How do Sioux Indian children live, and what did they do in the past?
They do the same things any children do–play with each other, go to school and help around the house. Many Sioux children like to go hunting and fishing with their fathers. In the past, Indian children had more chores and less time to play, just like early colonists’ children. But they did have dolls and toys to play with, and older boys in some bands liked to play lacrosse. Sioux mothers, like many Native Americans, traditionally carried their babies in cradleboards on their backs–a custom which many American parents have adopted now. What were Sioux men and women’s roles? Sioux women were in charge of the home. Besides cooking and cleaning, a Dakota or Lakota woman built her family’s house and dragged the heavy posts with her whenever the tribe moved. Houses belonged to the women in the Sioux tribes. Men were hunters and warriors, responsible for feeding and defending their families. Usually only men became Sioux chiefs, but both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music
