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Pre-contact distribution of the Siouan languages

The Siouan (a.k.a. Siouan proper, Western Siouan) languages are a Native American language family of North America. The Siouan family is related to the Catawban family, together making up the Siouan-Catawban family. Some authors use the term Siouan to refer to the Siouan-Catawban family and the term Siouan proper to refer to the Siouan family.

While the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota comprise "the Great Sioux Nation", the language family is much broader and includes "the old speakers", the Ho-Chunk and their linguistic cousins, the Crow. The Siouan family also extends back East and down South.

While social migrations have yet to be definitively worked out, linguistic and historical sittings indicate a southern origin of Siouan people, with migrations over a thousand years ago from North Carolina and Virginia to Ohio, then both down the Ohio River to the Mississippi and up to the Missouri, and across Ohio to Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, home of the Dakota.

The Siouan family consists of 17 languages with various sub-languages:

I. Missouri River Siouan (a.k.a. Crow-Hidatsa)

1. Crow (a.k.a. Absaroka, Apsaroka, Apsaalooke, Upsaroka)

2. Hidatsa (a.k.a. Gros Ventre, Minitari, Minnetaree)

II. Mandan Siouan

3. Mandan

a. Nuptare

b. Neutare

III. Mississippi Valley Siouan (a.k.a. Central Siouan)

A. Dakotan (a.k.a. Sioux-Assiniboine-Stoney)

4. Sioux

a. Santee-Sisseton (a.k.a. Santee, Eastern Sioux, Dakota)

i. Santee

ii. Sisseton

b. Yankton-Yanktonai (a.k.a. Yankton, Central Sioux, Nakota)

i. Yankton

ii. Yanktonai

c. Teton (a.k.a. Lakhota, Lakota, Western Sioux)

i. Northern Teton

ii. Southern Teton

5. Assiniboine (a.k.a. Assiniboin)

6. Stoney (a.k.a. Alberta Assiniboine)

B. Chiwere-Winnebago (a.k.a. Chiwere)

7. Chiwere (a.k.a. Ioway-Otoe-Missouria, Ioway-Otoe)

a. Iowa (a.k.a. Ioway)

b. Otoe (a.k.a. Oto, Jiwere)

c. Missouria (a.k.a. Missouri)

8. Winnebago (a.k.a. Hocák, Hochunk, Hochank, Hocangara, Hotcangara, Hochangara)

C. Dhegiha (a.k.a. Dhegihan)

9. Omaha-Ponca

a. Omaha

b. Ponca (a.k.a. Ponka)

10. Kansa-Osage

a. Kansa (a.k.a. Kanza, Kaw) (†)

b. Osage

11. Quapaw (a.k.a. Kwapa, Kwapaw, Arkansas) (†)

IV. Ohio Valley Siouan (a.k.a. Southeastern Siouan)

A. Virginia Siouan

12. Tutelo

13. Saponi (a.k.a. Saponey) (†)

14. Moniton (a.k.a. Monacan) (†)

15. Occaneechi

B. Mississippi Siouan (a.k.a. Ofo-Biloxi) (†)

16. Biloxi (†)

17. Ofo (a.k.a. Ofogoula) (†)

(†) - Extinct language

Another view of both the Dakotan and Mississippi Valley branches is to represent them as dialect continuums. Notice: This article does not have information about the Virginia Souian group.

Some linguists associate Siouan languages with Caddoan and Iroquoian languages in a Macro-Siouan language family.

• Siouan-Catawban languages

• Parks, Douglas R.; & Rankin, Robert L. (2001). The Siouan languages. In R. J. DeMallie (Ed.), Handbook of North American Indians: Plains (Vol. 13, Part 1, pp. 94-114). W. C. Sturtevant (Gen. Ed.). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 0-16-050400-7.

• The Siouan Languages Bibliography
• Siouan languages FAQ
• Siouan languages mailing list archive
• Siouan family (Ethnologue)