The Sicangu Lakota are known asSičhą́ǧu Oyáte inLakȟóta, which translates to "Burnt Thighs Nation". Learning the meaning of their name, the French called them theBrûlé, also Brulé, meaning "burnt". The name may have derived from an incident where they were fleeing through a grass fire on the plains.
Sičhą́ǧu
The term "Sičhą́ǧu" appears on pages 3 to 14 ofBeginning Lakhóta.[3]
"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".[4]
They were divided in three great regional tribal divisions:
Lower Brulé (Khúl Wičháša Oyáte, "Lowland People", lived along theWhite River to its mouth at theMissouri River (Mnišóše) as well in the Missouri River Valley in South Dakota; some ventured south to theNiobrara River).[5]
Upper Brulé (Ȟeyáta Wičháša Oyáte - ″Highland People″, ventured further south and west onto the Plains along thePlatte River between the North and South Platte River in Nebraska in the search for buffalo. The alliedSouthern Cheyenne andSouthern Arapaho welcomed them as strong allies to this lands which they had further claimed, along theLoup River - the former center of theSkidi 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 Sicangu group, generally along theSouth Platte River in Colorado, with hunting bands south to theRepublican River - home to the enemyKithehaki / Kitkehaxki of theSouth Bands Pawnee, also known as:Kheyatawhichasha - ″People away from the (Missouri) River″)
According to the Kul Wicasa (Lower Brule) Medicine Bull (Tatȟą́ka Wakȟą́), the people were decentralized and identified with the followingthiyóšpaye, or extended family groups, who collected in various localthiwáhe (English: camps or family circles):
^Clark, Patricia Roberts (21 October 2009).Tribal Names of the Americas: Spelling Variants and Alternative Forms, Cross-Referenced. McFarland. p. 10.ISBN978-0-7864-5169-2.
^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 34
^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
