Riggs, Stephen Return

The Dakota, commonly known as the Sioux, forms the leading and best known division of the Siouan linguistic family. The Dakota language now consists of three well defined dialects, Santee, Yankton, and Teton. This work represents an enlarged dictionary of this language.

In this autobiography, Riggs describes his life as a Christian missionary to the Dakota beginning in 1837 at Lac qui Parle (Minnesota) and for the remainder of his life in Minnesota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. As missionaries, he helped create a written language for the Dakota. The second section entitled "Monographs" includes writings by various people who worked within the missionary field.