Arapaho
The Arapaho are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota.
By the 1850s, Arapaho bands formed two tribes, namely the Northern Arapaho and Southern Arapaho. Since 1878, the Northern Arapaho have lived with the Eastern Shoshone on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming and are federally recognized as the Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation. The Southern Arapaho live with the Southern Cheyenne in Oklahoma. Together, their members are enrolled as the federally recognized Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes.
Names
It is uncertain where the word Arapaho came from. Europeans may have derived it from the Pawnee word for "trader", iriiraraapuhu, or it may have been a corruption of a Crow word for "tattoo", alapúuxaache. The Arapaho autonym is Hinono'eino or Inun-ina. They refer to their tribe as Hinono'eiteen. The Cheyenne called them Hitanwo'iv or Hetanevoeo/Hetanevo'eo'o ; the Dakota as Mahpíyato, and the Lakota and Nakota referred to them as Maȟpíya thó.The Caddo called them Detseka'yaa, the Wichita Nia'rhari's-kûrikiwa'ahûski, and the Comanche Saria Tʉhka / Säretika, all names signifying "dog-eaters". The Pawnee, Ute and other tribes also referred to them with names signifying "dog-eaters".
The Northern Arapaho, who called themselves Nank'haanseine'nan or Nookhose'iinenno, were known as Baantcline'nan or Bo'oociinenno to the Southern Arapaho, whereas the latter were called by their northern kin Nawathi'neha or Noowunenno'. The Northern Arapaho were also known as BSakuune'na' .
The Cheyenne adapted the Arapaho terms and referred to the Northern Arapaho as Vanohetan or Vanohetaneo / Váno'étaneo'o and to the Southern Arapaho as Nomsen'nat or Nomsen'eo.
Historic political and dialect Arapaho divisions and bands
The Arapaho recognize five main divisions among their people, each speaking a different dialect and apparently representing as many originally distinct but cognate tribes. Through much of Arapaho history, each tribal nation maintained a separate ethnic identity, although they occasionally came together and acted as political allies.Each spoke mutually intelligible dialects, which differed from Arapaho proper. Dialectally, the Haa'ninin, Beesowuunenno', and Hinono'eino were closely related. Arapaho elders claimed that the Hánahawuuena dialect was the most difficult to comprehend of all the dialects.
In his classic ethnographic study, Alfred Kroeber identified these five nations from south to north:
- Nanwacinaha'ana, Nawathi'neha or Nanwuine'nan / Noowo3iineheeno'. Their now-extinct language dialect – Nawathinehena – was the most divergent from the other Arapaho tribes.
- Hánahawuuena, occupying territory adjacent to, but further north of the Nanwacinaha'ana, spoke the now-extinct Ha'anahawunena dialect.
- Hinono'eino or Hinanae'inan spoke the Arapaho language.
- Beesowuunenno', Baasanwuune'nan or Bäsawunena resided further north of the Hinono'eino. Their war parties used temporary brush shelters similar to the dome-shaped shade or Sweat lodge of the Great Lakes Algonquian peoples. They are said to have migrated from their former territory near the Lakes more recently than the other Arapaho tribes. They spoke the now-extinct Besawunena dialect.
- Haa'ninin, A'aninin or A'ani, the northernmost tribal group; they retained a distinct ethnicity and were known to the French as the historic Gros Ventre. In Blackfoot they were called Atsina. After they separated, the other Arapaho peoples, who considered them inferior, called them Hitúnĕna or Hittiuenina. They speak the nearly extinct Gros Ventre language dialect, there is evidence that the southern Haa'ninin tribal group, the Staetan band, together with bands of the later political division of the Northern Arapaho, spoke the Besawunena dialect.
headman. The exact date of the ethnic fusion or fission of each social division is not known. The elders say that the Hinono'eino and Beesowuunenno fought over the tribal symbols – the sacred pipe and lance. Both sacred objects traditionally were kept by the Beesowuunenno. The different tribal-nations lived together and the Beesowuunenno have dispersed for at least 150 years among the formerly distinct Arapaho tribal groups.
By the late 18th century, the four divisions south of the Haa'ninin or Gros Ventre consolidated into the Arapaho. Only the Arapaho and Gros Ventre identified as separate tribal nations.
While living on the Great Plains, the Hinono'eino divided historically into two geopolitical social divisions:
- Northern Arapaho or Nank'haanseine'nan, Nookhose'iinenno ; are called by the Southern Arapaho Bo'ooceinenno or Baachinena ; the Kiowa know them as Tägyäko, a translation of their proper name. They keep the sacred tribal articles, and are considered the nucleus or mother tribe of the Arapaho, being indicated in the Plains Indian Sign Language by the sign for "mother people". They absorbed the historic Hánahawuuena and Beesowuunenno. An estimated 50 persons of Beesowuunenno' lineage are included among the Northern Arapaho, and perhaps a few with the other two main divisions.
- Southern Arapaho, Náwunena or Noowunenno, are called by the Northern Arapaho Nawathi'neha ; the Kiowa know them as Ähayädal, the name for the wild plum. The sign for the Southern Arapaho is made by rubbing the index finger against the side of the nose. They absorbed the historic Nanwuine'nan / Noowo3iineheeno and some Beesowuunenno.
Language
According to Cowell & Moss's 2008 study of the Arapaho language, the Northern Arapaho have made a great effort to maintain the language through establishing the Language and Culture Commission. By producing audio and visual materials, they have provided ways for younger generations to learn the language. In 1995 this effort was matched by Dr. S. N. Greymorning, who established an Arapaho language immersion preschool program. Arapaho language instruction is also offered all throughout grade school. However, the number of students that take the subject is wavering and those who learn typically only retain a selection of memorized vocabulary. There is widespread interest in keeping the language alive for the Northern Arapaho, and their outlook remains positive in their endeavors to perpetuate the learning of Arapaho in schools and among their children and young people. However, this attitude is often counteracted by the lack of true commitment and willingness to really learn and become fluent, underscored by a misunderstanding of its deep roots and purpose.
For Southern Arapaho, the language is not quite as valued as it is on the Wind River Reservation. Most have lost interest in learning or maintaining it, and until recently, there were little to no efforts to preserve their dialect. There is a small number who have begun online courses conducted via video in an attempt to revitalize a desire to learn it, and popularity has increased over the past few years.
Histories
Early history
Around 3,000 years ago, the ancestral Arapaho-speaking people lived in the western Great Lakes region along the Red River Valley in what is classified as present-day Manitoba, Canada and Minnesota, United States. There the Arapaho were an agricultural people who grew crops, including maize. Following European colonization in eastern Canada, together with the early Cheyenne people, the Arapaho were forced to migrate westward onto the eastern Great Plains by the Ojibwe. They were numerous and powerful, having obtained guns from their French trading allies.The ancestors of the Arapaho people entered the Great Plains from the western Great Lakes region sometime before 1700. During their early history on the plains, the Arapaho lived on the northern plains from the South Saskatchewan River in Canada south to Montana, Wyoming, and western South Dakota. Before the Arapaho acquired horses, they used domestic dogs as pack animals to pull their travois. The Arapaho acquired horses in the early 1700s from other tribes, which changed their way of life. They became nomadic people, using the horses as pack and riding animals. They could transport greater loads, and travel more easily by horseback to hunt more easily and widely, increasing their success in hunting on the Plains.
Gradually, the Arapaho moved farther south, split into the closely allied Northern and Southern Arapaho, and established a large joint territory spanning land in southern Montana, most of Wyoming, the Nebraska Panhandle, central and eastern Colorado, western Oklahoma, and extreme western Kansas. A large group of Arapaho split from the main tribe and became an independent people, commonly known as the Gros Ventre or Atsina. The name Gros Ventre, meaning "Big Bellies" in French, was a misinterpretation of sign language between an Indian guide and French explorers. The Gros Ventre spoke an Algonquian language similar to Arapaho after the division; they identified as A'aninin, meaning ″White Clay people″. The Arapaho often viewed the Gros Ventre as inferior and referred to them as Hitúnĕna or Hitouuteen, meaning "beggars".