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In 1776, a powerful empire was born in North America.
1776年，一个强大的帝国在北美洲诞生。
The Lakotas had reached the Black Hills, the most sacred place and most coveted buffalo hunting grounds in the western plains.
拉科塔人已经到达了布拉克山，这是西部平原上最神圣的地方，也是令人垂涎的水牛猎场。
Located in what is now South Dakota, control of the Black Hills, or Paha Sapa, marked the Lakotas as the dominant power in the American West.
坐落在如今的南达科他州，控制着布拉克山，即帕哈萨帕，标志着拉科塔人成为美国西部的主导力量。
Just a few decades before, they were vying for power in the eastern woodlands -- and losing.
就在几十年前，他们还在东部林地争夺权力--而且正在输着。
One of seven nations, or seven council fires, that made up the Sioux Alliance,
作为组成苏族联盟的七个民族之一，
the Lakotas had lived in the forests and wetlands between the Great Lakes and the Missouri Valley for centuries.
拉科塔人几个世纪以来一直生活在五大湖和密苏里河谷之间的森林和湿地中。
In the 1600s, European colonizers destabilized this region.
在17世纪中，来自欧洲的殖民者打破了这个地区的稳定。
While some tribes profited by trading furs with new France, the Lakotas lived just out of range of the best trade opportunities.
当一些部落从与新法国的毛皮贸易中获利时，拉科塔人生活在最佳贸易范围之外。
So in the early 1700s, they turned their attention west.
所以在18世纪早期，他们将注意力转向了西边。
The western plains were much less fertile and abundant than the Lakotas' homelands.
西部平原远不及拉科塔人的家乡来得肥沃和富饶。
The only easy access to food and water was immediately alongside the rivers -- land Arikaras had already claimed.
唯一容易获得食物和水的地方就是河岸--一片已经被阿里卡拉人占领的土地。
To compete, the Lakotas became skilled buffalo hunters and warriors on horseback.
为了竞争，拉科塔人成为了技巧纯熟的水牛猎手和马背上的战士。
They conquered the farming Arikaras, forcing them to pay tributes of maize and squash.
他们打败了农耕的阿里卡拉人，强迫他们进贡玉米和南瓜。
When the Spanish arrived expecting to find lucrative trading grounds, they had to pay tolls to the Lakotas instead.
当西班牙人来到这里，期望着找到有利可图的贸易场所时，他们不得不向拉科塔人支付过路费。
In 1804, a new spectacle came floating up the Missouri River: Merriwether Lewis and William Clark.
在1804年，密苏里河上游出现了一个新的奇观：梅里韦瑟·刘易斯和威廉·克拉克。
Lakota chief Black Buffalo refused to let them pass until they paid a hefty tribute.
拉科塔酋长黑水牛拒绝让他们通过，除非缴纳大量的贡品。
In spite of this rocky start, the expedition marked the beginning of a close trade alliance between the Lakotas and the United States.
尽管这是一个坎坷的开始，但这次远征标志着拉科塔人与美国之间紧密贸易联盟关系的开始。
Lakota men hunted buffalo, while women processed the hides into robes for trade.
拉科塔男人捕猎水牛，而妇女则将水牛皮加工成长袍用于交易。
The US government supplied guns, ammunition, and other goods,
美国政府提供枪支、弹药和其他物品，
even providing Lakotas with smallpox vaccines that protected them from the deadly epidemics that ravaged other Native American nations.
甚至为拉科塔人提供了天花疫苗，保护他们不受肆虐其他美洲原住民民族的致命流行病的影响。
On paper, the United States had acquired the Lakotas' lands from France in the Louisiana Purchase.
理论上，美国通过购买路易斯安那州从法国获得了拉科塔族人的土地。
But the Lakotas would not cede their lands because of an agreement between two foreign powers.
但是拉科塔人不会因为两个外国势力之间的协议而放弃他们的土地。
Though there were 15,000 Lakotas and 23 million Americans, the bulk of US population and military might was concentrated on the east coast.
虽然有1.5万拉科塔人和2300万美国人，但美国的大部分人口和军事力量都集中在东海岸。
Just getting an army to Lakota territory presented a huge expense,
仅仅是把军队派到拉科塔的领地就需要巨大的花费，
and once there they would face formidable warriors with deep local knowledge and alliances.
而且一旦到达那里，他们将面对对当地有深刻了解并有联盟的可怕战士。
To avoid a war it couldn't afford and wouldn't win,
为了避免一场它负担不起也赢不了的战争，
the US government attempted to appease the Lakotas, paying steep tributes of ammunition and rations demanded by Lakota leaders.
美国政府试图安抚拉科塔人，按照拉科塔人领导人的要求，向他们提供了大量的弹药和口粮。
So while almost all the Native Americans in North America were being forced off their lands and onto reservations, the Lakota Empire was still expanding.
因此，当几乎所有北美印第安人被迫离开自己的土地，搬到保留地时，拉科塔帝国仍在扩张。
By 1850, they controlled some 500,000 square kilometers.
到1850年，他们控制了大约50万平方公里。
They were spread thinly across this vast area, moving their villages in pursuit of Buffalo.
他们分散在这片广阔的土地上，为了追赶水牛而迁移他们的村庄。
Though there was no central authority, the leaders of bands, or oyates,
尽管他们没有中央权威机构，但部落的领导们，或称为奥亚茨，
came together at annual Sun Dances to strategize and coordinate complex diplomatic operations.
在每年的太阳舞会上聚集在一起，制定战略并协调复杂的外交行动。
Lasting a few weeks each summer, Sun Dances were spiritual ceremonies that reaffirmed communal ties, appeased Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, and kept the world in balance.
每年夏天都要持续几周的太阳舞会是一种精神仪式，它重申了社区关系，安抚了瓦坎坦卡，也就是伟大的灵魂，并使世界保持和平。
Starting in 1849, the California gold rush brought hordes of white settlers west, encroaching on Lakota territory and disturbing the buffalo herds.
从1849年开始，加州的淘金热潮将大批白人移民带到西部，侵占了拉科塔的领土，扰乱了野牛群。
Lakota leaders correctly interpreted this migration as a signal that the US no longer intended to respect their claim to the land.
拉科塔领导人正确地将这次迁移理解为美国不再打算尊重他们对土地的要求的信号。
In retaliation, they attacked wagon trains and government offices. As the conflict grew, Chief Red Cloud negotiated in Washington DC.
为了报复，他们袭击了马车队和政府办公室。随着冲突的加剧，红云酋长在华盛顿进行了谈判。
While back in Lakota territory, chiefs Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and others prepared for battle.
与此同时，在拉科塔地区里，坐牛酋长、疯马酋长和其他人准备战斗。
They mobilized their Cheyenne and Arapaho allies and almost all the other Sioux nations against the US.
他们动员夏安族和阿拉帕霍族盟友以及几乎所有苏族联盟对抗美国。
In 1876, exactly 100 years after the Lakotas' arrival, gold prospectors occupied the sacred Black Hills.
1876年，也就是拉科塔人到来整整100年后，淘金者占领了神圣的布拉克山。
For many Lakotas, this was the final straw.
对许多拉科塔人来说，这是压垮他们的最后一根稻草。
Following a vision by Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse led Lakota forces to decisively defeat the Americans in the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
在坐牛酋长的愿景下，疯马酋长带领拉科塔部队在小大角战役中果断击败了美国人。
After this victory, the Lakotas faced an even graver threat:
这场胜利之后，拉科塔人面临着更严重的威胁：
wagon travel and railroad construction had decimated buffalo populations, and they faced starvation.
货车行驶和铁路建设使水牛的数量减少，他们面临着饥饿。
To survive, they moved on to reservations,
为了生存，他们搬到了保留地，
where the authorities murdered Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse and attempted to dismantle their culture, prohibiting the Sun Dance on reservations.
在那里，美国官员谋杀了坐牛和疯马，并试图摧毁他们的文化，禁止太阳舞会在保留地举行。
The Lakotas started a protest movement called the Ghost Dance.
拉科塔人发起了一场名为“幽灵之舞”的抗议运动。
Alarmed by this resistance, in 1890, the US Army massacred hundreds of Lakotas, many of them women and children, at Wounded Knee Creek.
这次抵抗引起了美国军队的警觉，1890年，美军在伤膝河屠杀了数百名拉科塔人，其中很多是妇女和儿童。
Today, Lakotas continue to fight for their culture and their land.
今天，拉科塔人继续为他们的文化和土地而战。
In 2016, they drew supporters worldwide to protest construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline through their reservation,
2016年，他们吸引了世界各地的支持者，抗议修建会穿过他们保留地的达科他输油管道，
continuing a long history of resistance to a government known for breaking its promises.
延续了他们对一个以违背承诺而闻名的政府长期以来的抵抗历史。
