanktonwan, Ihanktonwanna; and the western or Teton council fires. The Oceti Sakowin are respectfully known as Dakota, Lakota, or Nakota. The Isanti use the “D” dialect, whereas the Yankton use the “N” and the Teton use the “L”. However, the Ihanktonwan are known Dakota speakers, but incorporate the “N” dialect.
The land of the Ihanktonwan Nation lies along the Missouri River between the State of Dakota and the State of Nebraska. At the time of the 1858 Treaty, the Ihanktonwan territorial land base was approximately 13 million acres in what is now known as South Dakota and Minnesota. Between 1830 and 1837 the Ihanktonwan ceded two million acres in a Treaty with the United States. In the 1858 Treaty, the United States ceded eleven more million acres of land in exchange for approximately 435,000 acres of land, which the Ihanktonwan remain on today.
Yankton Sioux Tribe
The attached pages are a tribute and honoring of those we esteem and hold in high regards.