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The Gros Ventre are a Native American tribe located in northcentral Montana, also known as the Atsina, which is considered an inaccurate and derogatory name. There are currently 3,682 members and they share Fort Belknap Indian Reservation with the Assiniboine, their historical enemies. Gros Ventre ("big belly") is a name that was given to the people by the French who misinterpreted their sign language. Instead, the Gros Ventre people refer to themselves as A'ani or A'aninin, which means "white clay people". The Arapaho and the A'aninin were a single large tribe that lived along the Red River valley in northern Minnesota and Canada. In the early 1700s the large tribe split into two; forming the A'aninin and the Arapaho. The Arapaho went south and the A'aninin stayed in the Saskatchewan region.
Atsina is thought to be a Blackfoot word for "gut people", the other Arapaho who considered them inferior called them Hitún?na, meaning "beggars". Other interpretations have yielded the terms "hunger", "waterfall", and "big bellies". At the time of first contact with Europeans in 1754, the Gros Ventre ranged the Canadian Prairies around the Saskatchewan River Forks. Long time enemies of the Cree and Assiniboine they were forced to withdraw from what is now Canada during the first half of the nineteenth century due to the acquisition of guns by the Cree from the Hudson's Bay Company. In response the Gros Ventre had, in about 1793, attacked and burnt the Hudson's Bay Company post at South Branch House on the South Saskatchewan River near present day St. Louis, Saskatchewan. The tribe moved south to the Milk River and were associated with the Blackfoot. The Gros Ventre adopted the Plains culture with its horses and guns and followed the bison for food. Because they refused to receive their treaty payments at Fort Peck along with their enemies, the Sioux, the U.S. government established the Fort Belknap in 1878, near present Chinook, Montana. In 1888, the Blackfoot, Assiniboine and Gros Ventre ceded much of their lands and the much smaller Fort Belknap Reservation was established which the Gros Ventre share with the Assiniboine. By 1904 there were only 535 tribe members. The current reservation government has a council which includes four officers as well as four members from each tribe. In the late 1600’s, the Algonquian-speaking Gros Ventre Indian tribe split from the Arapaho tribes. Then, by the late 1700’s, they were allied with the Blackfeet on the northern plains.Around this time, and again in the early 1800’s, smallpox decimated the Gros Ventre tribe.In 1878, they settled on the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana after becoming hostile enemies with the Blackfeet in 1861. Currently, there are approximately three thousand listed Gros Ventres, with 1,385 members living on the reservation. The Gros Ventre tribe has been referred by several incorrect names throughout history. Some of these names include Rapid Indians, Willow Indians, Atsinas, Big Bellies, and Waterfall Indians. The Gros Ventres of Fort Belknap refer to themselves as the A’nai’, meaning “White Clay People.” The religious structure is quite similar to that of many other tribes residing on the northern plains. They’ve performed ceremonies such as the “Fly Dance” and the “Crazy Dance.”However, the “Sun Dance” was the most important ceremony. This particular ceremony was held only during the summer months. Long feathered headdresses worn in the dance denoted male status and importance. The women beautified skins and clothing with porcupine quills.A principle feature of ceremonies was that the performers would fast and dance around a sacred tree chosen for the occasion. They believe that when a man dies, he goes northward to “Bashnobe,” the Big Sand. It is here where he meets the spirits and follows the customs and habits of his former existence. The ghosts of the deceased are believed to have the power of shooting invisible arrows into people, to haunt graves, and to travel with the wind. Valuable pipes were held sacred and greatly appreciated by the tribe as well. The tribe originated with ten of these sacred pipes but now only two, the Feathered Pipe and the Flat Pipe, form the spiritual center of the Gros Ventre. The reason for the declination of pipes throughout the tribe is because the other eight being buried with their keepers. Each spring, the two sacred pipes are used when prayers are offered to the spirits. Another aspect of the Gros Ventre culture is the way they dressed, and their type of housing.Men of the tribe typically dressed in shirts tied with cords, decorated with dyed porcupine quills. Women were dressed in one-piece attire that reached both their ankles and elbows.Both the men and women of the Gros Ventre tribe wore leggings and deerskin moccasins. They housed themselves in "teepees" or tents made from twenty buffalo skins and twenty-four poles, thirty feet in length. |
| The tribe consisted of ten bands (or clubs), all who lived under one master head.The bands (or clubs) were graded according to the ages of their members, with the oldest group being of highest rank. Along with the chiefs of each band, the master head formed the council. The head chief directed tribal affairs, selected the tribe’s campsites, and also controlled treaties on behalf of the tribe. If there was a disagreement between the master head and the council, two young men were sent out with a bundle of sticks. One young man represented the master head and the other represented the council. The young men stopped at each sub-chief’s lodge and asked which side he favored. The sub-chief then accepted a stick from the young man representing the side of his choice. The young man with the fewest sticks upon returning home represented the winning side of the dispute.
Many Gros Ventres went on collective buffalo hunts. Punishment for a man who rode out against orders and frightened off a herd of buffalo was very severe, because this action would result in the denial of food for the tribe for an unspecified amount of time. The more recent generations of Gros Ventre performed dryland farming and ranching as means of food production. They also traded between other tribes to supplement their needs. |
| The Gros Ventre |
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