Sioux
Očhéthi Šakówiŋ

Sitting Bull, a Hunkpapa Lakota chief and holy man, circa 1885.
Total population
150,000+[1][2]
Regions with significant populations
United States (SD, MN, NE, MT, ND), Canada (MB, SK, AB)
Languages
Sioux, English, French
Religion
Christianity (incl. syncretistic forms), Midewiwin
Related ethnic groups
Assiniboine, Stoney (Nakoda), and other Siouan peoples

The Sioux ( /�?su�?/) are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects. The Sioux comprise three major divisions based on Siouan dialect and subculture:

• Isáŋyathi or Isáŋathi ("Knife," originating from the name of a lake in present-day Minnesota): residing in the extreme east of the Dakotas, Minnesota and northern Iowa, and are often referred to as the Santee or Eastern Dakota.

• Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋ and Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋna ("Village-at-the-end" and "little village-at-the-end"): residing in the Minnesota River area, they are considered to be the middle Sioux, and are often referred to as the Yankton and the Yanktonai, or, collectively, as the Wičhíyena (endonym) or the Western Dakota (and have been erroneously classified as “Nakota”^[3]) .

• Thítȟuŋwaŋ or Teton (uncertain, perhaps "Dwellers on the Prairie"; this name is archaic among the natives, who prefer to call themselves Lakȟóta^[4]): the westernmost Sioux, known for their hunting and warrior culture, are often referred to as the Lakota.

Today, the Sioux maintain many separate tribal governments scattered across several reservations, communities, and reserves in the Dakotas, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Montana in the United States; and Manitoba and southern Saskatchewan in Canada.

Name origins[link]

The name "Sioux" is an abbreviated form of Nadouessioux borrowed into Canadian French from Nadoüessioüak from the early Odawa exonym: naadowesiwag "Sioux".^[5] Jean Nicolet recorded the use in 1640.^[6] The Proto-Algonquian form *na·towe·wa, meaning "Northern Iroquoian", has reflexes in several daughter languages that refer to a small rattlesnake (massasauga, Sistrurus).^[7] This information was interpreted by some that the Odawa borrowing was an insult. However, this Proto-Algonquian term most likely was ultimately derived from a form *-a·towe·, meaning simply "to speak a foreign language".^[5] - which would make it similar to the etymology of the Greek "Barbarian". Later this was extended in meaning in some Algonquian languages to refer to the massasauga. Thus, contrary to many accounts, the old Odawa word naadowesiwag did not equate the Sioux with snakes. This is not confirmed though, since usage over the previous decades has led to this term having negative connotations to those tribes to which it refers. This would explain why many tribes have rejected this term as an exonym.

Some of the tribes have formally or informally adopted traditional names: the Rosebud Sioux Tribe is also known as the Sičháŋǧu Oyáte, and the Oglala often use the name Oglála Lakȟóta Oyáte, rather than the English "Oglala Sioux Tribe" or OST. The alternative English spelling of Ogallala is considered improper.^[6].

Očhéthi Šakówiŋ[link]

The historical Sioux referred to the Great Sioux Nation as the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (pronounced [o�?t�?ʰetʰi �?a�?kowĩ]), meaning "Seven Council Fires". Each fire was a symbol of an oyate (people or nation). The seven nations that comprise the Sioux are: Bdewákaŋthuŋwaŋ (Mdewakanton), Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ (Wahpeton), Waȟpékhute (Wahpekute), Sisíthuŋwaŋ (Sisseton), the Iháŋkthuŋwaŋ (Yankton), Iháŋkthuŋwaŋna (Yanktonai), and the Thítȟuŋwaŋ (Teton or Lakota).^[6] The Seven Council Fires would assemble each summer to hold council, renew kinships, decide tribal matters, and participate in the Sun Dance.^[8] The seven divisions would select four leaders known as Wičháša Yatápika from among the leaders of each division.^[8] Being one of the four leaders was considered the highest honor for a leader; however, the annual gathering meant the majority of tribal administration was cared for by the usual leaders of each division. The last meeting of the Seven Council Fires was in 1850.^[8]

Today the Teton, Santee, and Ihantowan/Ihanktowana are usually known, respectively, as the Lakota, Eastern Dakota, or Western Dakota.^[4][6] In any of the three main dialects, "Lakota" or "Dakota" translate to mean "friend," or more properly, "ally." Usage of Lakota or Dakota may then refer to the alliance that once bound the Great Sioux Nation.

History[link]

First contacts with Europeans[link]

The Dakota are first recorded to have resided at the source of the Mississippi River during the seventeenth century.^[9] By 1700 some had migrated to present-day South Dakota.^[10] Late in the 17th century, the Dakota entered into an alliance with French merchants.^[11] The French were trying to gain advantage in the struggle for the North American fur trade against the English, who had recently established the Hudson's Bay Company.

Relationship with French Traders[link]

The Sioux and French first met when the French were trying to get more tribes on their side against the British Forces. This was the first contact between these particular Sioux tribes and White traders. The Sioux and the French traded many things in peace, until the French started trading with the Sioux's rival tribes. This sparked a lot of unrest and the trading ceased. The first recorded meeting between these two was 1640. Eventually the Sioux were forced down to Mississippi at one point during the war with the French who were much stronger as a whole army.^{[citation needed]}

Dakota War of 1862[link]

Siege of New Ulm, August 19, 1862.

Drawing of the mass hanging of Dakota in Mankato, Minnesota

By 1862, shortly after a failed crop the year before and a winter starvation, the federal payment was late. The local traders would not issue any more credit to the Santee and one trader, Andrew Myrick, went so far as to say, "If they're hungry, let them eat grass."^[12] On August 17, 1862 the Dakota War began when a few Santee men murdered a white farmer and most of his family. They inspired further attacks on white settlements along the Minnesota River. The Santee attacked the trading post. Later settlers found Myrick among the dead with his mouth stuffed full of grass.^[13]

On November 5, 1862 in Minnesota, in courts-martial, 303 Santee Sioux were found guilty of rape and murder of hundreds of American settlers. They were sentenced to be hanged. No attorneys or witness were allowed as a defense for the accused, and many were convicted in less than five minutes of court time with the judge.^[14] President Abraham Lincoln commuted the death sentence of 284 of the warriors, while signing off on the execution of 38 Santee men by hanging on December 26, 1862 in Mankato, Minnesota. It was the largest mass-execution in U.S. history.^[15]

Afterwards, the US suspended treaty annuities to the Dakota for four years and awarded the money to the white victims and their families. The men remanded by order of President Lincoln were sent to a prison in Iowa, where more than half died.^[14]

During and after the revolt, many Santee and their kin fled Minnesota and Eastern Dakota to Canada, or settled in the James River Valley in a short-lived reservation before being forced to move to Crow Creek Reservation on the east bank of the Missouri.^[14] A few joined the Yanktonai and moved further west to join with the Lakota bands to continue their struggle against the United States military.^[14]

Others were able to remain in Minnesota and the east, in small reservations existing into the 21st century, including Sisseton-Wahpeton, Flandreau, and Devils Lake (Spirit Lake or Fort Totten) Reservations in the Dakotas. Some ended up in Nebraska, where the Santee Sioux Tribe today has a reservation on the south bank of the Missouri.

Those who fled to Canada now have descendants residing on nine small Dakota Reserves, five of which are located in Manitoba (Sioux Valley, Long Plain, Dakota Tipi, Birdtail Creek, and Oak Lake [Pipestone]) and the remaining four (Standing Buffalo, Moose Woods [White Cap], Round Plain [Wahpeton], and Wood Mountain) in Saskatchewan.

Red Cloud's War[link]

Red Cloud's War (also referred to as the Bozeman War) was an armed conflict between the Lakota and the United States in the Wyoming Territory and the Montana Territory from 1866 to 1868. The war was fought over control of the Powder River Country in north central Wyoming.

The war is named after Red Cloud, a prominent Sioux chief who led the war against the United States following encroachment into the area by the U.S. military. The war ended with the Treaty of Fort Laramie. The Sioux victory in the war led to their temporarily preserving their control of the Powder River country.^[16]

Great Sioux War of 1876-77[link]

The Great Sioux War comprised a series of battles between the Lakota and allied tribes such as the Cheyenne against the United States military. The earliest engagement was the Battle of Powder River, and the final battle was the Wolf Mountain. Included are the Battle of the Rosebud, Battle of the Little Bighorn, Battle of Warbonnet Creek, Battle of Slim Buttes, Battle of Cedar Creek, and the Dull Knife Fight. The Great Sioux War of 1876-77 was also known as the Black Hills War, and was centered around the Lakota tribes of the Sioux, although several Native Americans believe that the primary target of the United States military was the Northern Cheyenne tribe. The series of battles occurred in Montana territory, Dakota territory, and Wyoming territory, and resulted in a victory for the United States military.

Wounded Knee Massacre[link]

Mass grave for the dead Lakota after massacre of Wounded Knee.

The massacre at Wounded Knee Creek was the last major armed conflict between the Lakota and the United States. It was described as a "massacre" by General Nelson A. Miles in a letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.^[17]

On December 29, 1890, five hundred troops of the U.S. 7th Cavalry, supported by four Hotchkiss guns (a lightweight artillery piece capable of rapid fire), surrounded an encampment of the Lakota bands of the Miniconjou and Hunkpapa ^[18] with orders to escort them to the railroad for transport to Omaha, Nebraska.

By the time it was over, 25 troopers and more than 150 Lakota Sioux lay dead, including men, women, and children. The first shot (that started this Massacre) between the Sioux and the US was shot, but no one really knows who shot it, and how it was shot; accident or on purpose.Some of the soldiers are believed to have been the victims of "friendly fire" because the shooting took place at point-blank range in chaotic conditions.^[19] Around 150 Lakota are believed to have fled the chaos, many of whom may have died from hypothermia.^{[citation needed]}

Culture[link]

Marriage[link]

In the Sioux community, people usually marry between 12-15 years old. Before you get married, you are not allowed to be alone with your bride. The couple would meet in front of the woman's parents's teepee, where a blanket would be put over the two and there, you could talk in private (when in public.)Woman and men are perceived to have equal power and decision making. The men are usually chiefs of politics, war leaders or warriors. The woman are in charge food, the house and other items. The older woman were actually very respected in the community.^[20]

Reserves and First Nations[link]

Traditional location of Sioux tribes prior to 1770 (dark green) and their current reservations (orange)

Later in the 19th century, the railroads hired hunters to exterminate the buffalo herds, the Indians' primary food supply. The Santee and Lakota were forced to accept white-defined reservations in exchange for the rest of their lands, and domestic cattle and corn in exchange for buffalo. They became dependent upon annual federal payments guaranteed by treaty.

In Minnesota, the treaties of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota in 1851 left the Sioux with a reservation twenty miles (32 km) wide on each side of the Minnesota River. Today, one half of all enrolled Sioux in the United States live off the reservation. Enrolled members in any of the Sioux tribes in the United States are required to have ancestry that is at least 1/4 degree Sioux (the equivalent to one grandparent).^[21]

In Canada, the Canadian government recognizes the tribal community as First Nations. The land holdings of the these First Nations are called Indian Reserves.

Modern reservations, reserves, and communities of the Sioux[link]

^[6]

* Reserves shared with other First Nations

20th century activism[link]

Wounded Knee incident[link]

Main article: Wounded Knee incident

Beginning in the late 1960s, young Native Americans began to agitate for improved conditions, respect for their civil rights, and better programs in education and economic development. Dramatic protests were conceived, such as the occupation of Alcatraz Island in California.

The Wounded Knee incident began February 27, 1973 when the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota was seized by followers of the American Indian Movement. The occupiers controlled the town for 71 days while various state and federal law enforcement agencies such as the F.B.I. and the United States Marshals Service laid siege. Two members of A.I.M. were killed by gunfire during the incident.

Republic of Lakotah[link]

The Lakotah Freedom Delegation, a group of controversial Native American activists, declared on December 19, 2007 the Lakotah were withdrawing from all treaties signed with the United States to regain sovereignty over their nation. One of the activists, Russell Means, claims that the action is legal and cites Natural, International and U.S. law.^[22] The group considers Lakotah to be a sovereign nation, although as yet the state is generally unrecognized. The proposed borders reclaim thousands of square kilometres of North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Montana.^[23]

Political organization[link]

Ogalala Lakota Tipi

The historical political organization was based on individual participation and the cooperation of many to sustain the tribe’s way of life. Leaders were chosen based upon noble birth and demonstrations of chiefly virtues, such as bravery, fortitude, generosity, and wisdom.^[8]

• Political leaders were members of the Načá Omníčiye society and decided matters of tribal hunts, camp movements, whether to make war or peace with their neighbors, or any other community action.^[24]

• Societies were similar to fraternities; men joined to raise their position in the tribe. Societies were composed of smaller clans and varied in number among the seven divisions.^[8] There were two types of societies: Akíčhita, for the younger men, and Načá, for elders and former leaders.^[8]

• Akíčhita (Warrior) societies existed to train warriors, hunters, and to police the community.^[24] There were many smaller Akíčhita societies, including the Kit-Fox, Strong Heart, Elk, and so on.^[24]

• Leaders in the Načá societies, per Načá Omníčiye, were the tribal elders and leaders. They elected seven to ten men, depending on the division, each referred to as Wičháša Itȟáŋčhaŋ ("chief man"). Each Wičháša Itȟáŋčhaŋ interpreted and enforced the decisions of the Načá.^[24]

• The Wičháša Itȟáŋčhaŋ would elect two to four Shirt Wearers, who were the voice of the society. They settled quarrels among families and also foreign nations.^[8] Shirt Wearers were often young men from families with hereditary claims of leadership. However, men with obscure parents who displayed outstanding leaderships skills and had earned the respect of the community might also be elected. Crazy Horse is an example of a common-born "Shirt Wearer".^[8]

• A Wakíčhuŋza ("Pipe Holder") ranked below the "Shirt Wearers". The Pipe Holders regulated peace ceremonies, selected camp locations, and supervised the Akíčhita societies during buffalo hunts.^[24]

Linguistics[link]

Chief Bone Necklace an Oglala Lakota from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (1899)

The Sioux comprise three closely related language groups:

1. Eastern Dakota (a.k.a. Santee-Sisseton or Dakhóta)
   • Santee (Isáŋyáthi: Bdewákhathuŋwaŋ, Waȟpékhute)
   • Sisseton (Sisíthuŋwaŋ, Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ)
2. Western Dakota (a.k.a. Yankton-Yanktonai or Dakȟóta)
   • Yankton (Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋ)
   • Yanktonai (Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋna)
3. Lakota (a.k.a. Lakȟóta, Teton, Teton Sioux)

The earlier linguistic three-way division of the Sioux language identified Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota as dialects of a single language, where Lakota = Teton, Dakota = Santee-Sisseton and Nakota = Yankton-Yanktonai.^[7] However, the latest studies ^[4][25] show that Yankton-Yanktonai never used the autonym Nakhóta, but pronounced their name roughly the same as the Santee (i.e. Dakȟóta).

These later studies identify Assiniboine and Stoney as two separate languages, with Sioux being the third language. Sioux has three similar dialects: Lakota, Western Dakota (Yankton-Yanktonai) and Eastern Dakota (Santee-Sisseton). Assiniboine and Stoney speakers refer to themselves as Nakhóta or Nakhóda^[4] (cf. Nakota).

The term Dakota has also been applied by anthropologists and governmental departments to refer to all Sioux groups, resulting in names such as Teton Dakota, Santee Dakota, etc. This was mainly because of the misrepresented translation of the Ottawa word from which Sioux is derived.^[8] they usually lived in ti-pis such as shown in the picture, that they would all set up together as a tribe.

Modern geographic divisions[link]

Funeral scaffold of a Sioux chief (Karl Bodmer)

The Sioux maintain many separate tribal governments scattered across several reservations and communities in North America: in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Montana in the United States; and in Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada.

The earliest known European record of the Sioux identified them in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin.^[7] After the introduction of the horse in the early 18th century, the Sioux dominated larger areas of land—from present day Central Canada to the Platte River, from Minnesota to the Yellowstone River, including the Powder River country.^[24]

Santee (Isáŋyathi or Eastern Dakota)[link]

The Santee migrated north and westward from the Southeast United States, first into Ohio, then to Minnesota. Some came up from the Santee River and Lake Marion, area of South Carolina. The Santee River was named after them, and some of their ancestors' ancient earthwork mounds have survived along the portion of the dammed-up river that forms Lake Marion. In the past, they were a Woodland people who thrived on hunting, fishing and subsistence farming.

Migrations of Anishinaabe/Chippewa (Ojibwe) people from the east in the 17th and 18th centuries, with muskets supplied by the French and British, pushed the Dakota further into Minnesota and west and southward. The US gave the name "Dakota Territory" to the northern expanse west of the Mississippi River and up to its headwaters.^[7]

Iháŋkthuŋwaŋ-Iháŋkthuŋwaŋna (Yankton-Yanktonai or Western Dakota)[link]

The Iháŋkthuŋwaŋ-Iháŋkthuŋwaŋna, also known by the anglicized spelling Yankton (Iháŋkthuŋwaŋ: "End village") and Yanktonai (Iháŋkthuŋwaŋna: "Little end village") divisions consist of two bands or two of the seven council fires. According to Nasunatanka and Matononpa in 1880, the Yanktonai are divided into two sub-groups known as the Upper Yanktonai and the Lower Yanktonai (Hunkpatina).^[7]

They were involved in quarrying pipestone. The Yankton-Yanktonai moved into northern Minnesota. In the 18th century, they were recorded as living in the Mankato region of Minnesota.^[26]

Lakota (Teton or Thítȟuŋwaŋ)[link]

The Sioux likely obtained horses sometime during the seventeenth century (although some historians date the arrival of horses in South Dakota to 1720, and credit the Cheyenne with introducing horse culture to the Lakota). The Teton (Lakota) division of the Sioux emerged as a result of this introduction. Dominating the northern Great Plains with their light cavalry, the western Sioux quickly expanded their territory further to the Rocky Mountains (which they call Heska, "white mountains"). The Lakota once subsisted on the buffalo hunt, and on corn. They acquired corn mostly through trade with the eastern Sioux and their linguistic cousins, the Mandan and Hidatsa along the Missouri.^[7]

Ethnic divisions[link]

Dakota, Nakota and Lakota historic distribution

Womendress of the Sioux

Baby sling of the Sioux

The Sioux are divided into three ethnic groups, the larger of which are divided into sub-groups, and further branched into bands.

• The Santee live on reservations, reserves, and communities in Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Canada.

• Most of the Yanktons live on the Yankton Reservation in southeastern South Dakota. Some Yankton live on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation and Crow Creek Reservation. The Yanktonai are divided into Lower Yanktonai, who occupy the Crow Creek Reservation; and Upper Yanktonai, who live in the northern part of Standing Rock Reservation, on the Spirit Lake Reservation in central North Dakota, and in the eastern half of the Fort Peck Reservation in northeastern Montana. In addition, they reside at several Canadian reserves, including Birdtail, Oak Lake, and Moose Woods.^[4]

• The Lakota are the westernmost of the three groups, occupying lands in both North and South Dakota.

Today, many Sioux also live outside their reservations.

• Santee division (Eastern Dakota) (Isáŋyathi)^[4]
  • Mdewakantonwan (Bdewékhaŋthuŋwaŋ "Spirit Lake Village")^[4]

    notable persons: Taoyateduta

  • Sisseton (Sisíthuŋwaŋ, perhaps meaning "Fishing Grounds Village")
  • Wahpekute (Waȟpékhute, "Leaf Archers")^[4]

    notable persons: Inkpaduta

  • Wahpetonwan (Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ, "Leaf Village")^[4]

• Yankton-Yanktonai division (Western Dakota) (Wičhíyena)
  • Yankton (Iháŋkthuŋwaŋ, "End Village")^[4]
  • Yanktonai (Iháŋkthuŋwaŋna, "Little End Village")^[4]
    • Upper Yanktonai
    • Unkpatina^[27] or Lower Yanktonai

    notable persons: Wanata, Chief War Eagle

• Teton division (Lakota) (Thítȟuŋwaŋ,^[4] perhaps meaning "Dwellers on the Prairie"):
  • Oglála (perhaps meaning "Those Who Scatter Their Own")

    notable persons: Crazy Horse, Red Cloud, Black Elk and Billy Mills (Olympian)

  • Hunkpapa (Húŋkpapȟa,^[4] meaning "Those who Camp by the Door" or "Wanderers")

    notable persons: Sitting Bull

  • Sihasapa (Sihásapa, "Blackfoot Sioux,"^[4] not to be confused with the Algonquian-speaking Blackfeet)
  • Minniconjou (Mnikȟówožu, "Those who Plant by Water")^[4]

    notable persons: Lone Horn, Touch the Clouds

  • Brulé (French translation of Sičháŋǧu, "Burned Thigh")^[4]
  • Sans Arcs (French translation of Itázipčho, "Those Without Bows")^[4]
  • Two Kettles (Oóhenupa, "Two Boilings")^[4]

In popular media[link]

Video clip of a dance performed by a Sioux tribe from Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. This is part of a group of films constituting the first appearance of Native Americans in motion pictures

• The Richard Harris film A Man Called Horse and its two sequels depicts Sioux customs and histories.
• The HBO movie Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee depicts the relocation and reservations of the people from the Sioux perspective, based on the book by Dee Brown.
• The films Dances with Wolves and Thunderheart contain depictions of the Sioux People.
• "Elegy to the Sioux," a poem by Norman Dubie
• The mini-series Into the West depicts the Sioux, specifically the Lakota, during some of first ventures of the "white men" into the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains.
• The novel A Death for Beauty depicts the Lakota Sioux and their battles with the U.S. Cavalry during the Civil War.
• The Film Hidalgo depicts the events of Frank Hopkins, a rider for the United States Army, who was at the Wounded Knee Massacre as he wrestles with his Sioux heritage.
• Aaron Huey's TED presentation "America's Native Prisoners of War." - Sept. 2010^[28]

• Diane Sawyer Takes an In-Depth look at the Young Dreamers and Survivors of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Fighting Against Decades of Neglect Airing Friday, October 14, 2011 on ABC

Famous Sioux[link]

Historical[link]

Chiefs Red Cloud and American Horse (1891)

• Siŋté Gleśká (Spotted Tail) — Brulé chief who resisted joining Red Cloud's War
• Thaóyate Dúta (Little Crow) — Chief famous for role in the Dakota War of 1862
• Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake (Sitting Bull) — Chief famous for role in the Battle of Little Bighorn
• Tȟašúŋke Witkó (Crazy Horse) — Famous for leadership and courage in battle
• Maȟpíya Ičáȟtagye (Touch the Clouds) - Famous for his legendary strength and size, a great warrior
• Maȟpíya Lúta (Red Cloud) — Chief famous for role in Red Cloud's War
• Tȟašúŋke Kȟokípȟapi (Young Man Afraid Of His Horses) — Oglala chief who participated in Red Cloud's War
• Ištáȟba (Sleepy Eye) — Chief of the Sisseton band in the mid-19th century; signed four treaties^[29]
• Heȟáka Sápa (Black Elk) — Lakota holy man, source of Black Elk Speaks and other books
• Tȟáȟča Hušté (Lame Deer) — Lakota holy man, carried traditional knowledge into modern era
• Ohíyes’a (Charles Eastman) — Author, physician and reformer
• Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington — World War II Fighter Ace and Medal of Honor recipient; 1/4 Sioux
• Waŋbdí Tháŋka (Big Eagle) - Mdewakanton Dakota chief who narrated his account of the Dakota War of 1862
• Tamaha (One Eye) - Mdewekanton Dakota chief who supported the United States in the War of 1812.
• Iŋkpáduta (Scarlet Point) - Waȟpékhute Dakota chief famous for his indomitable opposition to US forces (he took part in all the Sioux Wars from the 1857 Spirit Lake Massacre to the Battle of Little Bighorn, and fought until he died)
• Xunka Kuciyedano (Low Dog), Oglala chief who fought with Sitting Bull at the Little Bighorn
• Charging Thunder (1877-1929), Blackfoot Sioux chief who was one of the first Pony Express riders and part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in 1903, but remained in England when the show left for America.

Contemporary[link]

Woodrow Keeble, Medal of Honor recipient.

• Robert "Tree" Cody, Native American flutist (Dakota)
• Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, activist, academic, and writer
• Mary Crow Dog, writer and activist
• Vine Deloria, Jr., activist and essayist
• Indigenous, blues band (Nakota)
• Illinois Jacquet, jazz saxophonist (half Sioux and half African American)
• Eddie Little Sky, actor (Oglala)
• Russell Means, activist (Oglala)
• Ed McGaa, author, (Oglala) CPT US Marine Corp F-4 Phantom Fighter Pilot
• Billy Mills, only American ever to win the 10,000 meters at the Olympics (1964) – Oglala
• Eddie Spears, actor (Lakota Sioux Lower Brule)
• Michael Spears, actor (Lakota Sioux Lower Brule)
• Terry Ree, comedian
• John Trudell, activist, poet, actor (Dakota)
• Floyd Red Crow Westerman, singer and actor (Dakota)
• Kim Winona (1930–1978), actress
• Leonard Peltier, activist, imprisoned for allegedly killing two FBI agents in 1975
• Woodrow Keeble, (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate) first Sioux Medal of Honor recipient for his valor during the Korean War
• Luther Standing Bear, Sioux author, actor, and rights activist
• J. Medicine Hat, Comedian, and hypnotist.
• Chaske Spencer, actor
• Waziyatawin (a.k.a. Angela Wilson), author, professor, and activist (from the Upper Sioux Community/Pezihutazizi)

Legacy[link]

A Manitoba Historical Plaque was erected at the Spruce Woods Provincial Park by the province to commemorate Assiniboin (Nakota) First Nation's role in Manitoba's heritage.^[30]

Gallery[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sioux

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Sioux.

• Myths And Legends Of The Sioux
• Native American Heritage Association NAHA - Native American Heritage Association Charity Organization
• A compressed History of the Sioux TED talk by photographer Aaron Huey

Mariee Sioux
Background information
Birth name	Mariee Sioux Sobonya
Born	February 4, 1985 Humboldt County, California
Origin	Nevada City, California
Genres	Folk, psych folk
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, musician
Instruments	Acoustic guitar
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Grass Roots Records, Almost Musique
Website	http://www.myspace.com/marieesioux/
Notable instruments
Acoustic guitar, Native American flute, mandolin

Mariee Sioux (born February 4, 1985) is an American folk singer-songwriter. Her father Gary Sobonya is a mandolin player of Polish and Hungarian descent, and her mother Felicia is of Spanish, Paiute, and Indigenous Mexican descent.

Biography[link]

She grew up in Nevada City, California,^[1][2] where she wrote verses since she was a young child. At 17 she traveled to Patagonia to volunteer at a school for indigenous children where she taught herself to play the guitar,^[1] and in 2006 she debuted her first self-released album A Bundled Bundle of Bundles. A year later in 2007 she released her first studio album Faces in the Rocks which featured her delicate acoustic guitar music alongside the Native American flute by Gentle Thunder, and mandolin played by her father Gary Sobonya.^[2][3] The album had a Native American theme to it, filled with references to nature and the Native American people. Since the debut of her first album, she has drawn comparisons from Joanna Newsom to Joni Mitchell, and she has toured through North America and Europe, often alongside fellow folk singer Alela Diane.^[2][3]

She released a cover version of The Cure's "Lovesong", on the Manimal Vinyl tribute record to The Cure, entitled Perfect As Cats.

[edit] Gift for the End

Gift for the End, Mariee Sioux’s new album, draws its benevolent psychedelia from many sources. crisscrossed paths lead through California-folk like Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Kate Wolf, and Joanna Newsom, but also the likes of Linda Perhacs, Nick Drake and other UK psych folk staples.

Gift for the End was recorded between April 2010 and August 2011 in Placerville’s Moonsoon Studios and in the Nevada City’s Sun Dial studios. Mariee Sioux added intricate vocal melodies to her traditional guitar picking, combining classic folk instruments with less conventional ones, allowing a wider personal and emotional exploration. As compared to the consistency and uniformity of her debut album, (Faces in the Rocks), "Gift for the End" offers a large variety of sounds, universes and themes. The exploration of Native themes synonymous with Mariee Sioux (ie: the use of traditional native flute in "Faces in the Rocks") are far more discreet in Gift for the End.

The guest musicians, for the most part, are close friends and family members, and add subtle washes of color and tone over the steady finger-picking and clear, fragile vocals of Mariee Sioux. Gift for the End was produced and arranged by Mariee's partner Sean Kae, who treats the traditional folk instruments with psychedelic effects while blending in analog synths, electric guitar, and layers upon layers of vocal harmonies. With little percussion present on the record, that which is used is sparing and low in the mix. Mariee's finger-picking instead keeps the time steadily throughout the record. Vocal harmonies abound in this record, sometimes many at once.

Electric guitar blends with silver flute and synthesized flute ("Tule"), delicate strokes of Wurlitzer and silver flute create the feeling of live and intimate performance ("Icarus Eye"), warm piano, classic lyrics and layered harmonies mesh ("Old Magic"), new age washes of analog synthesizer and Mellotron unfold in landscapes ("White Fanged Foreverness"), loose, abstract country western percussion with flanged chord organ support toothy electric guitar riffs ("Twin Song"), arpeggiating synths and mandolin create reminders of English psyche-folk landscapes ("Homeopathic") Doubled vocals and male harmonies accompany light piano trills and organs ("Ghost in my Heart") and simple, galloping percussion underpins surreal lyricism and simple, catchy melodies ("Swimming Through Stone").

Released in Europe March 5, 2012 on Almost Musique Released in US April 2012 on Whale Watch Records

Discography[link]

• Pray Me A Shadow (self released, 2004)
• A Bundled Bundle of Bundles (self released, 2006)
• Faces in the Rocks (Grass Roots Records, 2007)
• Two Tongues At One Time/Buried In Teeth 7" (Grass Roots Records, 2007)
• Gift for the End (Almost Musique Records, 2012)
• Bonnie & Mariee (Spiritual Pajamas, 2012)^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mariee Sioux

• Mariee Sioux on Whale Watch Records
• Mariee Sioux Official Myspace Page
• Mariee Sioux Lastfm Page
• live video February, 12th 2009 Rouen, France
• acoustic session for Europe and co Rouen, France
• Mariee Sioux on Almost Musique
• Official Tumblr

The Great Sioux Nation is a general term sometimes applied to the Sioux. The Great Sioux Nation is divided into three linguistically and regionally based groups and several subgroups:

1. Lakota (a.k.a. Lakȟóta, Teton)
   • Northern Lakota (Húŋkpapȟa, Sihásapa)
   • Central Lakota (Mnikȟówožu, Itázipčho, Oóhenuŋpa)
   • Southern Lakota (Oglála, Sičháŋǧu)
2. Western Dakota (a.k.a. Yankton-Yanktonai or Dakȟóta)
   • Yankton (Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋ)
   • Yanktonai (Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋna)
3. Eastern Dakota (a.k.a. Santee-Sisseton or Dakhóta)
   • Santee (Isáŋyathi: Bdewákhathuŋwaŋ, Waȟpékhute)
   • Sisseton (Sisíthuŋwaŋ, Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ)

The term "Great Sioux Nation" is also sometimes applied to a hypothetical state in the western and midwestern United States, which would occupy the following recognized Indian Reservations:

• Oglala (Pine Ridge Indian Reservation)
• Sićangu (Rosebud Indian Reservation)
• Hunkpapa (Standing Rock Indian Reservation/Cheyenne River Indian Reservation)
• Minniconjou (Cheyenne River Indian Reservation)
• Sans Arc (Cheyenne River Indian Reservation)
• Two Kettles (Cheyenne River Indian Reservation)
• Crow Creek Indian Reservation
• Lower Brule Indian Reservation
• Santee Indian Reservation
• Yanktonai (Yankton Sioux Indian Reservation)
• Flandreau Indian Reservation
• Lake Traverse Indian Reservation (Sisseton-Wahpehton)
• Lower Sioux
• Upper Sioux
• Shakopee-Mdewakanton
• Prairie Island
• Standing Rock Indian Reservation
• Spirit Lake Tribe (Formerly Devil's Lake Reservation)

The hypothetical state would also include the defunct Great Sioux reservation and other "unceded Indian territory" in four states, as well as parts of the following states:

• South Dakota
• Montana
• Nebraska
• North Dakota
• Wyoming

Therefore, the theoretical Great Sioux Nation occupies only parts of the United States where Sioux tribes have some legal claim with regard to treaties with the Federal government. (See, e.g., Treaty of Fort Laramie and map of treaty land in External Links section, below.)

Historically, the Great Sioux Nation and the United States have had a turbulent relationship. The last great Indian battles, the Battle of Little Bighorn and the Wounded Knee Massacre, were fought between these two peoples.

Canada[link]

Canadian First Nations such as the Nakoda (Stoney) are descendants of the Great Sioux Nations.^[1]

Further reading[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Map of treaty land

Siouxsie Sioux
Siouxsie performing in 1980
Background information
Birth name	Susan Janet Ballion
Born	(1957-05-27) 27 May 1957 (age 55) London, England
Genres	Post-punk, New Wave, gothic rock, alternative rock, punk rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, singer, producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, bass, percussion
Years active	1976–present
Labels	Polydor, Geffen, Sioux, W14
Associated acts	Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Creatures
Website	www.siouxsie.com

Siouxsie Sioux (/�?su�?zi�? su�?/ born Susan Janet Ballion; 27 May 1957) is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer of rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996) and of its splinter group The Creatures (1981–2005). The Banshees produced eleven studio albums and a string of hit singles including "Hong Kong Garden", "Happy House", "Peek-a-Boo" and "Kiss Them for Me". With The Creatures, Siouxsie recorded four studio albums and the hit single "Right Now".

She has also sung with artists such as Morrissey^[1] and John Cale.^[2] In the mid 2000s, she began a solo career and released MantaRay in 2007.

Siouxsie is considered to be "one of the most influential British singers of the rock era".^[3] Her songs have been covered by Jeff Buckley,^[4] Tricky,^[5] Massive Attack,^[6] and LCD Soundsystem.^[7] Her records have also been praised by a wide range of other artists including PJ Harvey^[8] and TV on the Radio.^[9]

In 2011, she was awarded for Outstanding Contribution To Music at the Q Awards^[10] and in 2012, at the Ivor Novello Awards, she received the "Inspiration Award".^[11]

Biography[link]

Early life (1957–76)[link]

Siouxsie was born Susan Janet Ballion on 27 May 1957 at Guy's Hospital in Southwark, Central London, England.^[12] She was the youngest of three children; ten years separate her from her elder brother and sister. Her two elder siblings were born while the family was based in the Belgian Congo.^[12] Her parents met in that colony and stayed working there for a few years. Her mother, Betty, was a bilingual English secretary and her father was a Belgian Walloon bacteriologist who milked venom from snakes. In the late 1950s, before Siouxsie's birth, the family transferred to England. The Ballions resided in Chislehurst, a suburb in south-east London. Her father died prematurely due to cirrhosis of the liver when Siouxsie was 14 years old. This had an adverse effect on her health. She survived a life-threatening bout of ulcerative colitis, which she would later say "completely demystified the body" for her.^[13]

During her adolescence, she was a self-described "loner,"^[14] who enjoyed listening to the music of male outsiders: David Bowie, Lou Reed, Marc Bolan, Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music and Iggy Pop of The Stooges. She went out with other young people who were interested in the same kind of music and glam fashion.

At 17, she left school. It was during this period that she began frequenting the local gay discos where most of her sister's friends used to go.^[15] She introduced her own friends to that scene. In November 1975, a new young group called the Sex Pistols performed at the local art college in Chislehurst. Siouxsie didn't attend, but one of her friends told her how their singer threatened the string of students present at that gig. He added that they sounded like the Stooges. In February 1976, Siouxsie and her friend Steven Severin went to see the Pistols play in the capital. After chatting with members of the band, Siouxsie and Steven decided to follow them regularly.^[16] In the following months, journalist Caroline Coon coined the term "Bromley Contingent" to describe this group of eccentric teenagers devoted to the Sex Pistols.^[17]

Siouxsie became well known in the London club scene for her glam, fetish and bondage attire, which were later notable of punk fashion^[14] She would also later epitomise goth style with her signature cat-eye makeup, deep red lipstick, spiky dyed-black hair, and black clothing.^[14]

In early September 1976, the Bromley Contingent followed the Pistols to France, where Siouxsie was beaten up for wearing a black armband with a swastika on it. She claimed her intent was to shock the bourgeoisie, not to make a political statement.^[18] She would later write the songs "Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)" (in memory of the anti-Nazi artist John Heartfield) and the single "Israel".^[19]

Following the adage of DIY and the idea that the people in the audience could be the people on stage, Siouxsie and Severin decided to form a band. When a support slot for the 100 Club Punk Festival organised by Malcolm McLaren opened up, they decided to try their chance, although at that time they did not know how to play any songs. On 20 September 1976, they improvised music as Siouxsie recited poems and prayers she had memorised. The performance lasted twenty minutes.

For critic Jon Savage, Siouxsie was "unlike any female singer before or since, commanding yet aloof, entirely modern."^[20] She opened a new era for women in music as Viv Albertine from The Slits would later comment:

"Siouxsie just appeared fully made, fully in control, utterly confident. It totally blew me away. There she was doing something that I dared to dream but she took it and did it and it wiped the rest of the festival for me, that was it. I can't even remember everything else about it except that one performance."^[21]

One of Siouxsie's first public appearances was with the Sex Pistols on Bill Grundy's television show, on Thames Television in December 1976. Standing next to the band, Siouxsie made fun of the presenter when he asked her how she was doing. She responded : "I've always wanted to meet you, Bill". Grundy, who was drunk, suggested a meeting after the show. That directly provoked a reaction of Pistols guitarist Steve Jones who pronounced a series of rude words never heard before on access prime time television.^[22] This episode created a media furore with front covers of several tabloids, including the Daily Mirror with the title: "Siouxsie's A Punk Shocker". This event had a major impact on the Pistols' subsequent career and within a week, they became a household name.

Not liking the clichés put forward by the press, Siouxsie distanced herself from that scene and stopped seeing the Pistols. She decided to focus all her energy on her own band: The Banshees.^[23]

Siouxsie and the Banshees (1977–96)[link]

In 1977, Siouxsie began touring in England with Severin on bass guitar as Siouxsie and the Banshees. One year later, their first single, "Hong Kong Garden," reached the top 10 in the UK.^[24] With its oriental-inflected xylophone motif, it was depicted by critics as "a bright, vivid narrative, something like snapshots from the window of a speeding Japanese train, power charged by the most original, intoxicating guitar playing heard in a long, long time."^[25]

Their first album, 1978's The Scream, was described by Nick Kent in the NME in the following terms:^[26] "The band sounds like some unique hybrid of The Velvet Underground mated with much of the ingenuity of Tago Mago-era Can, if any parallel can be drawn." At the end of the article, he added this remark: "Certainly, the traditional three-piece sound has never been used in a more unorthodox fashion with such stunning results." The Scream was later hailed by the NME as one of the best debut albums of all time with Patti Smith's Horses.^[27] Join Hands followed in 1979.

The 1980 album Kaleidoscope marked a change of musical direction with the arrival of John McGeoch, considered "one of the most innovative and influential guitarists of the past thirty years".^[28] The hit single "Happy House" was qualified as "great pop" with "liquid guitar"^[29] and other songs like "Red Light" were layered with electronic sounds. Kaleidoscope widened Siouxsie's audience, reaching the top 5 in the UK charts. Juju followed in 1981, reaching number 7; the singles "Spellbound" and "Arabian Knights" were described as "pop marvels" by the Guardian.^[30] During recording sessions for Juju, Siouxsie and drummer Budgie formed a percussion-oriented side project called The Creatures, inspired by the stripped-down sound of vocal and drum tracks. The first record from the duo was the EP Wild Things.

In 1982, the British press greeted the Siouxsie and the Banshees' album A Kiss in the Dreamhouse enthusiastically.^[31] Richard Cook in the NME finished his review with "I promise. This music will take your breath away." ^[32]

In 1983, Siouxsie went to Hawaii to record The Creatures' first album Feast, which included the hit-single "Miss the Girl". During the summer, Siouxsie and Budgie hit again the charts with "Right Now", a song from Mel Tormé's repertoire; the Creatures re-orchestrated it with brass arrangements.^[33] Then with the Banshees and guitarist Robert Smith of The Cure, she covered The Beatles' "Dear Prudence", reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart.^[34] Two albums followed with Smith: Nocturne, recorded live in London and Hyæna in 1984. 1986's Tinderbox and the 1987 covers album Through the Looking Glass both reached the top 15 in the UK.^[35]

In 1988, the single "Peek-a-Boo" marked a musical departure from her previous work: it anticipated hip hop-inspired rock with the use of samples. The song was praised by the NME as "oriental marching band hip hop with farting horns and catchy accordion"^[36] and hailed by the Melody Maker as "a brightly unexpected mixture of black steel and pop disturbance."^[37] The Peepshow album was considered by critics to be the Banshees' most successful album in years.^[38]

Siouxsie then temporarily reformed the Creatures with Budgie and went to Spain to record Boomerang. In his review, Simon Reynolds said that it was her "most inventive and invigorated music since A Kiss in the Dreamhouse.".^[39]

In 1991 with the dance-oriented "Kiss Them for Me" single, she used South Asian instrumentation which had become popular in the UK club scene with the growth of bhangra.^[40][41] Indian Tabla player Talvin Singh (who would later be Björk's percussionist on her 1993's Debut album) took part in the session and provided vocals for the bridge. With Kiss Them for Me, the singer scored a hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number 23.^[42] After the release of Superstition that received enthusiastic reviews,^[43] she co-headlined the first Lollapalooza tour, further increasing her American following.

Siouxsie at the first Lollapalooza in Irvine, California, 1991

In 1992, the Banshees recorded the single "Face to Face" and began a hiatus of a few years. The last Banshees studio album, The Rapture, was released in 1995. After the accompanying tour, the Banshees announced their split during a press conference called "20 minutes into 20 years".^[44]

The Creatures and collaborations (1993–2003)[link]

In the mid-1990s, Siouxsie started to make one-off collaborations with other artists.

Suede invited her at a benefit concert for Red Hot Organization. She delivered with guitarist Bernard Butler a version of Lou Reed's "Carolyne Says" : Spin reviewed it as "haughty and stately".^[45]

Morrissey, ex-leader of The Smiths, recorded a duet with Siouxsie in 1994. They both sang on the single "Interlude", a track that was initially performed by Timi Yuro, a female torch singer of the 1960s. "Interlude" was released under the banner of "Morrissey and Siouxsie".

In 1995, she released the song "The Lighthouse" on the French producer Hector Zazou's album Chansons des mers froides which translates to Songs from the Cold Seas. Siouxsie and Zazou adapted the poem "Flannan Isle" by English poet Wilfred Wilson Gibson.

In February 1998, former Velvet Underground member John Cale invited her at a festival called "With a Little Help From My Friends" that took place at the Paradiso in Amsterdam. The concert was shown on Dutch national television and featured an unreleased composition of Sioux, "Murdering Mouth" sung in duet with Cale.^[46] The collaboration between the two artists worked so well that they decided to tour the USA during the summer, performing "Murdering Mouth" and Cale's "Gun" together.

The following year, Siouxsie and Budgie released the first Creatures album since the split of the Banshees. Anima Animus was described by The Times as "hypnotic and inventive".^[47] Also in 1999, the Creatures collaborated with Marc Almond on the track "Threat Of Love."

In 2002, she was rated the number seven female rock artist by Q magazine in 2002.^[48] Universal put out shortly after The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees as the first re-issue of her back catalogue.

In 2003, Siouxsie was featured on the track "Cish Cash" by Basement Jaxx. The album Kish Kash won Best Electronic/Dance Album at the Grammy Awards.^[49] Siouxsie then released the last Creatures album, Hai! which was in part recorded in Japan. Peter Wratts wrote in Time Out: "Her voice is the dominant instrument here, snaking and curling around the bouncing drumming backdrop, elegiac and inhuman as she chants, purrs and whispers her way around the album." He termed the record a "spine-tingling achievement."^[50]

Solo career (2004–present)[link]

Siouxsie at the Saturday Night Fiber, Madrid 2008

In 2004, she toured for the first time as a solo act combining Banshees and Creatures songs. A live DVD called Dreamshow recorded the last concert, in London, September 2004, performed with the Millennia Ensemble. Released in August 2005, this DVD reached the number one position in the UK music DVD charts.^[51]

Her first solo album MantaRay was released in September 2007. Pitchfork Media wrote "She really is pop" before finishing the review by declaring "It's a success."^[52] Mojo magazine stated "a thirst for sonic adventure radiates from each track".^[53]

In 2008, Siouxsie performed vocals for the track "Careless Love" on the The Edge of Love soundtrack by composer Angelo Badalamenti, frequent collaborator with director David Lynch. She sang on the title "Careless Love". She later performed another Badalamenti number "Who Will Take My Dreams Away" at the annual edition of the World Soundtrack Awards.^[54]

After a year of touring, the singer played the last show of her tour in London in September. A live DVD of this performance called Finale: The Last Mantaray And More Show was released in 2009.

In October 2011, Siouxsie announced that there was "plenty more new material to come",^[10] including a new album.^[55]

Influence on other artists[link]

Siouxsie's influence on modern music has been considerable.^[3][14]

Siouxsie had a strong impact on two trip-hop acts. Tricky covered the 1983's proto trip-hop "Tattoo" to open his second album Nearly God^[57] and Massive Attack sampled "Metal Postcard" on their song "Superpredators (Metal Postcard)" for the soundtrack to the film The Jackal.^[58]

Other acts also covered Siouxsie's songs. Jeff Buckley, who took inspiration in various female singers, performed live "Killing Time", composed by Siouxsie and Budgie in 1989 for the Creatures album Boomerang: Buckley first sang it in 1992 for radio WFMU.^[59][60] LCD Soundsystem recorded a cover of "Slowdive" for the B-side of "Disco Infiltrator": their version was also released on Introns.^[61] Santigold based one of her tracks on the music of "Red Light" : "'My Superman' is an interpolation of a Siouxsie Sioux song, 'Red Light'".^[62] In 2003, The Beta Band sampled "Painted Bird" and changed the title in "Liquid Bird" on their Heroes to Zeros album.^[63] Red Hot Chili Peppers performed "Christine" at the V2001 festival and introduced it to their British audience as "your national anthem".^[64] Lo-fi songwriter Jeremy Jay revisited "Lunar Camel" on his debut Airwalker EP. Indie folk group DeVotchKa covered the ballad "The Last Beat of My Heart" on the suggestion of Arcade Fire singer, Win Butler; it was released on the Curse Your Little Heart EP.^[65]

Siouxsie has also been hailed by other critically acclaimed groups. Morrissey, previously of The Smiths said that "Siouxsie and the Banshees were excellent. They were one of the great groups of the late 70s, early 80s".^[66] He also stated of modern groups in 1994: "None of them are as good as Siouxsie and the Banshees at full pelt. That's not dusty nostalgia, that's fact." ^[67] Another ex-member of The Smiths, Johnny Marr mentioned that he rated very high guitarist John McGeoch for his work on Siouxsie's single "Spellbound". Marr qualified it as "clever" with "really good picky thing going on which is very un-rock'n'roll."^[68] Radiohead also cited McGeoch-era Siouxsie records when mentioning the recording of "There There".^[69]

Siouxsie has influenced other bands ranging from contemporaries U2^[70] and The Cure^[71] to later acts like The Jesus and Mary Chain,^[72] Jane's Addiction^[73] and TV on the Radio.^[74] U2 Frontman Bono named her as model in the band's 2006 autobiography U2 by U2. He was inspired by her way of singing.^[70] With his band, he selected "Christine" for a compilation made for Mojo's readers.^[75] U2 guitarist The Edge also was the presenter of an award given to Siouxsie at a Mojo ceremony in 2005.^[76][77] The Cure's Robert Smith declared in 2003: "Siouxsie and The Banshees and Wire were the two bands I really admired. They meant something."^[71] He also pinpointed what the Join Hands tour brought him musically. "On stage that first night with the Banshees, I was blown away by how powerful I felt playing that kind of music. It was so different to what we were doing with The Cure. Before that, I'd wanted us to be like The Buzzcocks or Elvis Costello, the punk Beatles. Being a Banshee really changed my attitude to what I was doing."^[78] For his record The Head on the Door in 1985, he stated : "It reminds me of the Kaleidoscope album, the idea of having lots of different sounding things, different colors".^[79] Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction once made a parallel between his band and the Banshees: "there are so many similar threads: melody, use of sound, attitude, sex-appeal. I always saw Jane's Addiction as the masculine Siouxsie & the Banshees."^[73] From a younger generation, Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio mentioned the poppiest songs of Siouxsie for the arrangements: "I've always tried to make a song that begins like "Kiss Them for Me". I think songs like "I Was a Lover" or "Wash the Day away" came from that element of surprise mode where all of a sudden this giant drum comes in and you're like, what the fuck?! That record was the first one where I was like, okay, even my friends're going to fall for this. I feel like that transition into that record was a relief for me. Really beautiful music was always considered too weird by the normal kids and that was the first example where I thought, we've got them, they're hooked! I watched people dance to that song, people who had never heard of any of the music that I listened to, they heard that music in a club and went crazy.^[74]

Siouxsie has also been hailed by female singers. PJ Harvey selected Anima Animus album by Siouxsie's second band The Creatures, in her top ten favourite albums of the year 1999.^[80] Garbage's singer, Shirley Manson cited her as an influence : "I learned how to sing listening to The Scream and Kaleidoscope."^[81] The singer of Garbage also mentioned that Siouxsie embodied everything she wanted to be as a young woman.^[82] Gossip cited her as one of their influences for their 2009's Music For Men.^[83] Ana Matronic of Scissor Sisters named Sioux as a source of inspiration and the Banshees as her favourite band.^[84]

Electronica singer Santigold has said :

I keep a Rolodex of the women that vocally inspire me. There aren't that many, but she's definitely one of them. I remember one of the first times I heard "Red Light" it was at a party, and I remember going up to the DJ and being like, "Who's this?". It was that good. I kind of stopped and was like... wow. There's not a tremendous amount of women who are bold and forward thinking as artists. I feel like her music, at the time especially, was pretty unique in the way that it sort of matched her style. The freedom of experimenting with this dark place that doesn't have a place often in modern music.^[62]

Musical genre[link]

Garbage's singer Shirley Manson said:

Personal life[link]

Sioux married Budgie in May 1991. The following year, they moved to the southwest of France.^[86]

In an interview with The Sunday Times in August 2007, she announced that she and Budgie had divorced.^[87] In an interview with The Independent, she said, "I've never particularly said I'm hetero or I'm a lesbian. I know there are people who are definitely one way, but not really me. I suppose if I am attracted to men then they usually have more feminine qualities."^[88]

Discography[link]

For her works with Siouxsie and the Banshees, see Siouxsie and the Banshees discography.

For her works with The Creatures, see The Creatures discography.

Solo album[link]

Solo singles[link]

Featured singles[link]

DVD[link]

• 2005 Dreamshow #1 UK
• 2009 Finale: The Last Mantaray and More Show #4 UK

Collaborations with other artists[link]

in studio[link]

• Morrissey: "Interlude" (single recorded in duet) (1994)
• Hector Zazou: "The Lighthouse" (song recorded as guest on the Chansons des mers froides Songs from the Cold Seas album) (1995)
• Marc Almond: "Threat of Love" (song recorded in duet for the Open All Night album) (1999)
• Basement Jaxx: "Cish Cash" (song recorded as guest on the Kish Kash album) (2003)
• Angelo Badalamenti: "Careless Love" (song recorded as guest for The Edge of Love film soundtrack) (2008)

live[link]

• Suede : "Carolyne Says" (written by Lou Reed, performed on 30 July 1993 at a "Red Hot & AIDS Benefit" concert)^[93]
• John Cale : "Murdering Mouth" (unreleased Siouxsie's song), (duet performed several times live in 1998, first in Amsterdam, 25-2-98 and many other times during their collaborative summer US'tour)

Film appearances of songs include The Punk Rock Movie (Don Letts, 1977); Jubilee (Derek Jarman, 1977); Out of Bounds (Richard Tuggle, 1986); Batman Returns (Tim Burton,1992); Showgirls (Paul Verhoeven, 1995); The Craft (Andrew Fleming, 1996); Grosse Pointe Blank (George Armitage, 1997); The Filth and the Fury (Julien Temple, 2000); 24 Hour Party People (Michael Winterbottom, 2002); Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006); Monster House (Gil Kenan, 2006); Notes on a Scandal (Richard Eyre, 2006); Doomsday (Neil Marshall, 2008)

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Paytress, Mark. Siouxsie & the Banshees: The Authorised Biography. Sanctuary, 2003. ISBN 1-86074-375-7
• Johns, Brian. Entranced : the Siouxsie and the Banshees story. Omnibus Press, 1989. ISBN 0-7119-1773-b

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Siouxsie Sioux

• Official site
• The Banshees & Other Creatures U.K. A comprehensive website with an array of information.
• Untiedundone A site with several articles and interviews from 1977.
• Siouxsie on Myspace
• Siouxsie Sioux at the Internet Movie Database