Assiniboine
Encyclopedia
Ojibwe language
Ojibwe , also called Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of the Algonquian language family. Ojibwe is characterized by a series of dialects that have local names and frequently local writing systems...
: Asinaan, "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota
Nakota
The term Nakota is the endonym used by the native peoples of North America who usually go by the name of Assiniboine , in the United States, and of Stoney, in Canada....
(or Nakoda or Nakona), are a Siouan Native American
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...
/First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
people originally from the Northern 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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In modern times, they have been based in present-day Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
; they have also populated parts of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, southwestern Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, northern Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and western 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....
. They were well known throughout much of the late 18th and early 19th century. Images of Assiniboine people were painted by such 19th-century artists as Karl Bodmer
Karl Bodmer
Karl Bodmer was a Swiss painter of the American West. He accompanied German explorer Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied from 1832 through 1834 on his Missouri River expedition...
and George Catlin
George Catlin
George Catlin was an American painter, author and traveler who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the Old West.-Early years:...
.
Links
The Assiniboine have many similarities to the Lakota Sioux in culture and languageAssiniboine language
The Assiniboine language is a Nakotan Siouan language of the Northern Plains, spoken by around 200 Assiniboine people, most of them elderly. The name Asiniibwaan is an Ojibwe term meaning "Stone Siouans"...
. They are considered to have separated from the central sub-group of 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...
nation. Scholars believe that the Assiniboine broke away from Yanktonai Dakota in the 16th century.
Language
They are more closely linked by language to the StoneyNakoda (people)
The Nakoda are a First Nation group, indigenous to both Canada and, originally, the United States....
First Nations people of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. The latter two tribes speak varieties of Nakóda
Nakoda
Nakoda is a village in the Barmer District of Indian state of Rajasthan. The village name is Mewanagar in the Rajasthan state Government records....
, a distant, but not mutually intelligible, variant of the Sioux language
Sioux language
Sioux is a Siouan language spoken by over 33,000 Sioux in the United States and Canada, making it the fifth most spoken indigenous language in the United States or Canada, behind Navajo, Cree, Inuit and Ojibwe.-Regional variation:...
.
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
, engaging in wars together against the Atsina (Gros Ventre). Together they later fought the Blackfoot
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
. A 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...
people, they generally went no further north than the North Saskatchewan River
North Saskatchewan River
The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows east from the Canadian Rockies to central Saskatchewan. It is one of two major rivers that join to make up the Saskatchewan River....
. They purchased a great deal of European trade goods from the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
through Cree middlemen.
Life style
The life style of this group was 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. During the warmer months, they followed the herds of bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
for hunting, preserving the meat for winter. They hunted using bow and arrows and horses. The successful tribe were excellent horsemen. They got their horses by trading with the Blackfeet and the Gros Ventre tribes. They did a considerable amount of trading
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
with European traders. They worked with the Mandan, 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...
, and Arikara
Arikara
Arikara are a group of Native Americans in North Dakota...
tribes, a factor strongly attached to their life style.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
journals noted the tribe as the party was returning from Fort Clatsop
Fort Clatsop
Fort Clatsop was the encampment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the Oregon Country near the mouth of the Columbia River during the winter of 1805-1806...
down the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
. The explorers had heard rumors that the Assiniboine were a ferocious group and hoped to avoid contact with them. They did not encounter them at all.
Names
The names by which the Assiniboine are usually known are not derived from their autonym, what they call themselves. As a Siouan people, they traditionally called themselves the Hohe Nakota. With the widespread adoption of EnglishNorth American English
North American English is the variety of the English language of North America, including that of the United States and Canada. Because of their shared histories and the similarities between the pronunciation, vocabulary and accent of American English and Canadian English, the two spoken languages...
, however, many simply use the English name consistently. The English borrowed Assiniboine from the earlier French
Canadian French
Canadian French is an umbrella term referring to the varieties of French spoken in Canada. French is the mother tongue of nearly seven million Canadians, a figure constituting roughly 22% of the national population. At the federal level it has co-official status alongside English...
colonists. They had adapted it from the Ojibwe
Ojibwe language
Ojibwe , also called Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of the Algonquian language family. Ojibwe is characterized by a series of dialects that have local names and frequently local writing systems...
exonym asinii-bwaan (stone Sioux), as well as the Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
asinîpwâta (asinîpwâta ᐊᓯᓃᐹᐧᑕ NA sg, asinîpwâtak ᐊᓯᓃᐹᐧᑕᐠ NA pl). In the same way, Assnipwan comes from the word asinîpwâta in the western Cree
Cree language
Cree is an Algonquian language spoken by approximately 117,000 people across Canada, from the Northwest Territories and Alberta to Labrador, making it the aboriginal language with the highest number of speakers in Canada. It is also spoken in the U.S. state of Montana...
dialects, from asiniy ᐊᓯᓂᐩ NA - "rock, stone" - and pwâta ᐹᐧᑕ NA - "enemy, Sioux". Early French traders in the west were often familiar with Algonquian languages
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
. They transliterated many Cree or Ojibwe exonyms for other western Canadian
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
indigenous peoples during the early colonial era. At another remove, the English adopted terms from the French, usually trying to spell them with English phonetics.
The Assiniboine were referred to with terms using "stone" because they primarily cooked with heated stones. They dropped hot stones into water to heat it to boiling, for cooking meat.
Groups
- Aegitina (‘Camp Moves to the Kill’)
- Bizebina (‘Gophers’)
- Cepahubi (‘Large Organs’)
- Canhdada (‘Moldy People’)
- Canhewincasta (‘Wooded-Mountain People’ or ‘Wood Mountain People’ - ‘People Who live around Wood MountainWood Mountain, SaskatchewanWood Mountain is a village in Old Post Rural Municipality 43, Saskatchewan, Canada. The town's name is derived from the Red River Metis word "Monatagne de Bois" , due to the abundance of poplar trees in the otherwise barren region...
’) - Canknuhabi (‘Ones That Carry Their Wood’)
- Hudesabina (‘Red Bottom’ or ‘Red Root’, split off from the Wadopabina in 1844)
- Hebina (Ye Xa Yabine, ‘Rock Mountain People’, often called Strong Wood or Thickwood Assiniboine, later a core band of the Mountain Stoney-Nakoda)
- Huhumasmibi (‘Bone Cleaners’)
- Huhuganebabi (‘Bone Chippers’)
- Hen atonwaabina (‘Little Rock Mountain People’)
- Inyantonwanbina (‘Stone People’ or ‘Rock People’, later known as Nakoda (Stoney))
- Inninaonbi (‘Quiet People’)
- Insaombi (‘The Ones Who Stay Alone’, also known as Cypress Hills Assiniboine)
- Indogahwincasta (‘East People’)
- Minisose Swnkeebi (‘Missouri River Dog Band’)
- Minisatonwanbi (‘Red Water People’)
- Osnibi (‘People of the Cold’)
- Ptegabina (‘Swamp People’)
- Sunkcebi (‘Dog Band’)
- Sahiyaiyeskabi (‘Plains CreePlains Cree languagePlains Cree is a dialect of the Algonquian language, Cree, which is the most common Canadian indigenous language. Plains Cree is sometimes considered a dialect of the Cree-Montagnais language, or sometimes a dialect of the Cree language, distinct from the Montagnais language...
-Speakers’, also known as Cree-Assiniboine / Young Dogs) - Snugabi (‘Contrary People’)
- Sihabi (‘Foot People’)
- Tanidabi (‘Buffalo Hip’)
- Tokanbi (‘Strangers’)
- Tanzinapebina (‘Owners of Sharp Knives’)
- Unskaha (‘Roamers’)
- Wadopabina (‘Canoe Paddlers’)
- Wadopahnatonwan (‘Canoe Paddlerrs Who Live on the Prairie’)
- Wiciyabina (‘Ones That Go to the Dance’)
- Waziyamwincasta (‘People of the North’)
- Wasinazinyabi (‘Fat Smokers’)
- Wokpanbi (‘Meat Bag’)
Present day
Today, a substantial number of Assiniboine people live jointly with other tribes, like the Plains CreeCree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
, Saulteaux
Saulteaux
The Saulteaux are a First Nation in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.-Ethnic classification:The Saulteaux are a branch of the Ojibwe nations. They are sometimes also called Anihšināpē . Saulteaux is a French term meaning "people of the rapids," referring to...
, 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 Gros Ventre
Gros Ventre people
The Gros Ventre people , also known as the A'ani, A'aninin, Haaninin, and Atsina, are a historically Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe located in north central Montana...
, in several reservations in Canada and the United States. In Manitoba, the Assiniboine currently survive only as individuals, with no separate reserves.
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
:
- Fort Peck Tribes (about 11,786 Hudesabina, Wadopabina, Wadopahnatonwan, Sahiyaiyeskabi, Inyantonwanbina and Fat Horse Band of the Assiniboine, Sisseton, Wahpeton, Yanktonai and Hunkpapa of the Sioux live together on the Fort Peck Indian ReservationFort Peck Indian ReservationThe Fort Peck Indian Reservation is near Fort Peck, Montana. It is the homeland of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of Native Americans. It is the ninth-largest Indian reservation in the United States and comprises parts of four counties. In descending order of land area they are Roosevelt, Valley,...
near Fort PeckFort Peck, MontanaFort Peck is a town in Valley County, Montana, United States. The population was 240 at the 2000 census.-History:The name Fort Peck is associated with Col. Campbell K. Peck, the partner of Elias H. Durfee in the Leavenworth, Kansas, trading firm of Durfee and Peck...
in NE Montana north of the Missouri RiverMissouri RiverThe Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
, ca. 8,518 km², Tribal Headquarters are located in PoplarPoplar, MontanaAs of the census of 2000, there were 911 people, 325 households, and 206 families residing in the town. The population density was 3,406.0 people per square mile . There were 350 housing units at an average density of 1,308.5 per square mile...
, largest community on the reservation is the city of Wolf PointWolf Point, MontanaWolf Point is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,621 at the 2010 census. It is the largest community on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Wolf Point is the home of the annual Wild Horse Stampede, held every year during the second weekend...
) - Fort Belknap Indian Community (of about 5,426 registered Assiniboine and Gros Ventre the majority live on the Fort Belknap Indian ReservationFort Belknap Indian ReservationThe Fort Belknap Indian Reservation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering 1,014.064 sq mi , and is located in north central Montana. This includes the main portion of their homeland, as well as off-reservation trust land. It is shared by two Native American tribes, the...
- 505 of them off the reserve - in north central Montana, largest city is Fort Belknap AgencyFort Belknap Agency, MontanaFort Belknap Agency is a census-designated place in Blaine County, Montana, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the CDP population was 1,262.-Geography:Fort Belknap Agency is located at ....
, ca. 2,626 km²)
Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
- Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
:
- Carry the Cattle Nakoda First Nation (the reserve Carry the Kettle Nakoda First Nation #76, including the adjacent reserves Assiniboine #76, Carry the Kettle #76-18,19,22, Treaty Four Reserve Grounds #77, includes ca. 350 km², in SE Saskatchewan, 80 km east of ReginaRegina, SaskatchewanRegina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
and 18 km south of SintalutaSintaluta, SaskatchewanSintaluta is a small town in Indian Head, SK Rural Municipality No. 156. The current population of Sintaluta is approximately 98 people Sintaluta is a small town in Indian Head, SK Rural Municipality No. 156. The current population of Sintaluta is approximately 98 people Sintaluta is a small town...
, of 2,387 registered Assiniboine only about 850 live on the reserve) - Mosquito, Grizzly Bear's Head, Lean Man First NationsMosquito-Grizzly Bear's Head-Lean ManMosquito-Grizzly Bear's Head, Lean Man is the name of a First Nations community in Saskatchewan. It is home to a population of about 300.-Origin of the Name & the Constitution of the Community:...
(also known as Battleford Stoneys) (includes the following reserves: Mosquito #109, Cold Eagle, Grizzly Bear`s Head #110 & Lean Man #111, Mosquito Grizzly Bear`s Head Lean Man Tle #1, Tribal Headquarters and Administration are 27 km south of Battleford, ca. 127 km², in 2003 there were about 1,119 registered Assiniboine) - White Bear First Nation (reserves: White Bear #70 and Treaty Four Reserve Grounds #77 are located in SE corner of the Moose Mountain area of Saskatchewan, Tribal Headquarters are located 13 km north of CarlyleCarlyle, Saskatchewan-Entertainment:The Bear Claw Casino & Hotel is located near Carlyle.The Shackshakers is a recording musical group that was formed in Carlyle by Shawn Nagy in 1988.-Climate:-Notable people:* Brenden Morrow - hockey player* Eliza Beatty - Silver Cross Mother...
, ca. 172 km², about 1,990 Assiniboine, Saulteaux (Anishinabe), Cree and Dakota) - Oceam Man First Nation (reserves: Ocean Man #69, 69A-I, Treaty Four Reserve Grounds #77, Tribal Headquarters are located 19 km north of StoughtonStoughton, SaskatchewanStoughton is a town in Saskatchewan, Canada. A small police service, the Stoughton Police Service no longer exists and is now in partnership with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to provide policing service to the town and surrounding area.-Demographics:...
, ca. 41 km², of 454 registered Assiniboine, Cree and Saulteaux (Anishinabe) only 170 are living on reserve grounds) - Pheasant Rump Nakota First Nation (reserve: Treaty Four Reserve Grounds #77, Tribal Headquarters are located in Kisby, about 333 Assiniboine, Salteaux (Anishinabe) and Cree)
About 250 people are today speaking the Assiniboine language
Assiniboine language
The Assiniboine language is a Nakotan Siouan language of the Northern Plains, spoken by around 200 Assiniboine people, most of them elderly. The name Asiniibwaan is an Ojibwe term meaning "Stone Siouans"...
or A' M̆oqazh, most are over 40 years old. The majority of the Assiniboine today speaks only American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
. The 2000 census showed 3,946 tribal members who lived in the United States.
Canada Steamship Lines named one of their new ships the CSL Assiniboine.
See also
- Fort Peck Indian ReservationFort Peck Indian ReservationThe Fort Peck Indian Reservation is near Fort Peck, Montana. It is the homeland of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of Native Americans. It is the ninth-largest Indian reservation in the United States and comprises parts of four counties. In descending order of land area they are Roosevelt, Valley,...
- Fort Belknap Indian ReservationFort Belknap Indian ReservationThe Fort Belknap Indian Reservation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering 1,014.064 sq mi , and is located in north central Montana. This includes the main portion of their homeland, as well as off-reservation trust land. It is shared by two Native American tribes, the...
External links
- Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery encounters with Assiniboine
- "Assiniboine", Minnesota State University, MankatoMinnesota State University, MankatoMinnesota State University, Mankato is a public four-year university located in Mankato, Minnesota, a community of 53,000 located southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul. As of Fall 2011, the student body is the third-largest in the state of Minnesota with over 15,000 students...
emuseum - Assiniboine Community College
- Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux History, University of Montana