Arikara
Encyclopedia
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
in North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
. Today they are enrolled in the federally recognized tribe the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation.
Synonymy
Sometimes called the Arikaree, or the Ree, the Arikara's name is believed to mean "horns", in reference to the ancient custom of wearing two upright bones in their hair. The name also could mean "elk people" or "corn eaters".Language
The Arikara languageArikara language
Arikara is a Caddoan language spoken by the Arikara people, who reside primarily at Fort Berthold reservation in North Dakota. Arikara is very close to the Pawnee language, but they are not mutually intelligible....
is a member of the Caddoan language family
Caddoan languages
The Caddoan languages are a family of Native American languages. They are spoken by Native Americans in parts of the Great Plains of the central United States, from North Dakota south to Oklahoma.-Family division:...
. Arikara is close to the Pawnee language
Pawnee language
The Pawnee language is a Caddoan language spoken by some Pawnee Native Americans now located in north central Oklahoma. Their traditional historic lands were along the Platte River in what is now Nebraska. Once the language of thousands of Pawnees, today Pawnee is spoken by a shrinking number of...
, but they are not mutually intelligible. Arikara is now spoken in by a few elders. One of the last fluent speakers, Maude Starr, died on January 20, 2010. She was a certified language teacher who participated in Arikara language education programs.
History
In previous centuries, the Arikara were a semi-nomadNomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic people who lived on the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
of the United States of America for several hundred years. They lived primarily in earth lodge
Earth lodge
An earth lodge is a semi-subterranean building covered partially or completely with earth, best known from the Native American cultures of the Great Plains and Eastern Woodlands. Most earth lodges are circular in construction with a dome-like roof, often with a central or slightly-offset smoke...
s during the sedentary seasons. They created portable tipi
Tipi
A tipi is a Lakota name for a conical tent traditionally made of animal skins and wooden poles used by the nomadic tribes and sedentary tribal dwellers of the Great Plains...
s as temporary shelter while traveling from their villages, or on seasonal bison hunts. They were primarily an agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
society, whose women cultivated varieties of corn (or maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
). The crop was such an important staple of their society that it was referred to as "Mother Corn".
Traditionally an Arikara family owned 30-40 dogs. The people used them for hunting and as sentries, but most importantly for transportation, before Plains tribes adopted the horse. Many of the Plains tribes had shared the use of the travois
Travois
A travois is a frame used by indigenous peoples, notably the Plains Indians of North America, to drag loads over land...
, a transportation device to be pulled by dogs. It consisted of two long poles attached by a harness at the dog's shoulders, with the butt ends dragging behind the animal; midway, a ladder-like frame, or a hoop made of plaited thongs, was stretched between the poles; it held loads that might exceed 60 pounds. Women used dog-pulled travois to haul firewood or infants. These were also used for meat transport during the seasonal hunts; a single dog could pull a quarter of a bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
.
The tribe suffered a high rate of fatalities from smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
epidemics in the late 18th century, which so reduced their population as to disrupt their social structure. Due to their reduced numbers, the Arikara started to live closer to the Mandan and Hidatsa
Hidatsa
The Hidatsa are a Siouan people, a part of the Three Affiliated Tribes. The Hidatsa's autonym is Hiraacá. According to the tribal tradition, the word hiraacá derives from the word "willow"; however, the etymology is not transparent and the similarity to mirahací ‘willows’ inconclusive...
tribes in the same area for mutual protection. They migrated gradually from present-day Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
and South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
into North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
in response to pressure from other tribes, especially the Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
, and European-American settlers. During the Black Hills War, in 1876 some Arikara served as scouts for Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
in the Little Bighorn Campaign.
The three tribes are settled on the Fort Berthold reservation
Fort Berthold Reservation
The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation is a U.S. Indian reservation in western North Dakota that is home for the federally recognized Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes...
in North Dakota.
See also
- Crow Creek massacreCrow Creek massacreThe Crow Creek massacre occurred around 1325 between Indian groups in the South Dakota area. Crow Creek Site, the site of the massacre near Chamberlain, is an archaeological site and a U.S. National Historic Landmark. Located at co-ordinates 43°58′48″N 99°19′54″W. It is thought that either Middle...
of 1325 - Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara NationMandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara NationMandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes, are a Native American group comprising a union of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara peoples, whose native lands ranged across the Missouri River basin in the Dakotas...
- Arikara WarArikara WarThe Arikara War took place in August of 1823 between the United States and the Arikara native Americans near the Missouri River, in present-day South Dakota. Arikara warriors had previously attacked a trapping expedition traveling on the river. The United States responded with forces of 230...
- Native American tribes in NebraskaNative American tribes in NebraskaNative American tribes in the U.S. state of Nebraska have been Plains Indians, who have a history of varying cultures occupying the area for thousands of years. More than 15 tribes have been identified as having lived in, hunted in, or otherwise occupied territory within the current state boundaries...
Further reading
- Gerald W. WolffGerald W. WolffGerald W. Wolff is professor emeritus at the University of South Dakota, known for his specialization in the history of Native Americans, the American West, and national politics.-Background:...
and Cash, Joseph H. Three Affiliated Tribes (1974), a study of the cultural relationships among the Arikara, HidatsaHidatsaThe Hidatsa are a Siouan people, a part of the Three Affiliated Tribes. The Hidatsa's autonym is Hiraacá. According to the tribal tradition, the word hiraacá derives from the word "willow"; however, the etymology is not transparent and the similarity to mirahací ‘willows’ inconclusive...
, and Mandan. The book was the first published by the Institute of American Indian Studies at the University of South DakotaUniversity of South DakotaThe University of South Dakota ', the state’s oldest university, was founded in 1862 and classes began in 1882. Located in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, USD is home to South Dakota's only medical school and law school. USD is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents, and its current...
at VermillionVermillion, South DakotaVermillion is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the tenth largest city in the state. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 10,571. Vermillion lies atop a bluff near the Missouri River.The area has been home to...
.
External links
- Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation: Three Affiliated Tribes, official website