A Dictionary of Teton Sioux

Alternate Language Names

Lakȟótiyapi, Lakhota, Teton, Teton Sioux.

Region

Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario, Canada; Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, and Iowa, United States.

Who

Eugene Buechel (Lexicographer); Paul Manhart (Compiler and Editor).

Others Involved

Frank Arrowside, Mrs. H. Antilope, Wm Bergen, Alex Bordeaux, Charles Bordeaux, Ed BearDog, Nick Black Elk, Paul Black Elk, BigFace, Felix Bordeaux, BraveHawk, BearInTheWoods, Sam BrokenLeg, Cleve W. BullRing, Ben BullMan, John BullMan, Al BullNation, Wm Brown, Brown Sacred Pipe, T. and J. BoneShirt, J. BlackSpottedHorse, Wm Bordeaux, BigTurkey, BlueThunder, Wm Brown, Wm CrossDog, CrowGoodVoice, ChargingHawk, Henry Cottier, E. Clifford, John Colombe, ClownHorse, Mrs. CrazyHorse, DogEarCamp, M. Desersa, John Dubray, Wm EagleBird, EagleDeer, EagleDog, Jesse EagleElk, R. EagleFeather, EagleMan, EagleRoad, Owen EagleStar, ElkSky, EagleThunder, EagleTail, Wm Flood, FastBull, FoolishElk, FoolHead, Fish, ForgetNothing, FillsPipe, Frank FourHorns, Jos Frightened, FastWhirlwind, A. GoesAmong, Mrs. GrayBuffalo, Jos GoodBear, Charles Green, Fred GoodShield, GoodThunder, Moses GoodVoice, Jesse GoodVoice, Moses GoodWill, James Howard, Jos HornCloud, HighHorse, HuntsHorse, HorseLooking, Leo HawkMan, HolyMan, Hoġaŋ, HighPipe, IronBull, Peter IronShell, Allan IronShell, Wm Janis, Jos. Jackson, Katola, Mrs. Kaśna, Chas. KillsInSight, Geo KnockOffTwo, Eugene Little, Tom Larvie, Tom LittleBull, LittleCloud, Geo LoneCedar, Frank LittleElk, LittleHawk, LittleHorse, Silas LeftHandBull, P. LeftHandBull, LittleMoccasin, LameOmaha, Jacob LaPointe, Robt LittleThunder, Frank LittleThunder, Wm Metcalf, George Menard, MoccasinFace, MakesGood, Makalḣpaya, W. Mills, Narcisse Moran, Louis Mousseau, MakeNoiseInTheWoods, NoisyOwl, Alfred NightPipe, James OldEagle, OwnsFire, OneHorn, Michael OneStar, Martin Pacer, PrettyBird, PoorDog, Peter LeftHandBull, Oliver Pine, Louis RunsAbove, Wm Randall, Charles Randall, Louis RunningBear, Mrs. RedBird, RedCloud, RedEyes, RedFeather, Wm RedFish, Chas RunningHorse, RunningHawk, RingBull, Charles Rooks, Sam RingThunder, John RedTomahawk, Tom RedTomahawk, Mrs. RunCloseToVillage, Tom Shield, Norris Shield, Sam Shield, ShortBull, Jake StandingBull, Mrs. J. StandingBull, Wm SpottedCalf, StrangerHorse, SoreEyes, Ivan Star, B. Simpson, Mrs. Noe Stampede, SpottedTail, Pat Star, A. Schweigman, Swift, Śuŋgleśka, Anotoine Trudell, TwoBird, ThunderHawk, Titus, TwoTeeth, UnderWater, Alvina Walker, Mrs. Walking, Geo WalkingEagle, WhiteFeather, Laban WhiteHorse, Frank White, Emily WhiteHat, Jesse WhiteLance, Wounded, WhiteRabbit, WhirlwindSoldier, Whitewash, Charles WhiteWolf, YellowHair, Ed. YellowHawk, YellowWolf (Speakers); John F. Bryde, George P. Casey, Leo P. Gilroy (Contributors); Dorothy Gilroy (Release of Materials); Richard Jones, Joseph Karol, Paul B. Steinmetz, Earl Kurth (Support).

Publishing Information

Published 1970 by Red Cloud Indian School at Holy Rosary Mission, Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

This dictionary was republished in 2002 under the title Lakota dictionary: Lakota-English/English-Lakota by University of Nebraska Press.

How People are Cited

People are cited in the Preface and the Word Sources section.

How Information is Cited

Speakers and previously written works are listed in the Word Sources section, starting on p. 51. These sources are all marked within entries by the initials outlined in this section. Other contributors are cited in the Preface.

Where is Information Coming from

Information in this dictionary comes from unnamed speakers who worked with Reverend Eugene Buechel, who housed the language data he collected on file cards. These were gathered and kept safe by Reverend John Bryde after Buechel’s death in 1954, and then assembled, typed into a manuscript, and published by Reverend Paul Manhart more than ten years later. Leo Gilroy wrote a history of the Sioux peoples as part of his independent research, which is included in this dictionary under the heading The Sioux (starting on p. 1). Based on Buechel’s previously published work A Grammar of Lakota (1939), Reverend George Casey prepared a brief grammatical sketch of Lakota, which is included in this dictionary under the heading A Lakota Grammar Summary (starting on p. 25).

Other previous written works used include Ella Deloria’s Dakota Texts, Frances Densmore’s Teton Sioux Music, Reverend E. Perrig’s Lakota Dictionary, Reverend S.R. Riggs’ Lakota Dictionary, Clark Whissler’s Indians of Plains, Reverend J. Williamson’s Dakota Dictionary, and J.R. Walker’s Oglala Sundance. We are unaware of the publishing dates of these resources. Other works of Buechel’s that were used include a prayer book, a compilation of stories, and a translation of the Gospel according to Matthew.

Tools and Framework used

This dictionary is available as a physical and digital book.

The 2002 version of this dictionary is only available as a physical book.

Access

The physical versions of both the 1970 and 2002 versions are accessible through libraries. The digital book of the 1970 publication is open access through the Internet Archive (requires a free account to access the resource in its entirety). The digitized version of the 2002 edition is no longer available on the Internet Archive. The physical version of the 2002 publication is also available for purchase from the publisher (University of Nebraska Press) for $45 USD.

Included Languages and Directionality

Lakota to English; English to Lakota (Index).

Dialects Included

No dialect is specified for this dictionary.

Type of Dictionary

This is a bilingual, bidirectional dictionary preceded by a brief anthropological and grammatical sketch.

How are Entries Organised

The dictionary portion of this resource is divided into two sections: A Lakota-English Dictionary and English-Lakota. Entries in the Lakota-English section are alphabetized by Lakota as determined by the alphabet on pg. 19 and contain the Lakota headword, the part of speech, and the English gloss. Most entries also contain variations of the headword and example phrases, first written in Lakota followed by the English gloss and the speaker (i.e., source) of the phrase. The English-Lakota section is alphabetized by English, and entries contain the English headword, the part of speech and the Lakota gloss. Some entries contain variations or related terms in the same entry. No other information is provided in entries in this latter section.

Prior to the dictionary sections, there is some biographical information on Father Eugene Buechel and anthropological and historical information on the Lakota people. Following this, there is a grammatical introduction to the Lakota language, mainly discussing the sound and writing systems. After an introduction to the dictionary is a more thorough grammar which includes information such as parts of speech, verb usage, sentence structures, verb tenses, and many more.

Following the dictionary sections there are several appendices, including a list of words that required further refinement upon publication (first listed Lakota-English and then English-Lakota), information on Oglala Teton society and Lakota tribal order, Bible history, and a bibliography.

Other Features

Other Notes

This dictionary was updated and restructured in 2002 under the title Lakota Dictionary: Lakota-English/English-Lakota. We are unable to access this version and, therefore, cannot offer further details on how it differs from the 1970 version.