The Lakota inhabited a large portion of the northern Great Plains. The Crow were directly to the west, Mandan and Hidatsa to the north, and Ponca, Omaha, and Pawnee to the south.

Warriors proudly recollected their notable coups on formal occasions and rewarded them with appropriate insignia, such as specially trimmed feathers, marks on their horses' flanks, beaded or quillwork strips on the war shirts, or pictographs painted on buffalo robes and tipi covers.

The Lakota were originally part of the seven council fires (Otchenti Chakowin - also said: Oceti Sakowin), made up of 7 bands: 4 Dakota, 2 Nakota (3 later counting the Assiniboin), and one Teton or Lakota band. The Dakota were the predominant people in this arrangement. First recorded contact with the Dakota was by Jesuits in 1640 and 1658, in the area of present-day Green Bay, Wisconsin, and in the forests in southern Minnesota.


Men's Northern Traditional dancing as a category is contemporary, and has evolved out of Plains style warrior society dances. Each Plains tribe had several warrior societies, and these societies had similar but contrasting ceremonies, regalia, and songs as each other. For many tribes, these dances were ritualistic, and pertinent to success for the warrior society members.