ARAPAHO
In the beginning, according to Arapaho accounts, the First Pipe Keeper
floated on a limitless body of water with the Flat Pipe. He fasted and prayed to
the Creator, who inspired him to send the duck to search beneath the water's
surface. The duck emerged with a little bit of dirt, which the First Pipe Keeper
put on the Pipe. Then he sent the turtle to the bottom, and it too returned with
dirt. The First Pipe Keeper put this dirt on the Pipe and blew it off toward the
four directions. In doing so, he created the earth. He then made the sun and
moon, man and woman, vegetable and animal life, followed by day and night and
the four seasons. He then taught the first people the religious rites they would
need. The duck and the turtle were placed with the pipe into a bundle. The
Arapaho - descendants of that first man and woman - have been responsible for
them ever since, symbols of the creation and their custody of a sacred
trust.
The Arapaho accounts of their past credit heros for showing the
People how to thrive in the world. These heros, with supernatural powers aid,
made important discoveries and extraordinary deeds. Among the things these heros
taught the Arapaho, were how to make an enclosure near a cliff to trap buffalo -
to catch and train horses - make and use bone tools, the first arrowhead (from
the rib of a buffalo), and the first bow, the technological advances that made
hunting easier - and how to use stone to shape a knife from the buffalo's
shoulder blade. Another invented a more efficient way to start a fire by
striking flint, rather than using a drill.
The Arapaho believed that
humans were endowed by the Creator with the ability ot think and that thought
itself could cause things to happen. All Arapaho traveled thru four stages, or
"hills of life", childhood, youth, adulthood and old age. The duties,
responsibilities, and privileges changed at each stage. The Arapaho equated the
life stages with the movement of the sun, the four cardinal directions and the
progress of the seasons. They also believed in re-incarnation, that a person
could be reborn after death.
It is not
certain where the Arapaho began. Archeologists and anthropologists have not
found anything early artifacts to locate them. Since the Arapaho language
belongs to the Algonquin family, it seems likely they may have first lived
somewhere between the Atlantic coast and the Great Lakes before moving west onto
the Northern Plains, west of the Missouri River, before the 18th century. No
records of explorers or traders meeting them east of the Missouri exist, so they
must have already moved west by the time the Europeans arrived in the late 17th
and early 18th centuries.
Until about 1730, the Arapaho apparently used
dogs to help transport their belongings as they migrated with the buffalo herds,
which they hunted on foot. A travois, (an A shaped platform, whose wider back
end dragged as it was pulled) was harnessed to the dogs, on which was placed
their belongings. The Arapaho would drive the buffalo over a cliff or into
enclosures, where they killed them with bow and arrow and spear with stone tips.
About 1730, they acquired horses, either through trading or raiding tribes to
the south. With horses, they could race alongside the buffalo, killing mor
efficiently. They also expanded the Arapaho's ability to trade with other
tribes.
They had active trade relationships with the farming villages of
the Arikara, Mandan, and Hidatsu on the Missouri, trading them excess meat and
hides for corn squash and beans. The Arikara called them "Colored Stone Village
(People)" possibly because gemstones from the Southwest were among the trade
items. The Hidatsu called them "Bison-Path People".
Northern bands
of Arapaho, known as Atsina or Gros Ventre, met English traders in the mid 18th
century in the upper Saskatchewan River area of Canada. They had been pushed
farther south by other tribes, and by late 18th century were in what is now
southeastern Montana eastern Wyoming. The first written account of the Arapaho
was by explorer, Jean Baptiste Trudeau. In 1795, bands from the central and
southern plains Arapaho met with other Indians and non-Indian traders in the
Black Hills of now South Dakota. Pressed by the hostile Sioux and Cheyenne, they
began to move Southwest, and by the early 1800's they controlled the area of
west central Colorado and were at war with the Ute to the west, the Crow north
of the Platte River, and the Pawnee to the east. They were also making more
frequent raids on the Kiowa and Comanche to increase their horse
herds.
About 1820, the Arapaho began to form an alliance with the
Cheyenne to fight the Souix north of the Platt, and the Kiowa and Comanche to
the south. The allies pushed the Kiowa and Comanche south of the Arkansas River
and gradually dominated the area between the Platte and the
Arkansas.
They frequently came into contact with fur traders in the
foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and the headwaters of the Platte and Arkansas.
The traders referred to them by the Crow name "Alappaho'" which meant "People
with many tattoos". The Arapaho had tattooed small circles on their bodies. The
traders' pronunciation of Alappaho' soon led to the wide spread use of the name
Arapaho.
The Arapaho raided Spanish Caravans, but traded peaceably with
several Americans, including brothers William and Charles Bent who built several
posts in their territory. In the winter the bands divided into smaller groups
and headed for their favorite wintering area. In the spring, they would come
together again. Smaller groups were easier to feed.
In the 1840's
immigrants from the eastern United States began traveling west on their way to
Oregon Territory. At first they followed the Oregon Trail through Wyoming, but
in 1848, the United States successfully concluded a two year war with Mexico and
expanded the southwest area. With the discovery of gold in California, the Santa
Fe route was filled with people heading for the gold fields in California. As
more people streamed west, the normal migration paths of the buffalo were cut
off. They moved away to areas more isolated.
As the buffalo became more
scarce, the Arapaho had less to hunt and father to go. At times the people were
hungary. But, even with these provocations, they did not attack the wagon
trains. The domain of the Arapaho was shrinking as the white settlers moved
west. Denver and other towns grew up, despite the treaty of 1851, which allowed
passage through, but no permanent settlements. The federal government made no
effort to stop the growth of the towns, as they needed the gold from them for
the growth of the economy.
The spread of towns split the Tribe into two
sections, North and South. Gold was discovered at Pike's Peak in 1858 and the
incursion of the homesteaders and miners drove the North ranging Arapaho farther
north while the southern bands tried to stay south of Denver. Both groups made
allies in the North and South. By the 1860's settlers outnumbered the Southern
Arapaho 10 to 1. In 1861, the Northern Arapaho numbered about 750 and wanted to
stay on the lands they had found. The Southern Arapaho numbered about 1,500,
found primarily south of Denver. Both divisions had suffered severe population
losses due to epidemics of smallpox, cholera and hungar.
By 1855, the two
divisions were politically self contained and independent of each other each
having it's own Indian agent assigned by the federal government. The separation
was gradual but eventually brought about differing identities for the two
divisions. The Northern Arapaho formed an alliance with the Sioux and Northern
Cheyenne and were able to hunt in the sparsely populated area that is now
Montana and Wyoming. The Southern Arapaho in Colorado and Kansas had more
interest in accommodating the new settlers.
February 18, 1861, Southern
Arapaho Indian Agent, Albert Boone, grandson of the famous Daniel Boone, held a
council attended by some of the Southern bands and a few Cheyenne. He reported
he had gotten consent for the cession of their land in exchange for a small
reservation on Colorado's Sand creek. It is not clear whether they understood
the terms or not, as their chief interpreter, Left Hand was not there. Hunting
buffalo from Sand Creek would be very hard as they ranged east and north of the
reservation. At Sand Creek, the Cheyenne were to have the eastern half and the
Arapaho the western. The Northern Arapaho did not consent to the
cession.
Lack of food, due to the loss of the buffalo by distance and at
the hands of professional hunters plagued the Tribe. Although there were no
attacks on the settlers, Little Raven and other leaders could not keep their
people from stealing the settlers' stock. The Southern Arapaho worked to
convince the Cheyenne to join them in peace with the whites, but a conflict
still erupted in 1864. In Spring of that year Colorado troops destroyed a
Cheyenne village suspected of cattle rustling, killing women and children and in
another instance, shot two friendly chiefs. The Cheyenne replied by attacking
Colorado settlements, thus making officials determined to drive all Indians away
from the settlements and trade routes or exterminate them. The Army began to
relentlessly attack the Cheyenne villages, even the ones that remained at
peace.
These attacks brought retaliation from the Cheyenne and eventually
involved the Arapaho. Little Raven, with Left Hand's help tried desperately to
avoid hostilities. In September, a large number of Arapaho and some Cheyenne
under Black Kettle were ordered to camp near Ft. Lyon on Sand Creek, where they
were guaranteed protection. All had pledged peace and had delivered up captives,
arms and booty. There were about 500 Indians - about 100 tipis of Cheyenne led
by Black Kettle and 8 tipis of Arapaho led by Left Hand - already there. On
November 29, 1864, Colonel John Chivington led a group of Colorado militia in a
surprise attack on the camp. At least 130 people, mostly women and children were
killed. Left hand was among them.
The main body of the Arapaho were
several miles away from Sand Creek, in a large camp With Little Raven. When they
heard, this group escaped south and took refuge in Kiowa - Comanche country.
Most Arapaho men, hearing of the massacre, joined the Cheyenne in an all-out war
against the whites that lasted through spring, 1865. Despite the Arapaho's
peaceful disposition,"The massacre, " said Little Raven, "was too bad to
stand."
Observers at the Sand Creek Massacre reported to newspapers in
the eastern cities that the militia had savagely mutilated men, women and
children, shot unarmed people trying to surrender, and committed other
atrocities. In response to public outcry, in order to avoid a costly and
prolonged Indian war, President Andrew Johnson authorized peace commission,
despite the Army's objections. A treaty council was held at Medicine Lodge Creek
in the fall of 1867.
Little Raven and others wanted land in Colorado, but
eventually agreed to accept a reservation between the Arkansas and Cimarron
Rivers in Kansas. They were dissatisfied with this land and over the next two
years tried to persuade officials to grant them a reservation on the North
Canadian. They knew they would not be safe on the Arkansas as the army and the
Cheyenne were still fighting and the army persisted on attacking peaceful
Indians. Most of the Southern Arapaho fled to the Wichita Mountains where they
would be safe.
In the winter of 1869, Little Raven went to Ft. Sill and,
insisting his people had always kept the peace, "surrendered" to the Army, thus
placing his people under the protection of the government. Officials at Ft.
sill, convinced that the Arapaho leaders could control the young warriors, sent
Little Raven's group to Camp Supply, where they could still
hunt.
President Grant's executive order granted the Arapaho and Cheyenne
a reservation together in Oklahoma Territory on the Canadian River.
By this time,
the Northern Arapaho had formed alliances with the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne
and were living north of the North Platte River. Gold was discovered in 1862 in
Montana and military posts and settlements followed. The result, aggravated by
the Sand Creek Massacre, was a war that lasted from 1865 to 1868, when President
Grant's peace commission met with the Northern Arapaho and their allies.
Battered by their losses, the Arapaho agreed to settle on a reservation with
either the Sioux in the north or the Southern Arapaho. The government agreed to
close their posts and bar travel through their hunting grounds.
The two
most important men in the Northern Arapaho were Medicine Man and Black Bear.
They wanted a reservation for the Arapaho in Wyoming. They sent for Friday, an
accomplished interpreter and esteemed member of the tribe to help them develop
good relations with the army. After 1868, The Northern Arapaho started serving
regularly as scouts for the army. They also established relations with their
long time enemy the Shoshone, (who had accepted a reservation in Wyoming in
1868) and army officers made arrangements to help the Arapaho live on the
Shoshone Reservation. There were clashes with trespassing settlers and miners
along the Sweetwater and Popoagie Rivers, and after Black Bear was ambushed and
killed by a mob of settlers, Medicine Man led his people back to Ft. Fetterman
and resumed efforts to obtain a reservation solely for the
Arapaho.
Medicine Man died in 1871 and was succeeded by Black Coal. He
and other leaders developed a strategy to get a reservation. Virtually all the
warriors signed on as scouts, assisting the army in 1876-77, in defeating the
Cheyenne and Sioux that refused to go on the reservations. Their reputations
grew, as well as respect from the army and eventually the strategy paid off.
Black Coal and Sharp Nose became the leading chiefs. In 1877, the Northern
Arapaho sent a delegation to Washington, D. C. To meet with President Rutherford
hays. Black Coal, Friday, and Sharp Nose went, accompanied by Army officers.
With the Army's help, the three succeeded in getting permission for their people
to settle on the Shoshone Reservation in Wyoming. In March, 1878, Black Coal and
Sharp Nose arrived at the Shoshone Reservation with their people.
In
August, 1861. at the outbreak of the War Between The States, Albert Pike,
traveled to Fort Wichita and signed Treaties between the Confederate States of
America and the Plains Tribes. Read about these treaties between
them.
Information for the Arapaho came from the book "Arapaho", by Loretta Fowler,
Chelsea House Publishers, New York.
Cheyenne -
Arapaho Flag
Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of
Oklahoma
This site
has information on the Arapaho Language
April 15, 2003
Copyright 1997-2003
This information compiled, prepared and submitted to this site
by Ethel Taylorand remains the property of the
submitter
NOTICE: Ethel Taylor
grants that this information and data may be used by non-commercial entities,
as long as this message remains on all copied material, for personal and
genealogical research. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in
any format for profit, can not be copied over to other sites, linked to,
or other presentation without written permission of Ethel Taylor.
Bar gif by Pam Hall
Copyright, 1997-2003, Pam Hall
Thank you, friend!