Siouan languages
Authors who call the entire family "Siouan" distinguish the two branches as "Western Siouan" and "Eastern Siouan" or as "Siouan-proper" and "Catawban". Others restrict the name "Siouan" to the western branch and use the name "Siouan–Catawban" for the entire family. Generally, however, the name "Siouan" is used without distinction.
Sioux
The Sioux people refer to the Great Sioux Nation as the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (pronounced ), meaning "Seven Council Fires"). Each fire is a symbol of an oyate (people or nation). Today the seven nations that comprise the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ are the Thítȟuŋwaŋ (also known collectively as the Teton or Lakota), Bdewákaŋthuŋwaŋ, Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ, Waȟpékhute, and Sisíthuŋwaŋ (also known collectively as the Santee or Eastern Dakota) and Iháŋkthuŋwaŋ and Iháŋkthuŋwaŋna (also known collectively as the Yankton/Yanktonai or Western Dakota). They are also referred to as the Lakota or Dakota as based upon dialect differences. In any of the dialects, Lakota or Dakota translates to mean "friend" or "ally" referring to the alliances between the bands.