The Gros Ventre tribe, also known as the Atsina or A’aninin, carries a rich and complex history deeply rooted in the North American plains. Pronounced “Grow Vaunt,” their French-given name, meaning “big belly,” remains a historical curiosity, though the people themselves proudly identify as A’aninin, or the White Clay People. Their enduring legacy tells a story of ancient origins, significant migrations, and remarkable cultural resilience in the face of profound change.
Origins and Early Migrations
The Name and Ancestry
The Gros Ventre tribe and the Arapaho were once a unified, large tribe inhabiting the western Great Lakes region approximately 3,000 years ago. During this period, they engaged in agriculture, cultivating crops such as maize. As an Algonquian-speaking people, their ancestral lands lay along the Red River valley in what is now northern Minnesota and Manitoba, Canada. They shared close ties with the ancestors of the Cheyenne. Other historical names for the tribe include Ahe, A’aninin, Ahahnelin, A’ane, and Haaninin.
Journey to the Plains
The early 18th century marked a pivotal split within the greater tribe, leading to the formation of the Gros Ventre and the Arapaho as distinct entities. Under mounting pressure from the Ojibwe, these groups, along with the Cheyenne, began a significant migration westward into Montana. Following this migration, the Arapaho journeyed southward into Wyoming and Colorado, while the Cheyenne continued their southward movement into South Dakota and Colorado. The Gros Ventre tribe themselves acquired horses by the mid-18th century, a transformative event that enabled them to migrate further south into the vast Great Plains of Wyoming and Colorado, primarily to hunt buffalo. The Gros Ventre language, Atsina, is now critically endangered, reflecting generations of cultural shifts.
Traditional Lifestyle and Social Structure
Community and Leadership
Traditionally, the Gros Ventre were organized into twelve distinct bands, each guided by a chief. These chiefs typically consulted with other male members of the band before making significant decisions, their status often earned through prowess in warfare. While bands generally camped separately during the harsh winter months, they would converge in the spring and fall. These gatherings were crucial for large-scale buffalo hunts and various sacred ceremonies, fostering community cohesion.
Subsistence and Daily Life
The buffalo was central to the Gros Ventre tribe‘s survival, providing not only food but also materials for shelter, clothing, and tools. Beyond buffalo, their diet was supplemented by hunting deer, elk, and antelope. Women played a vital role in gathering berries, fruits, and roots, contributing significantly to the tribe’s sustenance. Social customs included young girls being promised in marriage to older men before puberty, though actual marriages were often deferred until the girls reached around 20 years old. Polygamy was common, as was divorce, typically initiated by the husband. Children were considered members of their father’s band.
Rites of Passage and Sacred Ceremonies
Adolescence marked a significant transition for boys, as they entered one of the age-graded societies. They became members of either the Star Society or the Wolf Society, both of which performed crucial peacekeeping and social functions within the community. Upon death, individuals were accorded a scaffold burial in a tree or cave, accompanied by some personal possessions, reflecting their spiritual beliefs. The Flat Pipe and Feathered Pipe Rites were profoundly important ceremonies, serving as cornerstones of the Gros Ventre’s spiritual life. Personal supernatural powers and visions also held significant cultural importance.
Encounters with European Settlers and Shifting Alliances
Early Contact and Challenges
The first recorded contact between the Gros Ventre and European men occurred around 1754, situated between the north and south forks of the Saskatchewan River. This initial encounter tragically exposed them to smallpox, leading to a drastic reduction in their population. By 1793, in response to attacks from well-armed Cree and Assiniboine tribes, the Gros Ventre retaliated by burning two Hudson’s Bay Company trading posts in what is now Saskatchewan, accusing the company of supplying weapons to their enemies.
Explorers and Documentation
The famed explorers Lewis and Clark documented two distinct groups of the Gros Ventre tribe during their expedition. They identified a northern group, whom they called the Fall Indians, living on the Upper Saskatchewan River in Canada, numbering approximately 2,500 people in 260 tipis, who engaged in trade with the North West Company. A southern group, referred to as the Staetan tribe, roamed between the Missouri and Bow Rivers, comprising about 400 people in 40 tipis, and maintained close ties with Northern Arapaho bands. In 1832, German explorer and naturalist Prince Maximilian, accompanied by painter Karl Bodmer, made contact with the Gros Ventre near the Missouri River in Montana, capturing their likeness and customs in portraits and records.
The Blackfeet Confederacy and Beyond
At some point, the Gros Ventre forged an alliance with the Blackfeet Confederacy, relocating to north-central Montana and southern Canada. In 1855, Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens brokered a peace treaty between the United States and the Blackfeet, Flathead, and Nez Perce tribes. The Gros Ventre signed this treaty as part of the Blackfeet Confederacy, which designated their territory near the Three Forks area as a shared hunting ground. However, this alliance was not permanent, and by 1861, the Gros Ventres formally separated from the Blackfeet Confederacy. They later allied with the Crow tribe, leading to conflicts with their former Blackfeet allies, culminating in a defeat for the Gros Ventre in 1867.
Life on the Fort Belknap Reservation
Establishing Trading Posts and Agencies
In 1868, the United States government established Fort Browning near the mouth of Peoples Creek on the Milk River, intended for the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine. However, its location within traditional Sioux hunting grounds led to its abandonment in 1871. Subsequently, Fort Belknap was constructed approximately one mile southwest of present-day Harlem, Montana, serving as both a trading post and an agency for distributing rations and annuity goods to the tribes.
Challenges and Resilience
The discontinuance of Fort Belknap in 1876 directed the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine to the agencies at Fort Peck and Wolf Point. While the Assiniboine readily relocated, the Gros Ventre tribe adamantly refused, unwilling to move into Sioux territory, their historical enemies. They chose to forfeit their annuities rather than concede. In 1878, the Fort Belknap Agency was re-established, allowing the Gros Ventre and the remaining Assiniboine to once again receive supplies. The discovery of gold in the Little Rocky Mountains in 1884 brought pressure from miners, forcing the tribes to cede sections of these mountains in 1885. Jesuit missionaries arrived in 1862, establishing St. Paul’s Mission in 1887 near Hays, leading to the gradual loss of many traditional ceremonies. Nevertheless, the sacred Feathered Pipe and Flat Pipe remain central to the Gros Ventre’s spiritual identity.
Modern Day Gros Ventre
By an act of Congress on May 1, 1888, the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation was formally established for the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribes. This act resulted in the ceding of 17.5 million acres of their joint reservation lands. Today, the Gros Ventre are a federally recognized tribe, sharing the Fort Belknap Reservation with the Assiniboine, who were once historical adversaries. The reservation and additional tribal lands encompass 650,000 acres of plains and grasslands in north-central Montana. With approximately 4,000 enrolled members, the Fort Belknap Indian Community, headquartered just south of Harlem, Montana, continues to uphold its rich cultural heritage and sovereignty.
The journey of the Gros Ventre tribe, from their ancient origins in the Great Lakes to their present-day home on the Fort Belknap Reservation, is a testament to their profound resilience and enduring spirit. Through migrations, conflicts, changing alliances, and encounters with colonial expansion, the A’aninin have consistently adapted while striving to preserve their unique cultural identity, particularly the sanctity of their sacred pipes and the memory of their ancestors. Their history reminds us of the rich tapestry of Indigenous cultures and their ongoing contributions to the American narrative.
