Lakota
PrintA language of United States
6,000 in United States (1997 R. Pustet), decreasing. 25,000 L1 speakers of all Sioux dialects in a total population of 103,000 (Golla 2007). Population total all countries: 6,190. Ethnic population: 20,000 (1997 R. Pustet). 103,255 ethnic Sioux in the United States (1990 census).
South Dakota, Cheyenne River, Lower Brule, Pine Ridge, Rosebud, Sisseton, and Southern Standing Rock reservations; substantial off-reservation communities particularly in Rapid City, Minneapolis, and other urban centers in the upper Midwest. Also in Canada.
6b (Threatened).
Brulé.
Teaching programs at every level, preschool through university. Substantial Lakota language program developed at Sinte Gleska College on the Rosebud Reservation. Courses offered in several American colleges and universities (2007). Also use English [eng].