Major Long makes an estimate of the numbers of the various tribes or 
bands as they were in 1823 from information principally derived from his 
guide and interpreter Renville, which foots up for the Dakotas, 
including the Assiniboines, as below:

LAKE BANDS

1. Keoxa, (Wabashas, etc.,) 40 lodges, 70 warriors and 400 souls.
2. Eanbosandata, (Red Wings, etc., ) 10 lodges, 25 warriors, 100 souls.
3. Kapoja, (Little Crows,) 30 lodges, 70 warriors, 300 souls.
4. Oanoska (Black Dogs,) 30 lodges, 40 warriors, 200 souls.
5. Tetankatane, 10 lodges, 30 warriors, 300 souls.
6. Taoapa, 30 lodges, 60 warriors, 150 souls.
7. Weakaote, 10 lodges, 30 warriors, 50 souls.

BANDS AT LARGE OR ON THE PRAIRIE.

8. Miakechakesa, or Sisitons, 180 lodges, 260 warriors, 1,000 souls.
9. Wahkpatoan, 100 lodges, 200 warriors, 800 souls.
10. Wahkpakota, 120 lodges, 240 warriors, 900 souls.
11. Kahra, a band of Sisitons, 130 lodges, 450 warriors, 1,500 souls.
12. Yanktoanan, 460 lodges, 1,300 warriors, 5,200 souls.
13. Yanktoan, 200 lodges, 500 warriors, 2,000 souls.
14. Tetoans, 900 lodges, 3,600 warriors, 14,400 souls.
Hohas, or Assiniboines, 3,000 lodges,  7,000 warriors,  28,000 souls.
Total---5,330 lodges, 14,055 warriors, 56,100 souls.

The Sioux proper were estimated by Major Long at 25,000 souls, with 
6,000 warriors. General Pike at an earlier date estimated them at 
21,675, and their warriors at 3,885. Lewis and Clark estimated their 
warriors in 1804 at 2,550.

In 1823 the country of the Dakotas included all of southwestern 
Minnesota, a part of northwestern Wisconsin above Prairie du Chein, and 
nearly the whole of what now constitutes the Territory of Dakota.

1. The Keoxa band lived upon the Mississippi. The name signifies 
"relationship overlooked," because they intermarry between nearer 
relations than the other bands.
2. Eanbosandata means "vertical rock," from a rock on the Cannon River 
of Minnesota, where they had a village.
3. Kapoja means "light." This band had a village on the Minnesota or St. 
Peter river.
4. Oanoska signifies "great avenue." They lived on the St. Peter.
5. Tetankatane means oldest village of the Dakotas. They also lived on 
the St. Peters River.
6. Taoapa. The chief of this tribe was named Shakpa, which signifies 
Six. Lived on the St. Peter
7. Weakote, a small band attached to the preceding.
8. Miakechakesa, meaning a point cut off and forming an island. This 
tribe had no fixed place of habitation. They lived in skin lodges and 
shifted from place to place. They lived principally in the Black Earth 
valley.
9. Wehkpakata, "Shooters of leaves." This tribe bore a bad name and was 
considered a lawless band. They lived in skin lodges, and also roamed 
over the country.
10. Wahkpatoan, "the people beyond those who shoot at leaves."  They 
dwelt about the heads of Red River.
11. Kahra, Wild Rice Tribe. Lived in skin lodges and had their hunting 
grounds on Red River.
12. Yanktoanan, the "Fern leaves." This was one of the most important 
tribes. They lived in skin lodges, which were finely dressed and highly 
decorated.
13. Yanktoan, "Descendants of the Fern leaves."
14. Tetoans. "Braggers." This was the largest band of the Dakotas.

The Assiniboines lived mostly north of the British line. The cause of 
the separation of these latter from the Yanktons is said to have 
originated many years before, when a warrior of one band seduced and 
carried away the wife of a warrior of another band, which caused 
bloodshed and civil war. The aggressor and his friends finally retired 
toward the north, and eventually became alienated from their people. The 
Chippewas call them Assini-Boines, or Stone Indians, the word assin in 
Chippewa, meaning stone.

The Dakotas have a tradition of the first white man they ever saw whom 
they thought was a Frenchman. They took him prisoner. He had a gun which 
they asked the use of. He said it was to kill anything he chose to. They 
were incredulous and set a man before him, challenging him to prove his 
assertion. He declined to practice on a human being, and they then 
brought a dog, when he turned his gun toward it and shot it dead. The 
Indians were terrified beyond measure, and called him "Thunder." This 
took place about the year 1660.

Mr. Keating's statements touching the religion of the Dakotas varies 
somewhat, though not materially from that of Rev. Mr. Riggs. He says 
they have a very simple system, believing in a Supreme Being, and a 
number of subordinate beings whose attributes, powers and privileges 
vary greatly. They call the Supreme Wah-kan-Tan-Ka, or Great Spirit. 
They worship him as the creator of all things and the governor of the 
universe, and believe him to be source of all good, but of no bad 
whatever. 

The next in respect to power is the Evil One, Wah-kan-Shecha, inferior 
to the Great Spirit, and wholly engaged in the performance of evil. The 
two are co-eternal, but the Evil One is partially under the control of 
the Great Spirit.

The next, or third divinity, is the God of Thunder, of whom the Indians 
stand in great awe. They fix his residence in the west. Some believe he 
swells on the summit of the Rocky Mountains. They offer sacrifices to 
each of the three deities, which are offered nearly in the same manner. 

"They begin by directing a pipe toward the spirit. He who gives or 
ordains the sacrifice, after having addressed the being to whom it is 
offered, takes up the calumet and raises the stem toward the sky, if it 
be intended for the good spirit; if for the evil deity he points the 
stem toward the south; if for the thunder, the pipe is directed to the 
west. When it is intended that the object sacrificed shall remain 
exposed to the atmosphere, it is fastened upon a stake which is elevated 
or inclined in like manner."

	In addition to these three deities they believe in many 
subordinate ones; a female spirit resides in the sun, a male spirit in 
the moon. These are considered benevolent beings. The sacrifices of the 
Dakotas are accompanied with prayers, but never with dances. 

	The Dakotas believe in a future existence. They also believe in a 
soul and a spirit, which they designate respectively as Wanare and 
Wahkan. They believe that after death the souls go to Wanare Tepee or 
"dwelling place of souls." To reach this they are obliged to pass over a 
rock, the edge of which is as sharp as that of a knife; those who fall 
off go to the region of the evil spirit, where they are kept continually 
chopping wood, carrying water, etc., and are frequently flogged.

	Those who have passed safely over have a long journey to travel, 
and as they proceed they observe the camping places of the souls that 
have preceded them. At these fires are ready made for their 
accommodation. Finally they reach the habitation of Wahkan-Tanka. They 
find many villages of the dead, and meet with spirits who point the way 
to the residence of their friends and relatives, whit whom the are re-
united. Their lives are easy and full of bliss, and they hunt the 
buffalo, plant corn, etc.

	They believe when children die their departed friends come and 
escort them to the land of souls.

	Women are liable to go to either of the places, but all are 
entitled to a situation in the land of the blessed, except such as have 
violated their chastity or committed murder or infanticide.

	They believe men go to the residence of the Great Spirit if they 
be good and peaceable, or if they die by the hand of an enemy. "If they 
perish in a broil with their on countrymen their souls are doomed to the 
residence of the Evil Spirit." They have no "totems" like most Indian 
nations farther east.

	Suicide is common among the women, most of them hanging themselves 
to trees. The belief is that they are compelled to drag forever the tree 
to which they suspend themselves, and they usually select the smallest 
tree that will bear their weight.

	They Dakotas have never been cannibals. Renville stated that he 
was present at the seige of Fort Meigs, Ohio, in 1813, where there were 
many nations assembled, including a band of Dakotas under Wapesha and 
another chief. They had not yet joined in the war against the Americans. 
After a battle (probably Colonel Dudley's defeat)the Winnebago Indians 
cut up and cooked an American prisoner, and invited the Dakotas to the 
feast, but they indignantly refused and boldly upbraided the eastern 
Indians for their grater barbarism.

	The treatment of their prisoners has been generally humane from 
the days of Hennepin, in 1680, to the present.

	Mayor Long relates an interesting incident illustrating this 
point:

	"A battle had been fought on Knife Lake, between the Chippewas and 
Dakotas. Two hundred warriors of the later had surprised and cut to 
pieces about fifteen of the former, killed their wives and children, 
amounting to about  forty, and taken eight or ten prisoners. They then 
withdrew to the village of Te-tan-ka-tane, on the St. Peter which at 
that time consisted of about 300 lodges. They were engaged in 
celebrating their victory and in dancing the scalp dance. On looking 
around, one of the party was surprised to behold a warrior painted all 
over black and marked with ten streaks of vermilion which covered fresh 
wounds. He was immediately recognized to be a distinguished Chippewa 
chief called, in his own language Keche Wabesches; by the Sioux, Natapa 
Hecha, both terms signifying the Big Marten. It was the same chief who 
commanded the small party, the defeat of which they were celebrating. 
Under cover of a blanket he had approached thus near undiscovered; 
passed though the village, and it was only when he found himself in the 
presence of the warriors that he dropped his mantle. In his left hand he 
held a calumet of peace: his right was raised to the heavens, as if 
calling for mercy. But his attitude was firm, his manner imposing and 
undismayed. He was immediately seized and made to sit down. The warriors 
formed a circle to protect him against the insults of the women and 
children, the weak and the cowardly, who are generally prone to triumph 
over the unprotected. The intrusion of any enemy while they were engaged 
at their sacred rights was by many considered a mortal offence. Those 
disposed to save him sent word to Renville's father and some other 
French traders who were encamped on the opposite side of the river. By 
the influence of the traders he was permitted to go over to their camp 
until his fate should be decided. After some deliberation they 
determined upon sparing him. They formed a large ring of warriors, 
convened in council, and, having summoned the chief, they asked him what 
had induced him to venture among them. He replied that having searched 
the battle field after their departure, he had not discovered the body 
of his young daughter, five or six years of age, and concluding that she 
was a prisoner, he had resolved to come and claim her from them. The 
black color with which he was painted was a symbol of his mortification; 
his wounds were still fresh.

	"The Dakotas having agreed to release her, the prisoners were all 
brought, when he immediately recognized his daughter, wept over her and 
embraced her. He remained two days among them, and was much feasted, the 
Dakotas expressing the greatest admiration for his valor. On his 
departure they loaded his canoe with presents, and one hundred of them 
accompanied him as a protection as far as Rum River. During his stay he 
observed the scalps of his wife, brother, and other relatives, and 
pointed them out. When asked by the warriors why he had not fought with 
the same desperate courage to resist their attacks, which he had 
manifested when he surprised them on the St. Croix River, he replied, it 
was not his courage, but his strength which had failed. He had fought 
until he fell senseless, being wounded in many places, both by arrows 
and fire-arms."

	The Dakotas evince great love for their children, especially the 
mothers, for their daughters, for whom they make themselves slaves.

	When they name a child, they have many ceremonies, and offer 
sacrifices -dogs, skins, scarlet cloth, tobacco, etc.

	Polygamy is allowed without other regulation than the customs of 
the tribes, the number of wives being limited by the means of support.

	They have prophets, astrologers, and soothsavers, or medicine men, 
who perform incantations, make prophecies, and perform trick of 
legerdemain.

	Among the Dakotas an institution called the Nan-pa-shene formerly 
existed, and may possibly be still in vogue. This was a sort of 
chivalric organization composed of a certain number of young men pledged 
to never return defeated from any warlike expedition. It was nearly the 
equivalent of the old Spartan military organization which was pledged, 
or, at least, expected to bear the shield home in triumph, or return 
upon it lifeless.

	They usually cook their meat by boiling, and always. Prefer it 
well done.

	Measuring Time. Renville said the Dakotas divided the year into 
twelve moons, commencing with the September one, as below. His statement 
differs in some particulars from the account given by Rev. Riggs. The 
variation may be owing to a difference in time, fome twenty-five years, 
or from different tribes or bands.

	September.-Wa-jo-pi-we. Commencement of wild rice.
	October.-Sinshtanpi-we. End of wild rice.
	November.-Ta-ke-hu-ha-we. Rutting deer.
	December.-Te-hech-apohon-we. Deer shedding its horns.
	January.-We-tarhe. Hard moon.
	February.-Wechata-we. Raccoon.
	March.-Wishto-wosa-we. Sore eye.
	April.-Mahahahandi-we. Oviperous game
	May.-Wazapa-we. Corn planting moon.
	June.-Wajuste-sha-sha-we. Strawberries
	July.-Tochapasha-we. Cherries.
	August.-Tantanka-keowa-we. Rattling buffalo.

	Some writers, among them Mr. Keating, contend that the Dakotas 
were related by intermarriage with the Cheyennes and Arickarees, and had 
friendly relations with the Pawnees, Osages, etc., bet were at deadly 
enmity with the Omahas. They claim that the Iowas were formally a band 
of the Dakotas, but had left the nation so long before that their 
language had become unintelligible. These claims are disputed by other 
writers.

	The Dakotas believe they were created by the Supreme Being in the 
region where they lived when the white man first knew them. They have no 
tradition of any emigration from any far-off country.

	At the time of the visit of the party to Traverse Lake the 
Yanktoanan tribe was living on its banks. Their chief, called Wanotan 
(the charger) was a famous warrior, upward of six feet high, the son of 
a famous warrior who fought against the American.

	The Major speaks of the celebrated "Sun Dance" which is still 
performed by the Siouxs. It is a cruel and disgusting spectacle to the 
white man, similar in some respects to the performances of the Hindoos 
when they insert hooks into their flesh and swing in the air. 

	 The chief received the party very cordially, and spread a grand 
feast of dog and buffalo meat. They use their dogs off beasts of burden, 
each dog when harnessed, being loaded with about 100lbs of weight.

	Wanotan paid the party a formal visit, and his appearance and 
dress are described as magnificent. He wore a splendid cloak or mantle 
of buffalo hide, finely dressed, and decorated with small tufts of owls' 
feathers, and others of various colors; a curious necklace formed of 
sixty claws of the grizzly bear; leggings, jacket and moccasins made in 
the highest style of Indian art, and decorated with human hair and the 
plumage of birds. In his hair he wore nine sticks painted red to 
designate the number of wounds he had received in battle. He had a large 
fan of turkey feathers in his hand. A grand dance followed, called the 
dog dance.

	The party left the Columbia trading house on Traverse Lake, July 
26, and moved north on the east side of the Bois des Sioux, the outlet 
of the lake. They found buffalo within a few miles on the second day, 
and in great plenty all along Red River, and below the Red Lake River 
encountered a herd of sixty elk. The Indians were even then armed with 
fire arms or, at least, partly so.

The Wahtpakota, or Wahpeton Indians were found hunting buffalo below the 
mouth o Red Lake River. They were hostile and a collision was only 
avoided by consummate tact on the part of Major Long. They were finally 
shaken off in the night, and were the last Dakotas seen. 

The party reached the Red River opposite Pembina, August 5, 1823.