Hidatsa

The Hidatsa are a group of people whose ancestors lived along the Missouri River. They belong to a larger family of tribes known as the Siouan people. Today, many Hidatsa people are part of the Three Affiliated Tribes, which live on a special area of land called the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota.

Their language is very important to them and is related to the language of another tribe called the Apsáalooke, who live in Montana. Sometimes, the Hidatsa are thought of as closely connected to the Apsáalooke, almost like family. Learning about the Hidatsa helps us understand the rich cultures and histories of Native American tribes in North America.

Name

The Hidatsa call themselves Hiraacá, which means "house or lodge made with willows". Their current name, Hidatsa, originally belonged to one of their three villages. When the villages joined together, this name was used for the whole tribe.

They are known as the Mį́nįtaree ("to cross the water") by their allies, the Mandan. In Assiniboine, they are called wakmúhaza yúde, ȟewáktųkta. Sometimes, they have been mixed up with the Gros Ventres in Montana and the Prairie Provinces of Canada. The Gros Ventre were nomadic, while the Hidatsa lived closer to the Missouri River.

History

Until 1850

For hundreds of years, the Knife River area in what is now North Dakota was home to the Hidatsa people and their ancestors. The first villages there date back to the 1300s.

There were three closely related groups that made up the Hidatsa. These groups had their own histories and spoke different dialects, but they later joined together on the Missouri River.

The Awaxawi, also called Amahami, told stories of coming from the earth long ago near Devil's Lake. Later, they moved to a place called Painted Woods.

The Awatixa believed they came from the sky, led by a person named Charred Body. They lived between the Heart River and Knife River.

The Hidatsa proper were the largest group. They traveled from Minnesota, met the Mandan people, and settled near the Knife River. They lived along the Missouri River and its tributaries.

Before 1782, the Hidatsa had few enemies. They lived in villages along the river and were strong enough to defend themselves. In about 1790, they won a big battle against the Sioux.

In 1800, the Hidatsa took a woman named Sacagawea captive during a battle with the Shoshone.

In 1804, explorers Lewis and Clark visited the Hidatsa villages.

In 1825, the Hidatsa made a peace treaty with the United States. They stayed friendly with white settlers.

Artists George Catlin and Karl Bodmer visited the Hidatsa in the 1830s and painted their way of life.

A smallpox epidemic in 1837–1838 greatly reduced the Hidatsa population. They moved farther up the Missouri River and eventually settled at Like-a-Fishhook Village near Fort Berthold, joining with the Mandan and Arikara.

1851–1900

In 1851, the Hidatsa were part of a treaty at Fort Laramie, getting land north of the Heart River. But soon after, the Lakota took over that area.

Artist Rudolph F. Kurz visited the Hidatsa in the 1850s and left drawings of their villages.

In 1861, Chief Four Bears was killed by attacking Sioux. In 1862, some Sioux burned parts of Like-a-Fishhook Village.

Some Hidatsa, led by leaders like Bobtail Bull and Crow Flies High, left the main village and lived near Fort Buford, helping the Army at times.

The Hidatsa sold some of their land to the United States in 1870, and more was taken in a treaty signed in 1886.

After a peace agreement in 1875, the Hidatsa focused more on issues with government officials.

The last Hidatsa Sun Dance was performed by Good Bear in 1879.

Culture

The Hidatsa are a people whose family ties are traced through the mother’s side. Because the early Mandan and Hidatsa tribes often married each other, children learned their mother’s language and could understand the other tribe’s way of speaking.

In the late 1800s, a government doctor named Washington Matthews wrote about Hidatsa language and culture. Later, in the early 1900s, a researcher named Gilbert Livingston Wilson learned much from an elderly Hidatsa woman named Buffalo Bird Woman and her family. Musician Frances Densmore also recorded many of their songs before 1920.