Gros Ventres
Encyclopedia
The Gros Ventre people (from French
: big belly), also known as the A'ani, A'aninin, Haaninin, and Atsina, are a historically Algonquian
-speaking Native American
tribe located in north central Montana
. Today the Gros Ventre people are enrolled in the Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana, a federally recognized tribe with 3,682 enrolled members, that also includes Assiniboine people or Nakoda people, the Gros Ventre's historical enemies.
The French
used the term Gros Ventre, which was mistakenly interpreted from their sign language. They were once known as the Gros Ventres of the Prairies, while Hidatsa people were once called the Gros Ventres of the Missouri.
The Piegan Blackfoot, enemies of the Gros Ventre throughout most of history, called the A'aninin, "Piik-siik-sii-naa," which translates to "snakes." According to the Piegan Institute, the contemporary Piegan name for the Gros Ventre is "Assinee," meaning "big bellies," which is similar to the falsely translated label applied by the French. Atsina, a Pieagan word, translates to either "gut people" or "like a Cree." Further clarification of the name is required. After the division of peoples, the Arapaho, who considered them inferior, called them Hitúnĕna, meaning "beggars". Other interpretations of the term have been "hunger", "waterfall", and "big bellies".
region 3000 years ago, where they lived an agrarian lifestyle, cultivating maize
. With the future Arapaho
, they formed a single, large Algonquian
-speaking people who lived along the Red River valley
in northern present-day Minnesota
and Canada
.
The earliest known contact of Gros Ventres with whites was around 1754. This contact placed them between the north and south forks of the Saskatchewan River. Exposure to smallpox vastly reduced their numbers during this time. Around 1793, in response to attacks by well-armed Cree
and Assiniboines, large groups of Gros Ventres burned two Hudson Bay Company trading posts. These trading posts were providing guns to the Cree and Assiniboine tribes in what is now present day Canada.
. Along with the naturalist painter, Karl Bodmer
, the Europeans painted portraits and recorded their meeting with the Gros Ventres, near the Missouri River
in Montana.
The Gros Ventres joined the Blackfeet Confederacy. After allying with the Blackfeet, the Gros Ventres moved north central Montana and southern Canada. They signed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. In 1855, Isaac Stevens
, Governor of the Washington Territory
, concluded a treaty (Stat., L., XI, 657) to provide peace between the United States and the Blackfeet, Flathead
and Nez Perce tribes. The Gros Ventres signed the treaty as part of the Blackfoot Confederacy, whose territory became common hunting grounds for all signatories, including the Assiniboines. In 1861, the Gros Ventres left the Blackfeet Confederacy.
Allying with the Crow, the Gros Ventres fought the Blackfeet but by the 1867, they were defeated.
In 1868, the United States government established a trading post called Fort Browning near the mouth of Peoples Creek on the Milk River. This trading post was originally built for the Gros Ventres and Assiniboines, but because it was built on a favorite hunting ground of the Sioux
, it was abandoned in 1871. After the abandonment of Fort Browning, the government built another post. It was called Fort Belknap
, and it was established on the south side of the Milk River, about one mile southwest of the present town site of Chinook, Montana
. Fort Belknap was a substation post, the last half of the structure being a trading post. A block house stood to the left of the stockade gate. At the right was a warehouse and an issue building, where the tribe received their rations and annuity goods.
In 1876, the fort was discontinued and the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine people receiving annuities at the post were instructed to go to the agency at Fort Peck and Wolf Point. The Assiniboines did not object to going to Wolf Point and readily went about moving; but the Gros Ventres refused to go. If they did, they would come into contact with the Sioux
, with whom they could not ride together in peace. They forfeited their annuities rather than move to Fort Peck. In 1878, the Fort Belknap Agency was re-established, and the Gros Ventres, and remaining Assiniboines were again allowed to receive supplies at Fort Belknap.
In 1884, gold was discovered in the Little Rocky Mountains. Pressure from miners and mining companies forced the tribes to cede sections of the mountains in 1885. Jesuits came to Fort Belknap in 1862 to convert the Gros Ventre people to Roman Catholicism. In 1887, St. Paul's Mission was established at the foot of the Little Rocky Mountains
, near Hays. Much of the traditional ceremonies were lost through the course of time following the establishment of the mission. However,the two sacred pipes, The Feathered Pipe and The Flat Pipe remain central to the traditional spiritual beliefs of the Gros Ventres.
In 1888 at this site, the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation was established. By an act of Congress on May 1, 1888, (Stat., L., XXV, 113), the Blackfeet, Gros Ventre, and Assiniboine tribes ceded 17,500,000 acres of their joint reservation and agreed to live upon three smaller reservations. These are now known as the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Fort Peck Indian Reservation
and the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. Fort Belknap was named for William W. Belknap, who was Secretary of War at that time.
Historically, Gros Ventres had twelve independent bands, each governed by a chief. The current reservation government has an elected council, which includes four officers, as well as four members from each tribe. Today the tribe belongs to the Fort Belknap Indian Community, whose constitution and by-laws were ratified in 1935. The tribal council has six elected Gros Ventre members, as well as six elected Assiniboine members, and three appointed members.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: big belly), also known as the A'ani, A'aninin, Haaninin, and Atsina, are a historically Algonquian
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...
-speaking 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...
tribe located in north central 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,...
. Today the Gros Ventre people are enrolled in the Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana, a federally recognized tribe with 3,682 enrolled members, that also includes Assiniboine people or Nakoda people, the Gros Ventre's historical enemies.
Name
A'ani, A'aninin, and Haaninin are the tribe's autonyms. These terms mean "White Clay People" or "Lime People."The French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
used the term Gros Ventre, which was mistakenly interpreted from their sign language. They were once known as the Gros Ventres of the Prairies, while Hidatsa people were once called the Gros Ventres of the Missouri.
The Piegan Blackfoot, enemies of the Gros Ventre throughout most of history, called the A'aninin, "Piik-siik-sii-naa," which translates to "snakes." According to the Piegan Institute, the contemporary Piegan name for the Gros Ventre is "Assinee," meaning "big bellies," which is similar to the falsely translated label applied by the French. Atsina, a Pieagan word, translates to either "gut people" or "like a Cree." Further clarification of the name is required. After the division of peoples, the Arapaho, who considered them inferior, called them Hitúnĕna, meaning "beggars". Other interpretations of the term have been "hunger", "waterfall", and "big bellies".
History
The Gros Ventres are believed to have lived in the western Great LakesGreat Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
region 3000 years ago, where they lived an agrarian lifestyle, cultivating 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...
. With the future Arapaho
Arapaho
The Arapaho are a tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux. Arapaho is an Algonquian language closely related to Gros Ventre, whose people are seen as an early...
, they formed a single, large Algonquian
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...
-speaking people who lived along the Red River valley
Red River Valley
The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North. It is significant in the geography of North Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba for its relatively fertile lands and the population centers of Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks, and Winnipeg...
in northern present-day Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
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...
.
18th century
In the early 18th century, the large tribe split into two; forming the Gros Ventres and the Arapaho. The Gros Ventres, were closely affiliated with the Algonquin speaking Arapaho and Cheyenne. All three tribes together were among the last to migrate into Montana, due to pressure from the Ojibwe. After they migrated to Montana, the Arapaho moved southwards to the Wyoming and Colorado area. The Cheyenne who migrated with the Gros Ventre and Arapaho also migrated on. The Gros Ventrez acquired horses in the mid-18th century.The earliest known contact of Gros Ventres with whites was around 1754. This contact placed them between the north and south forks of the Saskatchewan River. Exposure to smallpox vastly reduced their numbers during this time. Around 1793, in response to attacks by well-armed 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...
and Assiniboines, large groups of Gros Ventres burned two Hudson Bay Company trading posts. These trading posts were providing guns to the Cree and Assiniboine tribes in what is now present day Canada.
19th century
In 1826, the Gros Ventres made contact with the German explorer and naturalist, Prince MaximilianPrince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied
Prince Alexander Philipp Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied was a German explorer, ethnologist and naturalist....
. Along with the naturalist painter, 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...
, the Europeans painted portraits and recorded their meeting with the Gros Ventres, near 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...
in Montana.
The Gros Ventres joined the Blackfeet Confederacy. After allying with the Blackfeet, the Gros Ventres moved north central Montana and southern Canada. They signed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. In 1855, Isaac Stevens
Isaac Stevens
Isaac Ingalls Stevens was the first governor of Washington Territory, a United States Congressman, and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War until his death at the Battle of Chantilly...
, Governor of the Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
, concluded a treaty (Stat., L., XI, 657) to provide peace between the United States and the Blackfeet, Flathead
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation are the Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai and Pend d'Oreilles Tribes. The Flatheads lived between the Cascade Mountains and Rocky Mountains. The Salish initially lived entirely east of the Continental Divide but established their...
and Nez Perce tribes. The Gros Ventres signed the treaty as part of the Blackfoot Confederacy, whose territory became common hunting grounds for all signatories, including the Assiniboines. In 1861, the Gros Ventres left the Blackfeet Confederacy.
Allying with the Crow, the Gros Ventres fought the Blackfeet but by the 1867, they were defeated.
In 1868, the United States government established a trading post called Fort Browning near the mouth of Peoples Creek on the Milk River. This trading post was originally built for the Gros Ventres and Assiniboines, but because it was built on a favorite hunting ground 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...
, it was abandoned in 1871. After the abandonment of Fort Browning, the government built another post. It was called Fort Belknap
Fort Belknap
Fort Belknap may refer to:*Fort Belknap Agency, Montana*Fort Belknap, a historic fort in Texas...
, and it was established on the south side of the Milk River, about one mile southwest of the present town site of Chinook, Montana
Chinook, Montana
Chinook is a city in and the county seat of Blaine County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,386 at the 2000 census. Points of interest are the Bear Paw Battlefield Museum located in the small town's center and the Bear Paw Battlefield, located just twenty miles south of...
. Fort Belknap was a substation post, the last half of the structure being a trading post. A block house stood to the left of the stockade gate. At the right was a warehouse and an issue building, where the tribe received their rations and annuity goods.
In 1876, the fort was discontinued and the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine people receiving annuities at the post were instructed to go to the agency at Fort Peck and Wolf Point. The Assiniboines did not object to going to Wolf Point and readily went about moving; but the Gros Ventres refused to go. If they did, they would come into contact with 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...
, with whom they could not ride together in peace. They forfeited their annuities rather than move to Fort Peck. In 1878, the Fort Belknap Agency was re-established, and the Gros Ventres, and remaining Assiniboines were again allowed to receive supplies at Fort Belknap.
In 1884, gold was discovered in the Little Rocky Mountains. Pressure from miners and mining companies forced the tribes to cede sections of the mountains in 1885. Jesuits came to Fort Belknap in 1862 to convert the Gros Ventre people to Roman Catholicism. In 1887, St. Paul's Mission was established at the foot of the Little Rocky Mountains
Little Rocky Mountains
The Little Rocky Mountains, also known as the Little Rockies, are a group of buttes, roughly 765 km2 in area, located towards the southern end of the Fort Belknap Agency in Blaine County and Phillips County in north-central Montana...
, near Hays. Much of the traditional ceremonies were lost through the course of time following the establishment of the mission. However,the two sacred pipes, The Feathered Pipe and The Flat Pipe remain central to the traditional spiritual beliefs of the Gros Ventres.
In 1888 at this site, the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation was established. By an act of Congress on May 1, 1888, (Stat., L., XXV, 113), the Blackfeet, Gros Ventre, and Assiniboine tribes ceded 17,500,000 acres of their joint reservation and agreed to live upon three smaller reservations. These are now known as the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Fort Peck Indian Reservation
Fort Peck Indian Reservation
The 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,...
and the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. Fort Belknap was named for William W. Belknap, who was Secretary of War at that time.
20th century
By 1904 there were only 535 A'ani tribe members remaining. Since then, the tribe has had a revival and substantial increase in population.Government
Notable Gros Ventre people
- Theresa LamebullTheresa LamebullTheresa Elizabeth White Weasel Walker Lamebull, was reputedly a supercentenarian believed to have been be the oldest living member of the Gros Ventre Tribe of Montana and possibly the oldest native American ever recorded...
(ca. 1896–2007), last known fluent speaker of the Gros Ventre language - George Horse-CaptureGeorge Horse-CaptureGeorge Horse Capture is a Native American anthropologist and writer. He was born in Fort Belknap, which is located in north-central Montana, near Harlem, and is an enrolled member of the A'aninin tribe....
(b. 1937), anthropologist and author - James Welch (1940–2003), Blackfeet-Gros Ventre author
External links
- Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, official website
- "Atsina", Lewis and Clark, National Geographic
- Cultural Heritage of the Fort Belknap Indian Community