The Brulé are one of the seven branches or bands (sometimes called "sub-tribes") of the Teton (Titonwan) Lakota American Indian people. They are known as Sičhą́ǧu Oyáte (in Lakȟóta) —Sicangu Oyate—, ''Sicangu Lakota, o''r "Burnt Thighs Nation". Learning the meaning of their name, the French called them the ''Brûlé'' (literally, "burnt"). The name may have derived from an incident where they were fleeing through a grass fire on the plains.

Distribution

Many Sičhą́ǧu people live on the

Rosebud Indian Reservation The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name ''Sicangu Oyate'' translates as t ...

in southwestern South Dakota and are enrolled in the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, also known in Lakȟóta as the ''Sičhą́ǧu Oyáte.'' A smaller population lives on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation, on the west bank of the Missouri River in central South Dakota, and on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, also in South Dakota, directly west of the

. The different

federally recognized tribe This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the Unite ...

s are politically independent of each other.

Name

The term "Sičhą́ǧu" appears on pages 3 to 14 of ''Beginning Lakhóta''.

"Ká Lakȟóta kį líla hą́ske. 'That Indian (over yonder) is very tall.'"
"Hą, hé Sičhą́ǧú. 'Yes, that's a Rosebud Sioux.'"

It appears to be a compound word of the Thítȟųwą Lakȟóta dialect, meaning "burned thigh".

Historic Brulé Thiyóšpaye or bands

Together with the Oglála Lakȟóta, who are mostly based at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, they are often called ''Southern Lakȟóta''. They were divided in three great regional tribal divisions: * Lower Brulé (''Khúl Wičháša Oyáte'', ″Lowland People″, lived along the White River to its mouth at the Missouri River (Mnišóše) as well in the Missouri River Valley in South Dakota; some ventured south to the Niobrara River). * Upper Brulé (''Ȟeyáta Wičháša Oyáte'' - ″Highland People″, ventured further south and west onto the Plains along the Platte River between the North and South Platte River in Nebraska in the search for buffalo. The allied Southern Cheyenne and

Southern Arapaho The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, federally recognized tribe of Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne people in western Oklahoma. History The Cheyennes and Arapahos are two distinct tribes with distinct histories. The Cheyenne ( ...

welcomed them as strong allies to this lands which they had further claimed, along the Loup River - the former center of the Skidi or Wolf/Loup Pawnee. They went south to plunder enemy Pawnee and Arikara camps, and were therefore also known as: ''Kheyatawhichasha'' - ″People away from the (Missouri) River″) * (Upper) Brulé of the Platte River (a splinter group of the Upper Brulé and the southernmost Brulé group, generally along the

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West. It ...

in Colorado, with hunting bands south to the

Republican River The Republican River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, rising in the High Plains of eastern Colorado and flowing east U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed ...

- home to the enemy ''Kithehaki / Kitkehaxki'' of the South Bands Pawnee, also known as: ''Kheyatawhichasha'' - ″People away from the (Missouri) River″) According to the Brulé Medicine Bull (Tatȟą́ka Wakȟą́), the people were decentralized and identified with the following ''thiyóšpaye'', or extended family groups, who collected in various local ''thiwáhe'' (English: camps or family circles): * Apewantanka * Chokatowela * Ihanktonwan * Iyakoza * Kanghi yuha * Nakhpakhpa * Pispiza wichasha * Shawala * Shiyolanka * Wacheunpa * Waleghaunwohan

Ethnobotany Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...

The Brulé give pulverized roots of ''

Asclepias viridiflora ''Asclepias viridiflora'', is commonly known as green comet milkweed, green-flower milkweed, and green milkweed. It is a widely distributed species of milkweed (''Asclepias''), known from much of the eastern and central United States from Conn ...

'' to children with diarrhea. Nursing mothers take an infusion of the whole plant to increase their milk. They brew the leaves of ''

Ceanothus herbaceus ''Ceanothus herbaceus'', also known as Jersey tea, is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae and is similar to '' Ceanothus americanus'' and ''Ceanothus sanguineus''. It is a perennial shrub which is native to North America. Synonyms As fo ...

'' into a tea.Rogers, Dilwyn J., 1980, ''Lakota Names and Traditional Uses of Native Plants by Sicangu (Brule) People in the Rosebud Area, South Dakota, St. Francis, SD''. Rosebud Educational Society, page 56

Notable Sicangu (Brulé)

Bob Barker Robert William Barker (born December 12, 1923) is an American retired television game show host. He is known for hosting CBS's '' The Price Is Right'' from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American tele ...

Game Show Host * Pappy Boyington, WWII Marine Corps fighter ace and Medal of Honor recipient *

Mary Brave Bird Mary Brave Bird, also known as Mary Brave Woman Olguin and Mary Crow Dog (September 26, 1954 – February 14, 2013) was a Sicangu Lakota writer and activist who was a member of the American Indian Movement during the 1970s and participated in some ...

, author * Leonard Crow Dog, spiritual leader, American Indian Movement activist * Paul Eagle Star (1866-24 August 1891), performer with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show *

Hollow Horn Bear Hollow Horn Bear (Lakota, Matȟó Héȟloǧeča; March 1850March 15, 1913) was a Brulé Lakota chief. He fought in many of the battles of the Sioux Wars, including the Battle of Little Big Horn. Later, while serving as police chief of the Rose ...

, chief * Iron Nation, chief * Iron Shell, chief *

Little Thunder Wakíŋyaŋ Čík’ala (''Little Thunder'')(1820-1879) was a Brulé Lakota chief. He took over as chief of the Brulé after the death of Conquering Bear by U.S. Army soldiers in a dispute about a wandering Mormon cow in 1854, which had prompted ...

, chief *

Arnold Short Bull Arnold Short Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Ptéčela; c. 1845 – 1915), a member of the Sičháŋǧu (Brulé) Lakota tribe of Native Americans, instrumental in bringing the Ghost Dance movement to the Rosebud Reservation. Ghost Dance, 1890-91 H ...

, a well-known Sicangu holy man, who brought the

Ghost Dance The Ghost Dance ( Caddo: Nanissáanah, also called the Ghost Dance of 1890) was a ceremony incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. According to the teachings of the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka (renamed Jack Wil ...

to the Lakota in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large po ...

in 1890 * Lone Feather, Republican public administrator from South Dakota, first Lakota elected to the U.S. House of Representatives * Michael Spears, actor * Eddie Spears, actor *

Spotted Tail Spotted Tail (Siŋté Glešká pronounced ''gleh-shka''; birth name T'at'aŋka Napsíca "Jumping Buffalo"Ingham (2013) uses 'c' to represent 'č'. ); born c. 1823 – died August 5, 1881) was a Brulé Lakota tribal chief. Although a great war ...

or "Sinte Gleska", 19th-century chief * Nellie Star Boy Menard, quiltmaker * Moses Stranger Horse, artist * Two Strike, chief * Albert White Hat, Lakota language teacher * Dyani White Hawk, contemporary painter and former curator of All My Relations Arts gallery * Rosebud Yellow Robe, folklorist, educator and author * Frank Waln, rapper

References

External links

Official website of the Sicangu Oyate
Rosebud Sioux Tribe

Official website of the Kul Wicasa Oyate (Lower Brule)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brule Great Sioux War of 1876