Teton - Settlements



In aboriginal times, the Teton lived in tipi camps that fluctuated according to the seasons. During winter, camps were smaller and clustered in wooded ravines where small herds of bison and other game were hunted. In summer, the bands joined for their annual religious ceremony, the Sun Dance, and for the communal bison hunt. In 1868, the Treaty of Fort Laramie between the Great Sioux Nation and the U.S. Government established the boundaries of the Great Sioux Reservation located primarily in South Dakota. The roving bands settled down to form the nuclei of the present towns on the reservations. After 1887, Indian land was divided into Individual ownership and the Great Sioux Reservation was severely diminished. Today, the Teton live predominantly on six reservations: Pine Ridge (the second largest reservation in the United States), Rosebud, Cheyenne River, Lower Brule, Crow Creek, and Standing Rock (the latter lying partly in North Dakota). Other Tetons live on small reserves in Saskatchewan, mainly remnants of Sitting Bull's band, who fled to Canada after the Custer battle. Over time, tipis gave way to four-walled tents, and then to log cabins and frame houses. Although tipis and tents are still used at ceremonial events, most Tetons live in frame and brick houses on the Reservations.


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