Nakota - Present Trends

Present Trends

Recently the Assiniboine and, especially, the Stoney have begun to minimize the historic separation from the Dakota. They have claimed some identity with the Sioux nation, although such a centralized unit does not exist any longer. Historically the Siouan tribes were quite decentralized as well and operated independently in bands. This tendency can be seen on Alberta's Stoney official Internet sites, for example, in the self-designation of the Alexis Nakota Sioux First Nation, or in the claim of the Nakoda First Nation to their Sioux ancestry and the value of their native language: "As descendants of the great Sioux nations, the Stoney tribal members of today prefer to conduct their conversation and tribal business in the Siouan mother tongue.". Saskatchewan’s Assiniboine and Stoney tribes also claim identification with the Sioux tradition.

The Assiniboine-Stoney tribes have supported recent "pan-Sioux" attempts to revive the native languages. Their representatives attend the annual "Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Language Summits". Since 2008, these have been sponsored by the Lakota non-profit organization for the promotion and strengthening of the language, Tusweca Tiospaye (Dragonfly Community). They promote a mission of "Uniting the Seven Council Fires to Save the Language".

The long separation of the peoples means their languages have grown more diverse. Lakota and Dakota speakers cannot understand Assiniboine readily. They cannot understand Stoney at all, and it is unintelligible to Assiniboine speakers, too. The tribes' goal to revive (or create) a unitary Sioux language may be extremely difficult to achieve.