Hidatsa

United States

Indigenous Peoples of the United States

Indigenous Peoples of North Dakota

Hidatsa

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Formerly known as the Gros Ventre of the Missouri — Not to be confused with the Gros Ventre Indians of Montana. See Gros Ventre (disambiguation).

Hidatsa

Population
1980 1,547 0% 1910 547 0% 1905 450 0% 1876 ≈500 0% 0%
Regions with significant populations
Ancestral Homelands: Western Minnesota; Devil's Lake region in North Dakota Descendants: Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota
Status
Federally recognized as Three Affiliated Tribes
Linguistic Group
language related to Crow
Cultural Group
Siouan
Other Related Ethnic Groups
Mandan Tribe, Arikara Tribe

Alternate Names and Spellings: Minataree, Minitari, Gros Ventre

Tribal Headquarters

Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, Three Affiliated Tribes
404 Frontage Road
New Town, ND 58763
Phone: 701-627-4781
Website

History

The Hidatsa originally lived the Devil's Lake area of North Dakota. As they migrated west, the Hidatsa met the Mandan at the mouth of the Heart River. The two groups formed an friendly alliance, and settled along the rivers of the area.

The first recorded contact with non-Native American occurred in 1804 when Lewis and Clark found the Hidatsa living in three villages at the mouth of the Knife River. Two villages of the Mandans were located a few miles down the Missouri River.

Two artists of the American west visited the Hidatsa and Mandan and painted scenes of their life -- George Catlin in 1832, and Karl Bodmer, a Swiss painter accompanying German explorer Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied from 1832 to 1834.

A smallpox epidemic in 1837-1838 reduced the Hidatsa population to about 500 people. The remaining Mandan and Hidatsa united, and moved farther up the Missouri in 1845. They eventually settled at "Like-a-fishhook" bend near Fort Berthold. The Arikara joined them there in 1862.

The Hidatsa signed two treaties with the United States government -- the 1851 treaty at Laramie (Wyoming), which they signed as Gros Ventres, and the unratified 1866 Treaty of Fort Berthold (see links to copies of the treaties under Records below).

A reservation for the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Tribes was set apart on 12 April 1870 by Executive Order. The reservation was located principally in present-day North Dakota, with a small portion in Montana. The Fort Berthold Reservation was later reduced to its present size.

The tribe was allotted land in 1888 under the General Allotment Act, and Like-A-Fishhook Village was abandoned.

Under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Tribes merged and incorporated under their constitution and bylaws as the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation.

Brief Timeline

• 1780-1781: Smallpox epidemic
• 1837: Smallpox devastated the Tribe
• 1845: Established Like-A-Fishhook Village near Fort Berthold trading post
• 1862: The Arikara joined them at Like-A-Fishhook Village
• 1870: Fort Berthold Agency established for Hidatsa, Mandan, and Arikara Tribes.
• 1888: Most of the tribe were located on allotted land; Like-A-Fishhook Village abandoned
• 1934: Three Affiliated Tribes formed - Hidatsa, Mandan, and Arikara
• 1951-1954: Relocated for construction of Garrison Dam and reservoir

Additional References to the History of the Tribe

• Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, gave a more complete history of the Hidatsa tribe, with estimations of the population of the tribe at various time periods.
• Additional details are given in David Bushnell's Villages of the Algonquian, Siouan and Caddoan Tribes West of the Mississippi.

Records

The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters.They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:

• Allotment records
• Annuity rolls
• Census records
• Correspondence
• Health records
• Reports
• School census and records
• Vital records

Agencies

The following agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs had jurisdiction over the Hidatsa for the time periods indicated. BIA agencies were responsible to keep such records as census rolls, allotment (land) records, annuity rolls, school records, correspondence, and other records of individual Indians under their jurisdiction. For details, see the page for the respective agency.

• Upper Missouri Agency, 1824-1866-- ??
  
• Fort Berthold Agency, 1867-present

Treaties

During the latter part of the 18th Century and most of the 19th Century, treaties were negotiated between the federal government and individual Indian tribes. The treaties provide helpful information about the history of the tribe, but usually only include the names of those persons who signed the treaty. See American Indian Treaties with the United States for more more information about treaties.

Treaties to which the Hidatsa Indians were a part were:

• 1851 Fort Laramie with Sioux, etc.
• 1866 at Fort Berthold (unratified)

Tribal Office Records

The Tribal Office is responsible for enrollment records, tribal police records, tribal court records, employment records and many others. They are an entirely different set of records from those kept by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Most of them remain in the Tribal Office. For details, contact that office at the address for the Tribal Headquarters listed above.

Important Websites

• MHA Nation-Three Affiliated Tribes Website
• Hidatsa Tribe Wikipedia
• By-Laws of the Three Affiliated Tribes

Bibliography

Hidatsa Tribe

• Meyer, Roy W. The Village Indians of the Upper Missouri: the Mandans, Hidatsas, and Arikaras. Lincoiln: University of Nebraska Press, 1977. FS Catalog book 970.1 M575v.