ARIKARA

The Arikara are sometimes called the Arikaree, or simply the Ree. Their name, pronounced uh-RICK-uh-ruh, is thought to mean “horns,” in reference to the ancient custom of wearing two upright bones in their hair, or possibly “elk people” or “corn eaters.” The Arikara migrated farther north than all the other Caddoan-speaking tribes, splitting off from the PAWNEE. They settled along the banks of the upper Missouri River in what is now North Dakota near the South Dakota border, to the south of two Siouan-speaking tribes, the HIDATSA and MANDAN, with whom they have been associated throughout their history.

The Arikara, like the Hidatsa and Mandan, were villagers and farmers. It is thought that it was they who originally brought agricultural skills to other tribes of the upper Missouri River. They grew nine varieties of corn as well as beans, squash, pumpkins, and sunflowers. Unlike their Caddoan kin to the south, the Arikara did not live in grass huts. Rather, they built earthlodges on bluffs overlooking the river. They planted fields nearby.

The Arikara hunted buffalo to supplement their diet. After having acquired horses in the 1700s, they ranged even farther from their villages in pursuit of the great herds. They had hunting grounds in what is now eastern Montana as well as in the Dakotas. During their hunting trips, they lived in tipis. The Arikara are considered part of the Great Plains Culture Area (see PLAINS INDIANS). But they were not as nomadic as other Plains tribes (see PRAIRIE INDIANS).

The Arikara shared many cultural traits with the Mandan, a tribe more thoroughly documented than either the Arikara or the Hidatsa. Customs of all three tribes were passed from one to another. In some cases customs were even bought and sold. For example, one tribe would trade horses, tools, and ornaments for the right to use a certain dance. One Arikara dance that spread to the other tribes was known as the Hot Dance. For the occasion, tribal members would build a large fire, place a kettle of meat cooking in water over it, and spread hot coals on the ground. Young men, naked and barefoot, with feet and hands painted red, would dance on the coals to prove their courage. Then they would dip their hands in the scalding water, grab the meat, and eat it.

Because of their location on the Missouri River, the villages of the Arikara, like those of the Mandan and Hidatsa, became important centers of commerce. Other Plains peoples often traveled to them to trade buffalo

An Arikara Indian

Meat and robes, as well as horses, for farm products. French and English traders also stopped regularly at the river villages to exchange guns and other European goods for furs.

After the Louisiana Purchase by the United States in 1803, the federal government sponsored the Lewis and Clark Expedition up the Missouri River to explore the new American holdings. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark encountered the Arikara on the Missouri between the Grand and Cannonball Rivers and wrote about them in their journals.

In 1823, after Arikara warriors had attacked an American trading party and killed 13 people, most tribal members, fearing revenge by the whites, hid out for two years with the Pawnee in what is now Nebraska. On returning to the upper Missouri, the Arikara settled farther north. By 1851, they had villages as far north as the mouth of the Heart River. Disease, passed to them by non-Indian traders, greatly reduced their numbers. They suffered through the great smallpox epidemic of 1837, which practically wiped out the neighboring Mandan.

In 1862, the Arikara moved to Fort Berthold, North Dakota. The federal government established a permanent reservation there for the Arikara, Hidatsa, and Mandan in 1870 that the tribes still share today.

In the 1950s, the federal government constructed Garrison Dam, flooding the Arikara homeland and forcing them to relocate to the west side of the new Lake Sakakawae. The Three Affiliated Tribes have a museum at New Town, which gives visitors a glimpse of upper-Mis-souri Indian history and culture. They also operate a casino. Each of the tribal communities hosts a powwow in summertime. The tribes have been taking steps toward improving the health of their people. The Fort Berthold Diabetes Program Wellness Center was opened in 2004, and the Challenge Walk of 2004 required participants to walk 25 miles on behalf of children and future generations.

See QUAPAW