Wyoming Indian Tribes

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Arapaho

possibly from the Pawnee tirapihu or larapihu, signifiying "trader."

Also called:

Ähyä'to, Kiowa name.
Ano's-anyotskano, Kichai name.
Bĕtidĕĕ, Kiowa Apache name.
Detseka'yaa, Caddo name, signifying "dog eaters."
Dog Eaters.
E-tah-leh, Hidatsa name, signifying "bison path Indians."
Hitänwo'ǐv, Cheyenne name, signifying "cloud men" or "sky men."
Inûna-ina, own name, signifying "our people."
Ita-Iddi, Hidatsa name (Maximilian).
Kaninahoish, Chippewa name.
Komséka-Ki`ñahyup, former Kiowa name, signifying "men of the worn-out leggings."
Kun na-nar-wesh or Gene des Vach[es], by Lewis and Clark (1804). Mahpíyato, Dakota name, signifying "blue cloud."
Niă'rharǐ's-kûrikiwa'ahûski, Wichita name.
Särĕtǐka, Comanche and Shoshoni name, signifying "dog eaters"; the Pawnee, Wichita, and Ute names were forms of this.

Connections. Together with their near relatives, the Atsina, the Arapaho constitute the most aberrant group of the Algonquian linguistic stock.

 Location. The Arapaho have occupied a number of different regions in the historic period, but after they crossed the Missouri they became most closely identified with northeastern Wyoming, where the main or northern part of the tribe resided for a long period and where they were finally given a reservation. (See also Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Canada.)

Subdivisions

The Arapaho recognized five main divisions, which were evidently originally distinct tribes. Mooney (1928) calls these:

(1) Nákasinĕ'na, Báachinĕna, or Northern Arapaho;
(2) Náawunĕna, or Southern Arapaho:
(3) Aä'ninĕna, Hitúnĕna, Atsina, or Gros Ventres of the Prairie, today usually reckoned as a distinct tribe (see Montana);
(4) Bäsawunĕna, principally with the Northern Arapaho; and
(5) Hánahawunĕna, or Aanû'nhawă, later incorporated with the Northern Arapaho.
     The corresponding names given by Kroeber (1902 b) are:
Hinanaē'inaⁿ (Arapaho proper),
Nāⁿwaçinähä'änaⁿ (evidently Southern Arapaho),
Hitōune'naⁿ (Gros Ventres),
Bääsaⁿwūune'naⁿ, and Hāⁿanaxawūune'naⁿ
Kroeber also states that four more divisions recognized in the tribe were evidently in reality divisions of the Hinanaē'inaⁿ. These are:
Wāⁿxuē'içi ("ugly people"), about Cantonment, Okla.;
Haxāaⁿçine'naⁿ ("ridiculous men"), on the South Canadian, Okla.; Bāaⁿtcïine'naⁿ ("red-willow men"),
in Wyoming; and a fourth whose name has been forgotten.
     The following are relatively modern local bands of the Arapaho:
Forks-of-the-River Men,
Bad Pipes,
Greasy Faces,
Wáquithi,
Aqáthinĕ'na,
Gawunĕna,
Háqihana,
Säsábäithi,
of which the first three were among the Northern Arapaho.

History. According to tradition, the Arapaho were once sedentary and seem to have lived in the Red River Valley, whence they moved southwest across the Missouri at some time prior to the passage of that stream by the Cheyenne. Sometime afterward the Atsina separated from the rest, possibly cut off from the main body by the Crow, and moved off to the north; and within the last century the rest of the tribe have slowly divided into a northern and a southern branch, the Northern Arapaho living along the edges of the mountains at the headwaters of the Platte, while the Southern Arapaho continued on toward the Arkansas. About 1840 they made peace with the Dakota, Kiowa, and Comanche but were at war with the Shoshoni, Ute, and Pawnee until they were confined to reservations. By the treaty of Medicine Lodge in 1867 the Southern Arapaho were placed upon a reservation in Oklahoma along with the Southern Cheyenne; this was thrown open to white settlement and the Indian lands were allotted in severalty in 1892. The Northern Arapaho were assigned to a reservation on Wind River, Wyo., after having made peace with the Shoshoni who occupied the same reserve. The Atsina were associated with the Assiniboin on Fort Belknap Reservation, Mont.

Population. Mooney (1928) estimated that there were 3,000 Arapaho in 1780 and the same number of. Atsina. In 1894 there were 2,638 of the two tribes together; in 1904 there were 889 Northern Arapaho and 859 Southern Arapaho, a total of 1,748. The census of 1910 reported 1,419 Arapaho, while the United States Indian Office Report for 1923 gives 921 Arapaho in Wyoming and 833 in Oklahoma, a total of 1,754. The 1930 census reported 1,241, of whom 867 belonged to the northern division. In 1937 there were 1,164 Northern Arapaho and 2,836 Southern Arapaho and Cheyenne together.

Connections in which they have become noted. The Arapaho were one of the famous raiding tribes of the Plains; their name appears frequently coupled with that of the Cheyenne. The name Arapahoe has been given to a county and a mountain in Colorado and to localities in Furnas County, Nebr.; Pamlico County, N. C.; Cheyenne County, Colo.; and Fremont County, Wyo.; and the name Arapaho to the county seat of Custer County, Okla.

Bannock

Some Bannock ranged into western Wyoming. (See Idaho.)

Cheyenne

The Cheyenne hunted and warred to some extent in the eastern part of Wyoming; were long allied with the Arapaho. (See South Dakota.)

Comanche

Before separating from the Shoshoni the Comanche probably occupied territory in Wyoming, afterward moving south-ward. (See Texas.)

Crows

The Crows occupied in Wyoming the valleys of Powder, Wind, and Big Horn Rivers and ranged as far south as Laramie. (See Montana.)

Dakota

Dakota hunting and war parties frequently reached the territory of Wyoming, but the tribe had no permanent settlements there. In 1876 they participated with the Northern Arapaho and Northern Cheyenne in the cession of the northeastern territory of Wyoming. (See South Dakota.)

Kiowa

According to tradition, a tradition reinforced by other evidence, the Kiowa lived for a time in or near the Black Hills before moving south. (See Oklahoma.)

Kiowa Apache

This tribe lived in close conjunction with the Kiowa. (See Oklahoma.)

Pawnee

The Pawnee were known to Wyoming only as hunters and warriors. (See Nebraska.)

Shoshoni

The Northern Shoshoni formerly occupied the western part of Wyoming. (See Idaho.)

Ute

The Ute were just south of the present Wyoming and entered its territory at times to hunt or fight. (See Utah.)

• Among the Arapaho

• Dahcotah; Or Life and Legends of the Sioux Around Fort Snelling

• Kansas and Kansans (good information on Wyoming tribes)

• The Indian Tribes of North America

Notes About the Book:

Source: The Indian Tribes of North America, by John R. Swanton, 1953, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 145, US Government Printing Office, Washington DC.

Online Publication: The manuscript was scanned and then ocr'd. Minimal editing has been done, and readers can and should expect some errors in the textual output.

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