Page 5 - Brave Bird at Wounded Knee - I Am America

the middle of North America. The Oglala are one band

within the Lakota Nation. Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
in South Dakota is home to the Oglala. Pine Ridge is also

the name of the reservation’s largest town. In 1973, almost

three thousand people lived in the town.

Early French trappers and settlers used the name
Sioux for the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota peoples. The

word probably comes from an insult used by a neighboring

tribe. This book uses Sioux only when needed to be

historically correct. Lakota is more specific and comes
from the nation’s own language. Most Indigenous people

all over the world prefer to use their own names instead of

names given by others.

The Apache and Ojibwe nations are also mentioned.
Apache comes from a word that means “enemy” in the

language of the Zuni, a neighboring people. The Apache

nation’s words for its own people are Inde or Diné.

Anishinaabe is the name preferred by the people of the
Ojibwe nation. If you ever have a question about what

name is best for an individual or group, you should ask

them what they prefer.

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