Mandan
Encyclopedia
The Mandan are a Native American
people living in North Dakota
. They are enrolled in the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota. About half of the Mandan still reside in the area of the reservation; the rest reside around the United States and in Canada.
The Mandan historically lived along the banks of the Missouri River
and two of its tributaries—the Heart
and Knife River
s—in present-day North
and South Dakota
. Speakers of Mandan
, a Siouan language, the people developed a settled culture in contrast to that of more nomadic tribes in the Great Plains
region. They established permanent villages featuring large, round, earth lodge
s some 40 feet (12.2 m) in diameter, surrounding a central plaza. While the bison
was key to the daily life of the Mandan, it was supplemented by agriculture and trade.
The English name Mandan is derived from the French-Canadian explorer Pierre Gaultier, Sieur de la Verendrye
, who heard it as Mantannes from his Assiniboine guides in 1738. He had previously heard the earth lodge peoples referred to by the Cree as Ouachipouennes, "the Sioux who go underground." The Assiniboine are Siouan speakers. Nearby Siouan speakers had exonyms similar to Mantannes in their languages, for instance, Teton
Miwátąni, Yanktonai Miwátani, Yankton Mawátani or Mąwátanį, Dakota Mawátąna or Mawátadą, etc.
The Mandan have used differing autonyms to refer to themselves:
The Mandan probably used Rųwą́ʔka·ki to refer to a general tribal entity. Later, this word fell to disuse and instead two division's names were used, Nuweta or Ruptare (i.e., Mandan Rų́ʔeta). Later, the term Rų́ʔeta was extended to refer to a general tribal entity. The name Mi-ah´ta-nēs recorded by Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden in 1862, reportedly means "people on the river bank", but this may be a folk etymology.
Various other terms and alternate spellings that occur in the literature including: Mayátana, Mayátani, Mąwádanį, Mąwádąδį, Huatanis, Mandani, Wahtani, Mantannes, Mantons, Mendanne, Mandanne, Mandians, Maw-dân, Meandans, les Mandals, Me-too´-ta-häk, Numakshi, Rųwą́’kši, Wíhwatann, Mevatan, Mevataneo. Gloria Jahoda in Trail of Tears states that they also call themselves the "Pheasant people." George Catlin states The Mandans (or See-pohs-kah-nu-mah-kah-kee, "people of the pheasants," as they call themselves)
belongs to the Siouan language family
. It was initially thought to be closely related to the languages of the Hidatsa
and the Crow. However, since the Mandan language has been in contact
with Hidatsa and Crow for many years, the exact relationship between Mandan and other Siouan languages (including Hidatsa and Crow) has been obscured. For this reason, linguists classify Mandan most often as a separate branch of the Siouan family.
Mandan has two main dialect
s: Nuptare and Nuetare. Only the Nuptare variety survived into the 20th century, and all speakers were bilingual in Hidatsa. Linguist Mauricio Mixco of the University of Utah
has been involved in fieldwork with remaining speakers since 1993. As of 1999, there were only six fluent speakers of Mandan still alive. As of 2010, programs in local schools encourage students' learning the language.
The Mandan and their language received much attention from European American
s, in part because their lighter skin color caused speculation they were of European origin. In the 1830s, Prince Maximilian of Wied spent more time recording Mandan over all other Siouan languages and additionally prepared a comparison list of Mandan and Welsh
words (he thought that the Mandan may have been displaced Welsh). The theory of the Mandan/Welsh connection, now discounted, was also supported by George Catlin
.
Mandan has different grammatical forms that depend on gender
of the addressee
. Questions asked of men must use the suffix
while the suffix is used when asking of women. Likewise the indicative suffix is when addressing men and when addressing women, and also for imperatives
: (male), (female). Mandan, like many other North American languages, has elements of sound symbolism
in their vocabulary. A /s/ sound often denotes smallness/less intensity, /ʃ/ denotes medium-ness, /x/ denotes largeness/greater intensity:
One of the most recognizable features of the Mandan was their permanent villages made up of earthen lodges. Each lodge was circular with a dome-like roof and a square hole at the apex of the dome through which smoke could escape. The exterior was covered with a matting made from reeds and twigs and then covered with hay and earth, which protected the interior from rain, heat and cold. The lodge also featured an extended portico
-type structure at the entrance.
The interior was constructed around four large pillars, upon which crossbeams supported the roof. These lodges were designed, built and owned by the women of the tribe, and ownership was passed through the female line. Generally 40 feet (12.2 m) in diameter, they could hold several families, up to 30 or 40 people. Villages usually had around 120 lodges. Reconstructions of these lodges may be seen at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park near Mandan, North Dakota
, and the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site
.
Originally lodges were rectangular, but around 1500 CE
, lodges began to be constructed in a circular form. Toward the end of the 19th century, the Mandan began constructing small log cabin
s, usually with two rooms. When traveling or hunting, the Mandan would use skin tipi
s. Today, the Mandan live in modern dwellings.
Villages were usually oriented around a central plaza that was used for games(chunkey
) and ceremonial purposes. In the center of the plaza was a tree surrounded by a wood enclosure. It represented the "Lone Man", one of the main figures in Mandan religion. He was said to have built a wooden corral that saved the people of a village from a flooding river in North Dakota. Villages were often situated on high bluffs over the river. Often, villages would be constructed at the meeting of tributaries, to use the water as a natural barrier. Where there were few or no natural barriers, the villages utilized some type of fortification, including ditches and palisade
s.
The Mandan were originally divided into thirteen clans, which were reduced to four by 1950. Clans organized around successful hunters and their kin. Each clan was expected to care for its own, including orphans and the elderly, from birth to death. Clans held a sacred bundle, which consisted of a few gathered objects believed to hold sacred powers. Those in possession of the bundles were considered to have sacred powers bestowed to them by the spirits and thus were considered the leaders of the clan and tribe.
Children were named ten days after their birth in a naming ceremony, which also officially linked the child with its family and clan. Girls would be taught domestic duties, farming, and how to keep a home. Boys were taught hunting and fishing, and would begin fasting
for religious visions at the age of ten or eleven. Marriage among the Mandan was generally arranged by members of one's own clan, especially uncles; although, occasionally it would take place without the approval of the couple's parents. Divorce could be easily obtained.
Upon the death of a family member, the people would erect a scaffold near the village to contain the body. The body would be placed with the head towards the northwest and feet to the southeast. Southeast is the direction of the Ohio River Valley, from which the Mandan came. The Mandan would not sleep in this orientation, because it invited death. After a ceremony to send the spirit away, the family would mourn at the scaffold for four days. After the body rotted and the scaffold collapsed, the bones would be gathered up and buried, except for the skull, which was placed in a circle near the village. Family members would visit the skulls and talk to them, sometimes bearing their problems or regaling the dead with jokes. After the Mandan moved onto the Fort Berthold Reservation, they resorted to placing the bodies in boxes or trunks, or wrapped them in fur robes and placed them in rocky crevices.
, beans and squash
. The crops were planned to be sufficient to last a single year.
Hunting the buffalo was a critical part of Mandan survival and rituals. They called the buffalo to “come to the village” in the Buffalo Dance ceremony at the beginning of each summer. In addition to eating the meat, the Mandan used all parts of the buffalo, so nothing went to waste. The hides were used for buffalo-fur robes or were tanned, and the leather used for clothing, bags, shelter and other uses. The Mandan were known for their painted buffalo hides
that often recorded historic events. The bones would be carved into items such as needles and fish hook
s. Bones were also used in farming: for instance, the scapula
was used as a hoe
-like device for breaking the soil. Besides buffalo, the Mandan trapped small mammals for food and hunted deer. Deer antlers were used to create rake-like implements used in farming. Birds were hunted for meat and feathers, the latter used for adornment.
Up until the late 19th century, when Mandan people began adopting Western-style dress, they commonly wore clothing made from the hides of buffalo, as well as deer and sheep. From the hides, tunic
s, dresses, buffalo-fur robes, moccasins
, gloves, loincloths and leggings
could be made. These items were often ornamented with quills and bird feathers, and men sometimes wore the scalps
of enemies.
Mandan women wore ankle-length dresses made of deerskin
or sheepskin
. This would often be girded at the waist with a wide belt. Sometimes the hem of the dress would be ornamented with pieces of buffalo hoof. Underneath the dress, they wore leather leggings with ankle-high moccasins. Women's hair was worn straight down in braids.
During the winter months, men would commonly wear deerskin tunics and leggings with moccasins. They also kept themselves warm by wearing a robe of buffalo fur. During the summer months, however, a loincloth of deerskin or sheepskin would often suffice. Unlike the women, men would wear various ornaments in their hair. The hair was parted across the top with three sections hanging down in front. Sometimes the hair would hang down the nose and would be curled upwards with a curling stick. The hair would hang to the shoulders on the side, and the back portion would sometimes reach to the waist. The long hair in the back would create a tail-like feature, as it would be gathered into braids then smeared with clay and spruce
gum then tied with cords of deerskin. Headdresses of feathers were often worn as well. Besides buffalo, elk, and deer hides, Mandans also used ermine and white weasel hides for clothing.
Today, Mandan people wear traditionally-inspired clothing and regalia at powwow
s, ceremonies, and other significant events.
The Mandan's religion and cosmology was highly complex and centered around the figure known as Lone Man. Lone Man was involved in many of the creation myths as well as one of the deluge myths.
In their creation myth, the world was created by two rival deities, the First Creator and the Lone Man. The Missouri River divided the two worlds that the beings created. First Creator created the lands to the south of the river with hills, valleys, trees, buffalo, pronghorn antelope and snakes. To the north of the river, Lone Man created the Great Plains, domesticated animals, birds, fish and humans. The first humans lived underground near a large lake. Some of the more adventurous humans climbed a grapevine to the surface and discovered the two worlds. After returning underground, they shared their findings and decided to return with many others. As they were climbing the grapevine, it broke and half the Mandan were left underground.
According to pre-Christian Mandan beliefs, each person possessed four different, immortal souls. The first soul was white and often seen as a shooting star or meteor
. The second soul was colored a light brown and was seen in the form of the meadowlark
. The third soul, called the lodge spirit, remained at the site of the lodge after death and would remain there forever. The final soul was black and after death would travel away from the village. These final souls existed as did living people; residing in their own villages, farming and hunting.
The Okipa ceremony was a major part of Mandan religious life. This complex ceremony about the creation of the earth was first recorded by George Catlin. The ceremony opened with a Bison Dance, followed by a variety of torturous ordeals through which warriors proved their physical courage and gained the approval of the spirit
s. The Okipa began with the young man not eating, drinking, or sleeping for four days. Then they were led to a hut, where they had to sit with smiling faces while the skin of their chest and shoulders was slit and wooden skewers were thrust behind the muscles. Using the skewers to support the weight of their bodies, the warriors would be suspended from the roof of the lodge and would hang there until they fainted. To add agony, heavy weights were added to the initiate's legs. After fainting, the warrior would be pulled down and the men (women were not allowed to attend this ceremony) would watch the warrior until he awoke, proving the spirits' approval. Upon awakening, the warrior would offer his left pinkie finger to the Great Spirit, whereupon a masked tribesman would sever it with a hatchet blow. Finally, participants would endure a grueling race around the village called "the last race" with weights and skewers still in place, to determine who among them was the strongest.
Those finishing the ceremony were seen as being honored by the spirits; those completing the ceremony twice would gain everlasting fame among the tribe. Chief Four Bears, or Ma-to-toh-pe
, completed this ceremony twice. The last Okipa ceremony was performed in 1889, but the ceremony was resurrected in a somewhat different form in 1983. The version of the Okipa as practiced by the Lakota may be seen in the 1970 film A Man Called Horse starring Richard Harris.
or Winnebago people of present-day Wisconsin
. Scholars theorize they may have settled in the Wisconsin area at one time. This idea is possibly confirmed in their oral history
, which refers to their having come from an eastern location near a lake.
Ethnologists and scholars studying the Mandan subscribe to the theory that, like other Siouan-speaking people (possibly including the Hidatsa), they originated in the area of the mid-Mississippi River
and the Ohio River
valleys in present-day Ohio
. If this was the case, the Mandan would have migrated north towards the Missouri River Valley and its tributary the Heart River in present-day North Dakota
. That is where Europeans first encountered the historical tribe. This migration is believed to have occurred possibly as early as the 7th century but probably between 1000 CE and the 13th century, after the cultivation of maize was adopted.
After their arrival on the banks of the Heart River, the Mandan constructed nine villages, two on the east side of the river and seven on the west side. At some point during this time, the Hidatsa people also moved into the region. Mandan tradition states that the Hidatsa were a nomadic tribe until their encounter with the Mandan, who taught them to build stationary villages and cultivate agriculture. The Hidatsa continued to maintain amicable relations with the Mandan and constructed villages north of them on the Knife River
.
The first encounter with Europeans occurred with the visit of the French Canadian
trader Sieur de la Verendrye in 1738. It is estimated that at the time of his visit, 15,000 Mandan resided in the nine villages on the Heart River
. Horses were acquired by the Mandan in the mid-18th century from the Apache
and were used for transportation and hunting. The horses helped with the expansion of Mandan hunting territory on to the Plains. The encounter with the French in the 18th century created a trading link between the French and Native Americans of the region; the Mandan served as middlemen
in the trade in furs, horses, gun
s, crops and buffalo products. Spanish merchants and officials in St. Louis explored the Missouri and strengthened relations with the Mandan (whom they called Mandanas) in an effort to discourage trade in the region by the English and the Americans. The Spanish sought to establish direct overland communication between Santa Fé and St. Louis.
In 1796 the Mandan were visited by the Welsh explorer John Evans
, who was hoping to find proof that their language contained Welsh words. Evans had arrived in St. Louis 2 years prior, and after being imprisoned for a year, was hired by Spanish authorities to lead an expedition to chart the upper Missouri. Evans spent the winter of 1796–97 with the Mandan but found no evidence of any Welsh influence. In July 1797 he wrote to Dr. Samuel Jones, "Thus having explored and charted the Missurie for 1,800 miles and by my Communications with the Indians this side of the Pacific Ocean from 35 to 49 degrees of Latitude, I am able to inform you that there is no such People as the Welsh Indians.".
By 1804 when Lewis and Clark
visited the tribe, the number of Mandan had been greatly reduced by smallpox epidemics and warring bands of Assiniboine, Lakota and Arikara. (Later they joined with the Arikara in defense against the Lakota.) The nine villages consolidated into two villages. The Lewis and Clark expedition met with such hospitality in the Upper Missouri River villages that the expedition stopped there for the winter. In honor of their hosts, the expedition dubbed the settlement they constructed Fort Mandan. It was here that Lewis and Clark first met Sacagawea
, a Shoshone
woman who had been captured by the Hidatsa. Sacagawea assisted the expedition with information and translating skills as they travelled westward towards the Pacific Ocean
. Upon their return to the Mandan villages, Lewis and Clark took the Mandan Chief Sheheke
(Coyote or Big White) with them to Washington to meet with President Thomas Jefferson
. In 1812 Chief Sheheke was killed in a battle with Hidatsa.
In 1833, artist George Catlin visited the Mandan near Fort Clark
. Catlin painted and drew scenes of Mandan life as well as portraits of chiefs, including Four Bears or Ma-to-toh-pe. His skill at rendering so impressed Four Bears that he invited Catlin as the first man of European descent to be allowed to watch the Okipa ceremony. The winter months of 1833 and 1834 brought Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied and Swiss artist Karl Bodmer
to stay with the Mandan.
and his followers who emigrated to America from Wales
in about 1170. This view was popular at the time but has since been disputed by the bulk of scholarship.
Later speculation has suggested the Mandan may have had pre-Columbian contact with Viking
explorers. Controversial interpretations of the Kensington Runestone
, found in 1898 in the largely rural township of Solem, Douglas County, Minnesota
, have cited the runestone as evidence of Viking presence. There is no known evidence of Mandan-Viking contact, however. This theory is not supported generally by scholars such as anthropologists and professional historians.
The Mandan were first plagued by smallpox
in the 16th century and had been hit by similar epidemics every few decades. Between 1837 and 1838, another smallpox epidemic swept the region. In June 1837, an American Fur Company
steamboat traveled westward up the Missouri River from St. Louis. Its passengers and traders aboard infected the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribes. There were approximately 1,600 Mandan living in the two villages at that time. The disease effectively destroyed the Mandan settlements. Almost all the tribal members, including the chief
, Four Bears, died. Estimates of the number of survivors vary from only 27 individuals to up to 150, though most sources usually give the number 125. The survivors banded together with the nearby Hidatsa in 1845 and created Like-a-Fishhook Village
.
Mandan chief Four Bears reportedly stated “a set of Black harted [sic] Dogs, they have deceived Me, them that I always considered as Brothers, has turned Out to be My Worst enemies”. Francis Chardon, in his "Journal at Fort Clark 1834–1839", wrote that the Gros Ventres (ie. Hidatsa), “swear vengeance against all the Whites, as they say the small pox was brought here by the S[team] B[oat].” (Chardon, Journal, p. 126). In the earliest detailed study of the event, in The American Fur Trade of the Far West (1902), Hiram M. Chittenden
blamed the American Fur Company for the epidemic. Oral tradition of the affected tribes continue to claim that whites were to blame for the disease. R. G. Robertson in his book Rotting Face: Smallpox and the American Indian places blame on Captain Pratte of St. Peter’s for failing to quarantine once the epidemic broke out, stating that while “not guilty of premeditated genocide, but he was guilty of contributing to the deaths of thousands of innocent people. The law calls his offence criminal negligence. Yet in light of all the deaths, the almost complete annihilation of the Mandans, and the terrible suffering the region endured, the label criminal negligence is benign, hardly befitting an action that had such horrendous consequences”.
Ward Churchill
has alleged that the US Army gave smallpox infected blankets to the Mandan Indians in 1837, as part of a genocidal conspiracy. No historian specializing in that event has agreed with Churchill's accusations against the Army. A University of Colorado investigation into Churchill's research found that in this instance he had misrepresented his sources and "created myths under the banner of academic scholarship."
The Mandan joined with the Arikara in 1862. By this time, Like-a-Fishhook Village had become a major center of trade in the region. By the 1880s, though, the village was abandoned. With the second half of the 19th century there was a gradual decrease in the holdings of the Three Affiliated Tribes (the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara). The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 recognized 12 million acres (49,000 km²) of land in the territory owned jointly by these tribes. With the creation of the Fort Berthold Reservation by Executive Order on April 12, 1870, the federal government recognized the holdings as only being 8 million acres (32,000 km²). On July 1, 1880, another executive order deprived the tribes of 7 million acres (28,000 km²) lying outside the boundaries of the reservation.
With the arrival of the 20th century, the government seized more land, and by 1910, the reservation had shrunk to a mere 900,000 acres (3,600 km²). This land is located in Dunn
, McKenzie
, McLean
, Mercer
, Mountrail
and Ward
counties in North Dakota.
With the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act
, the Mandan officially merged with the Hidatsa and the Arikara into the Three Affiliated Tribes
, known as the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation.
In 1951, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction of Garrison Dam
on the Missouri River. This dam created Lake Sakakawea
, which flooded portions of the Fort Berthold Reservation including the villages of Fort Berthold and Elbowoods as well as a number of other villages. The former residents of these villages were moved and New Town
was established for them.
While a new town was constructed for the displaced tribal members, much damage was done to the social and economic foundations of the reservation. The flooding claimed approximately one quarter of the reservations land. This land contained some of the most fertile agricultural land upon which the agricultural economy had been constructed. In addition, the flooding claimed the sites of historic villages and archaeological sites.
, which was built in a joint effort between the three tribes and the North Dakota Department of Transportation. The bridge, spanning the Missouri River, replaces an older Four Bears Bridge that was built in 1955. The new bridge—the largest bridge in the state of North Dakota—is decorated with medallions celebrating the cultures of the three tribes. The bridge was opened to traffic September 2, 2005, and was officially opened in a ceremony on the October 3.
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...
people living 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....
. They are enrolled in the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota. About half of the Mandan still reside in the area of the reservation; the rest reside around the United States and in Canada.
The Mandan historically lived along the banks of 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...
and two of its tributaries—the Heart
Heart River
The Heart River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 180 mi long, in western North Dakota in the United States.-Course:...
and Knife River
Knife River
This article is about the river in North Dakota. For other meanings, see Knife River The Knife River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 120 mi long, in North Dakota in the United States....
s—in present-day North
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....
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...
. Speakers of Mandan
Mandan language
-Genetic relations:It was initially thought to be closely related to the languages of the Hidatsa and the Crow tribes. However, since the Mandan language has been in contact with Hidatsa and Crow for many years, the exact relationship between Mandan and other Siouan languages has been obscured and...
, a Siouan language, the people developed a settled culture in contrast to that of more nomadic tribes in 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...
region. They established permanent villages featuring large, round, 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 some 40 feet (12.2 m) in diameter, surrounding a central plaza. While the 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...
was key to the daily life of the Mandan, it was supplemented by agriculture and trade.
Population
The Mandan population was 3,600 in the early 18th century. In 1836, there were over 1,600 fullblood Mandans, but this number was estimated to have dropped to 125 by 1838. In the 1990s, 6,000 people were enrolled in the Three Affiliated Tribes.Synonymy
Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye
Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye was a French Canadian military officer, fur trader and explorer. In the 1730s he and his four sons opened up the area west of Lake Superior and thus began the process that added Western Canada to the original New France in the Saint Lawrence basin...
, who heard it as Mantannes from his Assiniboine guides in 1738. He had previously heard the earth lodge peoples referred to by the Cree as Ouachipouennes, "the Sioux who go underground." The Assiniboine are Siouan speakers. Nearby Siouan speakers had exonyms similar to Mantannes in their languages, for instance, Teton
Lakota language
Lakota is a Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. While generally taught and considered by speakers as a separate language, Lakota is mutually understandable with the other two languages , and is considered by most linguists one of the three major varieties of the Sioux...
Miwátąni, Yanktonai Miwátani, Yankton Mawátani or Mąwátanį, Dakota Mawátąna or Mawátadą, etc.
The Mandan have used differing autonyms to refer to themselves:
- Rųwą́ʔka·ki "men, people": before 1837 (transcribed by European Americans as Numakaki, Numangkake)
- Wį́ʔti Ų́tahąkt "East Village" (after the village of the same name): late 19th century (transcribed as Metutahanke or Mitutahankish)
- Rų́ʔeta "ourselves, our people" (originally the name of a specific division): this is the term the people now use
The Mandan probably used Rųwą́ʔka·ki to refer to a general tribal entity. Later, this word fell to disuse and instead two division's names were used, Nuweta or Ruptare (i.e., Mandan Rų́ʔeta). Later, the term Rų́ʔeta was extended to refer to a general tribal entity. The name Mi-ah´ta-nēs recorded by Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden in 1862, reportedly means "people on the river bank", but this may be a folk etymology.
Various other terms and alternate spellings that occur in the literature including: Mayátana, Mayátani, Mąwádanį, Mąwádąδį, Huatanis, Mandani, Wahtani, Mantannes, Mantons, Mendanne, Mandanne, Mandians, Maw-dân, Meandans, les Mandals, Me-too´-ta-häk, Numakshi, Rųwą́’kši, Wíhwatann, Mevatan, Mevataneo. Gloria Jahoda in Trail of Tears states that they also call themselves the "Pheasant people." George Catlin states The Mandans (or See-pohs-kah-nu-mah-kah-kee, "people of the pheasants," as they call themselves)
Language
The Mandan languageMandan language
-Genetic relations:It was initially thought to be closely related to the languages of the Hidatsa and the Crow tribes. However, since the Mandan language has been in contact with Hidatsa and Crow for many years, the exact relationship between Mandan and other Siouan languages has been obscured and...
belongs to the Siouan language family
Siouan languages
The Western Siouan languages, also called Siouan proper or simply Siouan, are a Native American language family of North America, and the second largest indigenous language family in North America, after Algonquian...
. It was initially thought to be closely related to the languages of the 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 the Crow. However, since the Mandan language has been in contact
Language contact
Language contact occurs when two or more languages or varieties interact. The study of language contact is called contact linguistics.Multilingualism has likely been common throughout much of human history, and today most people in the world are multilingual...
with Hidatsa and Crow for many years, the exact relationship between Mandan and other Siouan languages (including Hidatsa and Crow) has been obscured. For this reason, linguists classify Mandan most often as a separate branch of the Siouan family.
Mandan has two main dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s: Nuptare and Nuetare. Only the Nuptare variety survived into the 20th century, and all speakers were bilingual in Hidatsa. Linguist Mauricio Mixco of the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
has been involved in fieldwork with remaining speakers since 1993. As of 1999, there were only six fluent speakers of Mandan still alive. As of 2010, programs in local schools encourage students' learning the language.
The Mandan and their language received much attention from European American
European American
A European American is a citizen or resident of the United States who has origins in any of the original peoples of Europe...
s, in part because their lighter skin color caused speculation they were of European origin. In the 1830s, Prince Maximilian of Wied spent more time recording Mandan over all other Siouan languages and additionally prepared a comparison list of Mandan and Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
words (he thought that the Mandan may have been displaced Welsh). The theory of the Mandan/Welsh connection, now discounted, was also supported by 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:...
.
Mandan has different grammatical forms that depend on gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
of the addressee
Addressee
In linguistics, an addressee is an intended direct recipient of the speaker's communication. A listener is either an addressee or a bystander.Second-person pronouns refer to an addressee or a group including an addressee...
. Questions asked of men must use the suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
while the suffix is used when asking of women. Likewise the indicative suffix is when addressing men and when addressing women, and also for imperatives
Imperative mood
The imperative mood expresses commands or requests as a grammatical mood. These commands or requests urge the audience to act a certain way. It also may signal a prohibition, permission, or any other kind of exhortation.- Morphology :...
: (male), (female). Mandan, like many other North American languages, has elements of sound symbolism
Sound symbolism
Sound symbolism or phonosemantics is a branch of linguistics and refers to the idea that vocal sounds have meaning. In particular, sound symbolism is the idea that phonemes carry meaning in and of themselves.-Origin:...
in their vocabulary. A /s/ sound often denotes smallness/less intensity, /ʃ/ denotes medium-ness, /x/ denotes largeness/greater intensity:
- síre "yellow"
- šíre "tawny"
- xíre "brown"
- sró "tinkle"
- xró "rattle"
Lodges and villages
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
-type structure at the entrance.
The interior was constructed around four large pillars, upon which crossbeams supported the roof. These lodges were designed, built and owned by the women of the tribe, and ownership was passed through the female line. Generally 40 feet (12.2 m) in diameter, they could hold several families, up to 30 or 40 people. Villages usually had around 120 lodges. Reconstructions of these lodges may be seen at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park near Mandan, North Dakota
Mandan, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,718 people, 6,647 households, and 4,553 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,642.8 per square mile . There were 6,958 housing units at an average density of 683.7 per square mile...
, and the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site
The Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, which was established in 1974, preserves the historic and archaeological remnants of the Northern Plains Indians. This area was a major trading and agricultural area. There were three villages that occupied the Knife area. In general, these...
.
Originally lodges were rectangular, but around 1500 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
, lodges began to be constructed in a circular form. Toward the end of the 19th century, the Mandan began constructing small log cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
s, usually with two rooms. When traveling or hunting, the Mandan would use skin 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. Today, the Mandan live in modern dwellings.
Villages were usually oriented around a central plaza that was used for games(chunkey
Chunkey
Chunkey is a game of Native American origin. It was played by rolling disc shaped stones across the ground and throwing spears at them in an attempt to place the spear as close to the stopped stone as possible...
) and ceremonial purposes. In the center of the plaza was a tree surrounded by a wood enclosure. It represented the "Lone Man", one of the main figures in Mandan religion. He was said to have built a wooden corral that saved the people of a village from a flooding river in North Dakota. Villages were often situated on high bluffs over the river. Often, villages would be constructed at the meeting of tributaries, to use the water as a natural barrier. Where there were few or no natural barriers, the villages utilized some type of fortification, including ditches and palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
s.
Family life
Children were named ten days after their birth in a naming ceremony, which also officially linked the child with its family and clan. Girls would be taught domestic duties, farming, and how to keep a home. Boys were taught hunting and fishing, and would begin fasting
Fasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
for religious visions at the age of ten or eleven. Marriage among the Mandan was generally arranged by members of one's own clan, especially uncles; although, occasionally it would take place without the approval of the couple's parents. Divorce could be easily obtained.
Upon the death of a family member, the people would erect a scaffold near the village to contain the body. The body would be placed with the head towards the northwest and feet to the southeast. Southeast is the direction of the Ohio River Valley, from which the Mandan came. The Mandan would not sleep in this orientation, because it invited death. After a ceremony to send the spirit away, the family would mourn at the scaffold for four days. After the body rotted and the scaffold collapsed, the bones would be gathered up and buried, except for the skull, which was placed in a circle near the village. Family members would visit the skulls and talk to them, sometimes bearing their problems or regaling the dead with jokes. After the Mandan moved onto the Fort Berthold Reservation, they resorted to placing the bodies in boxes or trunks, or wrapped them in fur robes and placed them in rocky crevices.
Subsistence
The Mandan survived by hunting, farming and gathering wild plants, though some food came from trade. Mandan gardens were often located near river banks, where annual flooding would leave the most fertile soil, sometimes in locations miles from villages. Women owned and tended the gardens, where they planted several varieties of cornMaize
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...
, beans and squash
Squash (fruit)
Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita, also called marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker...
. The crops were planned to be sufficient to last a single year.
Hunting the buffalo was a critical part of Mandan survival and rituals. They called the buffalo to “come to the village” in the Buffalo Dance ceremony at the beginning of each summer. In addition to eating the meat, the Mandan used all parts of the buffalo, so nothing went to waste. The hides were used for buffalo-fur robes or were tanned, and the leather used for clothing, bags, shelter and other uses. The Mandan were known for their painted buffalo hides
Plains hide painting
Plains hide painting is a traditional Plains Indian artistic practice of painting on either tanned or raw animal hides. Tipis, tipi liners, shields, parfleches, robes, clothing, drums, and winter counts could all be painted.-Genres:...
that often recorded historic events. The bones would be carved into items such as needles and fish hook
Fish hook
A fish hook is a device for catching fish either by impaling them in the mouth or, more rarely, by snagging the body of the fish. Fish hooks have been employed for centuries by fishermen to catch fresh and saltwater fish. In 2005, the fish hook was chosen by Forbes as one of the top twenty tools...
s. Bones were also used in farming: for instance, the scapula
Scapula
In anatomy, the scapula , omo, or shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus with the clavicle ....
was used as a hoe
Hoe (tool)
A hoe is an ancient and versatile agricultural tool used to move small amounts of soil. Common goals include weed control by agitating the surface of the soil around plants, piling soil around the base of plants , creating narrow furrows and shallow trenches for planting seeds and bulbs, to chop...
-like device for breaking the soil. Besides buffalo, the Mandan trapped small mammals for food and hunted deer. Deer antlers were used to create rake-like implements used in farming. Birds were hunted for meat and feathers, the latter used for adornment.
Dress
Tunic
A tunic is any of several types of clothing for the body, of various lengths reaching from the shoulders to somewhere between the hips and the ankles...
s, dresses, buffalo-fur robes, moccasins
Moccasin (footwear)
A moccasin is a slipper made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp . Though sometimes worn inside, it is chiefly intended for outdoor use, as in exploring wildernesses and running from...
, gloves, loincloths and leggings
Leggings
Leggings are a type of fitted clothing covering the legs, which can be worn by both men and women.Originally leggings were two separate garments, one for each leg....
could be made. These items were often ornamented with quills and bird feathers, and men sometimes wore the scalps
Scalping
Scalping is the act of removing another person's scalp or a portion of their scalp, either from a dead body or from a living person. The initial purpose of scalping was to provide a trophy of battle or portable proof of a combatant's prowess in war...
of enemies.
Mandan women wore ankle-length dresses made of deerskin
Deerskin trade
The deerskin trade between Colonial America and the Native Americans was one of the most important trading relationships between Europeans and Native Americans, especially in the southeast. It was a form of the fur trade, but less known, since deer skins were not as valuable as furs from the north...
or sheepskin
Sheepskin (material)
Sheepskin is the hide of a sheep, sometimes also called lambskin. Unlike common leather, sheepskin is tanned with the fleece intact, as in a pelt.-Uses:...
. This would often be girded at the waist with a wide belt. Sometimes the hem of the dress would be ornamented with pieces of buffalo hoof. Underneath the dress, they wore leather leggings with ankle-high moccasins. Women's hair was worn straight down in braids.
During the winter months, men would commonly wear deerskin tunics and leggings with moccasins. They also kept themselves warm by wearing a robe of buffalo fur. During the summer months, however, a loincloth of deerskin or sheepskin would often suffice. Unlike the women, men would wear various ornaments in their hair. The hair was parted across the top with three sections hanging down in front. Sometimes the hair would hang down the nose and would be curled upwards with a curling stick. The hair would hang to the shoulders on the side, and the back portion would sometimes reach to the waist. The long hair in the back would create a tail-like feature, as it would be gathered into braids then smeared with clay and spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
gum then tied with cords of deerskin. Headdresses of feathers were often worn as well. Besides buffalo, elk, and deer hides, Mandans also used ermine and white weasel hides for clothing.
Today, Mandan people wear traditionally-inspired clothing and regalia at powwow
PowWow
PowWow is a wireless sensor network mote developed by the Cairn team of IRISA/INRIA. The platform is currently based on IEEE 802.15.4 standard radio transceiver and on an MSP430 microprocessor...
s, ceremonies, and other significant events.
Religion
In their creation myth, the world was created by two rival deities, the First Creator and the Lone Man. The Missouri River divided the two worlds that the beings created. First Creator created the lands to the south of the river with hills, valleys, trees, buffalo, pronghorn antelope and snakes. To the north of the river, Lone Man created the Great Plains, domesticated animals, birds, fish and humans. The first humans lived underground near a large lake. Some of the more adventurous humans climbed a grapevine to the surface and discovered the two worlds. After returning underground, they shared their findings and decided to return with many others. As they were climbing the grapevine, it broke and half the Mandan were left underground.
According to pre-Christian Mandan beliefs, each person possessed four different, immortal souls. The first soul was white and often seen as a shooting star or meteor
METEOR
METEOR is a metric for the evaluation of machine translation output. The metric is based on the harmonic mean of unigram precision and recall, with recall weighted higher than precision...
. The second soul was colored a light brown and was seen in the form of the meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
Not to be confused with Eastern MeadowlarkThe Western Meadowlark is a medium-sized icterid bird, about 8.5 in long. It nests on the ground in open country in western and central North America. It feeds mostly on insects, but also seeds and berries...
. The third soul, called the lodge spirit, remained at the site of the lodge after death and would remain there forever. The final soul was black and after death would travel away from the village. These final souls existed as did living people; residing in their own villages, farming and hunting.
The Okipa ceremony was a major part of Mandan religious life. This complex ceremony about the creation of the earth was first recorded by George Catlin. The ceremony opened with a Bison Dance, followed by a variety of torturous ordeals through which warriors proved their physical courage and gained the approval of the spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
s. The Okipa began with the young man not eating, drinking, or sleeping for four days. Then they were led to a hut, where they had to sit with smiling faces while the skin of their chest and shoulders was slit and wooden skewers were thrust behind the muscles. Using the skewers to support the weight of their bodies, the warriors would be suspended from the roof of the lodge and would hang there until they fainted. To add agony, heavy weights were added to the initiate's legs. After fainting, the warrior would be pulled down and the men (women were not allowed to attend this ceremony) would watch the warrior until he awoke, proving the spirits' approval. Upon awakening, the warrior would offer his left pinkie finger to the Great Spirit, whereupon a masked tribesman would sever it with a hatchet blow. Finally, participants would endure a grueling race around the village called "the last race" with weights and skewers still in place, to determine who among them was the strongest.
Those finishing the ceremony were seen as being honored by the spirits; those completing the ceremony twice would gain everlasting fame among the tribe. Chief Four Bears, or Ma-to-toh-pe
Mato-tope
Mato-tope was the second chief of the Mandan tribe to be known to whites as four bears, a name he earned after charging the Assiniboine tribe during battle with the strength of four bears. Four Bears lived in the first half of the 19th century on the upper Missouri River in what is now North Dakota...
, completed this ceremony twice. The last Okipa ceremony was performed in 1889, but the ceremony was resurrected in a somewhat different form in 1983. The version of the Okipa as practiced by the Lakota may be seen in the 1970 film A Man Called Horse starring Richard Harris.
History
Origins and early history
The exact origins and early history of the Mandan is unknown. Early studies by linguists gave evidence that the Mandan language may have been closely related to the language of the Ho-ChunkHo-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Winnebago, are a tribe of Native Americans, native to what is now Wisconsin and Illinois. There are two federally recognized Ho-Chunk tribes, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska....
or Winnebago people of present-day Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. Scholars theorize they may have settled in the Wisconsin area at one time. This idea is possibly confirmed in their oral history
Oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
, which refers to their having come from an eastern location near a lake.
Ethnologists and scholars studying the Mandan subscribe to the theory that, like other Siouan-speaking people (possibly including the Hidatsa), they originated in the area of the mid-Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
valleys in present-day Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. If this was the case, the Mandan would have migrated north towards the Missouri River Valley and its tributary the Heart River in present-day 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....
. That is where Europeans first encountered the historical tribe. This migration is believed to have occurred possibly as early as the 7th century but probably between 1000 CE and the 13th century, after the cultivation of maize was adopted.
After their arrival on the banks of the Heart River, the Mandan constructed nine villages, two on the east side of the river and seven on the west side. At some point during this time, the Hidatsa people also moved into the region. Mandan tradition states that the Hidatsa were a nomadic tribe until their encounter with the Mandan, who taught them to build stationary villages and cultivate agriculture. The Hidatsa continued to maintain amicable relations with the Mandan and constructed villages north of them on the Knife River
Knife River
This article is about the river in North Dakota. For other meanings, see Knife River The Knife River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 120 mi long, in North Dakota in the United States....
.
European encounter
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
trader Sieur de la Verendrye in 1738. It is estimated that at the time of his visit, 15,000 Mandan resided in the nine villages on the Heart River
Heart River
The Heart River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 180 mi long, in western North Dakota in the United States.-Course:...
. Horses were acquired by the Mandan in the mid-18th century from the Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
and were used for transportation and hunting. The horses helped with the expansion of Mandan hunting territory on to the Plains. The encounter with the French in the 18th century created a trading link between the French and Native Americans of the region; the Mandan served as middlemen
Reseller
A reseller is a company or individual that purchases goods or services with the intention of reselling them rather than consuming or using them. This is usually done for profit...
in the trade in furs, horses, gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
s, crops and buffalo products. Spanish merchants and officials in St. Louis explored the Missouri and strengthened relations with the Mandan (whom they called Mandanas) in an effort to discourage trade in the region by the English and the Americans. The Spanish sought to establish direct overland communication between Santa Fé and St. Louis.
In 1796 the Mandan were visited by the Welsh explorer John Evans
John Evans (explorer)
John Thomas Evans was a Welsh explorer who produced an early map of the Missouri River.John Evans was born in Waunfawr, near Caernarfon...
, who was hoping to find proof that their language contained Welsh words. Evans had arrived in St. Louis 2 years prior, and after being imprisoned for a year, was hired by Spanish authorities to lead an expedition to chart the upper Missouri. Evans spent the winter of 1796–97 with the Mandan but found no evidence of any Welsh influence. In July 1797 he wrote to Dr. Samuel Jones, "Thus having explored and charted the Missurie for 1,800 miles and by my Communications with the Indians this side of the Pacific Ocean from 35 to 49 degrees of Latitude, I am able to inform you that there is no such People as the Welsh Indians.".
By 1804 when Lewis and Clark
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...
visited the tribe, the number of Mandan had been greatly reduced by smallpox epidemics and warring bands of Assiniboine, Lakota and Arikara. (Later they joined with the Arikara in defense against the Lakota.) The nine villages consolidated into two villages. The Lewis and Clark expedition met with such hospitality in the Upper Missouri River villages that the expedition stopped there for the winter. In honor of their hosts, the expedition dubbed the settlement they constructed Fort Mandan. It was here that Lewis and Clark first met Sacagawea
Sacagawea
Sacagawea ; was a Lemhi Shoshone woman, who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acting as an interpreter and guide, in their exploration of the Western United States...
, a Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
woman who had been captured by the Hidatsa. Sacagawea assisted the expedition with information and translating skills as they travelled westward towards the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. Upon their return to the Mandan villages, Lewis and Clark took the Mandan Chief Sheheke
Sheheke
Sheheke, Sheheke-shote, translated as White Coyote, and also known as Coyote or Big White , was a Mandan chief. He travelled with Lewis and Clark to meet United States President Thomas Jefferson....
(Coyote or Big White) with them to Washington to meet with President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
. In 1812 Chief Sheheke was killed in a battle with Hidatsa.
In 1833, artist George Catlin visited the Mandan near Fort Clark
Fort Clark Trading Post State Historic Site
Fort Clark Trading Post State Historic Site was once the home to a Mandan and later an Arikara settlement. Over the course of its history it also had two factories...
. Catlin painted and drew scenes of Mandan life as well as portraits of chiefs, including Four Bears or Ma-to-toh-pe. His skill at rendering so impressed Four Bears that he invited Catlin as the first man of European descent to be allowed to watch the Okipa ceremony. The winter months of 1833 and 1834 brought Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied and Swiss artist 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...
to stay with the Mandan.
Speculation about pre-Columbian European contact
18th-century reports about characteristics of Mandan lodges, religion and occasional physical features among tribal members, such as blue and grey eyes along with lighter hair coloring, stirred speculation about the possibility of pre-Columbian European contact. Catlin believed the Mandan were the "Welsh Indians" of folklore, descendants of Prince MadocMadoc
Madoc or Madog ab Owain Gwynedd was, according to folklore, a Welsh prince who sailed to America in 1170, over three hundred years before Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1492. According to the story, he was a son of Owain Gwynedd who took to the sea to flee internecine violence at home...
and his followers who emigrated to America from Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
in about 1170. This view was popular at the time but has since been disputed by the bulk of scholarship.
Later speculation has suggested the Mandan may have had pre-Columbian contact with Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
explorers. Controversial interpretations of the Kensington Runestone
Kensington Runestone
The Kensington Runestone is a 200-pound slab of greywacke covered in runes on its face and side which, if genuine, would suggest that Scandinavian explorers reached the middle of North America in the 14th century. It was found in 1898 in the largely rural township of Solem, Douglas County,...
, found in 1898 in the largely rural township of Solem, Douglas County, Minnesota
Douglas County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 32,821 people, 13,276 households, and 9,027 families residing in the county. The population density was 52 people per square mile . There were 16,694 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile...
, have cited the runestone as evidence of Viking presence. There is no known evidence of Mandan-Viking contact, however. This theory is not supported generally by scholars such as anthropologists and professional historians.
Smallpox epidemic of 1837–38
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"...
in the 16th century and had been hit by similar epidemics every few decades. Between 1837 and 1838, another smallpox epidemic swept the region. In June 1837, an American Fur Company
American Fur Company
The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...
steamboat traveled westward up the Missouri River from St. Louis. Its passengers and traders aboard infected the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribes. There were approximately 1,600 Mandan living in the two villages at that time. The disease effectively destroyed the Mandan settlements. Almost all the tribal members, including the chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
, Four Bears, died. Estimates of the number of survivors vary from only 27 individuals to up to 150, though most sources usually give the number 125. The survivors banded together with the nearby Hidatsa in 1845 and created Like-a-Fishhook Village
Like-a-Fishhook Village
Like-a-Fishhook Village was an Indian village in North Dakota established by members of the Three Affiliated Tribes, the Mandan, Arikara and Hidatsa. The village was established in 1845 and the village was also inhabited by non-Indian traders...
.
Mandan chief Four Bears reportedly stated “a set of Black harted [sic] Dogs, they have deceived Me, them that I always considered as Brothers, has turned Out to be My Worst enemies”. Francis Chardon, in his "Journal at Fort Clark 1834–1839", wrote that the Gros Ventres (ie. Hidatsa), “swear vengeance against all the Whites, as they say the small pox was brought here by the S[team] B[oat].” (Chardon, Journal, p. 126). In the earliest detailed study of the event, in The American Fur Trade of the Far West (1902), Hiram M. Chittenden
Hiram M. Chittenden
Hiram Martin Chittenden was the Seattle district engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers for whom the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Seattle, Washington, were named.-Early Life:...
blamed the American Fur Company for the epidemic. Oral tradition of the affected tribes continue to claim that whites were to blame for the disease. R. G. Robertson in his book Rotting Face: Smallpox and the American Indian places blame on Captain Pratte of St. Peter’s for failing to quarantine once the epidemic broke out, stating that while “not guilty of premeditated genocide, but he was guilty of contributing to the deaths of thousands of innocent people. The law calls his offence criminal negligence. Yet in light of all the deaths, the almost complete annihilation of the Mandans, and the terrible suffering the region endured, the label criminal negligence is benign, hardly befitting an action that had such horrendous consequences”.
Ward Churchill
Ward Churchill
Ward LeRoy Churchill is an author and political activist. He was a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder from 1990 to 2007. The primary focus of his work is on the historical treatment of political dissenters and Native Americans by the United States government...
has alleged that the US Army gave smallpox infected blankets to the Mandan Indians in 1837, as part of a genocidal conspiracy. No historian specializing in that event has agreed with Churchill's accusations against the Army. A University of Colorado investigation into Churchill's research found that in this instance he had misrepresented his sources and "created myths under the banner of academic scholarship."
Late 19th and the 20th centuries
With the arrival of the 20th century, the government seized more land, and by 1910, the reservation had shrunk to a mere 900,000 acres (3,600 km²). This land is located in Dunn
Dunn County, North Dakota
-Major highways:*North Dakota Highway 8*North Dakota Highway 22*North Dakota Highway 200-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 3,600 people, 1,378 households, and 986 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile . There were 1,965 housing units...
, McKenzie
McKenzie County, North Dakota
-Major highways:* U.S. Highway 85* North Dakota Highway 22* North Dakota Highway 23* North Dakota Highway 58* North Dakota Highway 68* North Dakota Highway 73* North Dakota Highway 200* North Dakota Highway 1806-National protected areas:...
, McLean
McLean County, North Dakota
-Major highways:* U.S. Highway 83* North Dakota Highway 28* North Dakota Highway 37* North Dakota Highway 53* North Dakota Highway 41* North Dakota Highway 200* North Dakota Highway 1804-National protected areas:*Audubon National Wildlife Refuge...
, Mercer
Mercer County, North Dakota
-Major highways:* North Dakota Highway 31* North Dakota Highway 48* North Dakota Highway 49* North Dakota Highway 200* North Dakota Highway 1806-Demographics:...
, Mountrail
Mountrail County, North Dakota
-Major highways:* U.S. Highway 2* North Dakota Highway 8* North Dakota Highway 23* North Dakota Highway 31* North Dakota Highway 1804-National protected areas:*Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge *Shell Lake National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...
and Ward
Ward County, North Dakota
-National protected areas:*Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge *Hiddenwood National Wildlife Refuge *Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge -Demographics:...
counties in North Dakota.
With the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act
Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 the Indian New Deal, was U.S. federal legislation that secured certain rights to Native Americans, including Alaska Natives...
, the Mandan officially merged with the Hidatsa and the Arikara into the Three Affiliated Tribes
Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation
Mandan, 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...
, known as the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation.
In 1951, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction of Garrison Dam
Garrison Dam
Garrison Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Missouri River in central North Dakota. At over two miles in length, it is the fifth-largest earthen dam in the world, constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1947-53...
on the Missouri River. This dam created Lake Sakakawea
Lake Sakakawea
Lake Sakakawea is a reservoir in the Missouri River basin in central North Dakota. Named for the Shoshone-Hidatsa woman Sakakawea, it is the third largest man-made lake in the United States, after Lake Mead and Lake Powell. The lake lies in parts of six counties in western North Dakota: Dunn,...
, which flooded portions of the Fort Berthold Reservation including the villages of Fort Berthold and Elbowoods as well as a number of other villages. The former residents of these villages were moved and New Town
New Town, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,367 people, 488 households, and 318 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.6 people per square mile . There were 512 housing units at an average density of 760.9 per square mile...
was established for them.
While a new town was constructed for the displaced tribal members, much damage was done to the social and economic foundations of the reservation. The flooding claimed approximately one quarter of the reservations land. This land contained some of the most fertile agricultural land upon which the agricultural economy had been constructed. In addition, the flooding claimed the sites of historic villages and archaeological sites.
Present day
The Mandan and the two related tribes, the Hidatsa and Arikira, while being combined have intermarried but do maintain, as a whole, the varied traditions of their ancestors. The last full-blood Mandan, Mattie Grinnell, died in 1971. The tribal residents have recovered from the trauma of their displacement in the 1950s and part of their recovery has been aided by two recent additions to New Town. The Four Bears Casino and Lodge was constructed in 1993 drawing tourists and money to the impoverished reservation. The most recent addition to the New Town area has been the new Four Bears BridgeFour Bears Bridge
Four Bears Bridge is one of two bridges built over the Missouri River on the Fort Berthold Reservation in the U.S. state of North Dakota. The current bridge which opened in 2005 is the second largest bridge in the state and replaces an earlier bridge built in 1955...
, which was built in a joint effort between the three tribes and the North Dakota Department of Transportation. The bridge, spanning the Missouri River, replaces an older Four Bears Bridge that was built in 1955. The new bridge—the largest bridge in the state of North Dakota—is decorated with medallions celebrating the cultures of the three tribes. The bridge was opened to traffic September 2, 2005, and was officially opened in a ceremony on the October 3.
Further reading
- Hayden, Ferdinand Vandeveer. (1862). Contributions to the ethnography and philology of the Indian tribes of the Missouri Valley: Prepared under the direction of Capt. William F. Reynolds, T.E.U.S.A., and published by permission of the War Department. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 12 (2), 231–461. Philadelphia: C. Sherman and Son.
- Hodge, Frederick Webb, Ed. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Originally published by the Bureau of American Ethnology and the Smithsonian Institution in 1906. (Reprinted in New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 1971. ISBN 1-58218-748-7)
- Wolff, Gerald W.Gerald 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. (1974), Three Affiliated Tribes, a study of the cultural relationships among the Arikaras, 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...
s, and Mandans. - Wood, W. Raymond, & Lee Irwin. "Mandan". In R. J. DeMallie (Ed.), Handbook of North American Indians: Plains (Vol. 13, Part 1, pp. 94–114). W. C. Sturtevant (Gen. Ed.). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 2001. ISBN 0-16-050400-7
Language
- Kennard, Edward. (1936). Mandan grammar. International Journal of American Linguistics, 9, 1–43.
- Lowie, Robert H. (1913). Societies of the Hidatsa and Mandan Indians. In R. H. Lowie, Societies of the Crow, Hidatsa, and Mandan Indians (pp. 219–358). Anthropological papers of the American Museum Of Natural History (Vol. 11, Part 3). New York: The Trustees. (Texts are on pp. 355–358).
- Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X.
- Mixco, Mauricio C. (1997). Mandan. Languages of the world series: Materials 159. Münich: LINCOM Europa. ISBN 3-89586-213-4.
- Parks, Douglas R.; Jones, A. Wesley; Hollow, Robert C; & Ripley, David J. (1978). Earth lodge tales from the upper Missouri. Bismarck, ND: Mary College.
- Will, George; & Spinden, H. J. (1906). The Mandans: A study of their culture, archaeology and language. Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University (Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 81–219). Cambridge, MA: The Museum. (Reprinted 1976, New York: Kraus Reprint Corporation).
External links
- Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara: Three Affiliated Tribes, official website
- Article on bridge opening from the Williston (North Dakota) Herald (Accessed November 5, 2005)
- Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site
- Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation
- Lewis and Clark's Journals recording their time with the Mandan
- Mandan Indians, PBS