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A
Siouan tribe
of the northwest, the name
Mandan
is believed to be a corruption of the
Dakota
Mawatani. Previous to the time white settlers discovered the
Indians,
they called themselves simply “Numakiki,” meaning “people” or “people on
the bank.” Their relations, so far as known historically and
traditionally, have been most intimate with the
Hidatsa;
yet, judged by the linguistic test, their relationship may be nearer the
Winnebago.
The
Mandan
traditions regarding their early history are scant and almost entirely
mythological. All that can be gathered from them is the indication that,
at some time they lived in a more easterly locality in the vicinity of a
lake. This tradition, often repeated by subsequent authors, is given by
Lewis and
Clark,
as follows:
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Mandan Man
making an offer of the
buffalo
skull, 1908,
courtesy Library of Congress.
This image available for
photographic prints and downloads
HERE!
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From this point they
moved up the
Missouri
to Moreau River, where they came in contact with the
Cheyenne,
and where also the formation of "bands or unions" began. They then
continued up the
Missouri
to the Heart River in
North Dakota
where they were residing at the time of the first known visit of the
whites. However, it is probable that trappers and traders visited
them earlier.
The first recorded visit to the
Mandan
was that by the Sieur de la Verendrye in 1738. About 1750 the
Mandan
were settled near the mouth of Heart River in nine villages, two on the
east and seven on the west side. Remains of these villages were found by
Lewis and
Clark
in 1804. Having suffered severely from smallpox and the attacks of the
Assiniboin and
Dakota,
the inhabitants of the two eastern villages consolidated and moved up the
Missouri
to a point opposite the
Mandan.
The same causes soon reduced the other villages to five whose inhabitants
subsequently joined those in the
Mandan
entry, forming two villages, which in 1776 were likewise merged. Thus the
whole tribe was reduced to two villages, Metutanke and Ruptari, situated
about four miles below the month of Knife River, on opposite sides of the
Missouri.
These two villages were almost destroyed by smallpox in 1837, with only
about 31 souls out of 1,600, according to one account, being left. However, other and probably more reliable counts make the number of
survivors from 125 to 145. After that time they occupied a single village.
In 1845, when the
Hidatsa
removed from the
Knife River, some the
Mandan
went with them, and others flowed at intervals. Others moved up to the
village at Berthold as late as 1858.
By a treaty made on
July 30, 1825,
the
Mandan
entered into peaceable relations with the
United States.
They participated in the
Laramie,
Wyoming
treaty of September 17, 1851, by which the boundaries of the northwest
were defined. They also participated in the unratified treaty of Ft.
Berthold, Dakota on July 27, 1866. By an Executive Order on April 12,
1870, a large reservation was set apart for the
Mandan,
Hidatsa,
and
Mandan
Indians
in
North Dakota
and
Montana,
along the
Missouri
and Little
Missouri
Rivers, which included the
Mandan
village, then situated on the left bank of the
Missouri.
By agreement at
Fort
Berthold
agency on December, 1866, the Alandan,
Mandan,
and
Hidatsa
ceded a portion of their reservation to the United States.
When
they were first discovered by white explorers,
the
Mandan
were described as vigorous, well made, rather above medium stature, many
of them being robust, broad-shouldered, and muscular. Their noses, not so
long and arched as those of the
Sioux,
were sometimes aquiline or slightly curved, sometimes quite straight,
never broad; nor had they such high cheek bones as the
Sioux.
Some of the women were robust and rather tall, though usually they were
short and broad shouldered. The men paid the greatest attention to their
headdress. They sometimes wore at the back of the head a long, stiff
ornament made of small sticks entwined with wire, fastened to the hair and
aching down to the shoulders, which was covered with porcupine quills dyed
various colors in neat patterns. At the upper end of this ornament an
eagle feather was fastened horizontally, the quill end which was covered
with red cloth and the tip ornamented with it hunch of horse hair dyed
yellow. These ornaments varied and were symbolic. Tattooing was practiced
to a limited extent, mostly on the left breast and area, with black
parallel stripes and a few other figures.
The
Mandan
villages were assemblages of circular clay-covered log huts placed close
together without regard to order. The huts were slightly vaulted and were
provided with a sort of portico. In the center of the roof was a square
opening for the exit of the smoke, over which was a circular screen made
of twigs. The interior was spacious where four strong pillars near the
middle and several crossbeams supported the roof. The dwelling was covered
outside with matting made of willows and twigs, over which was laid hay or
grass, and then a covering of earth. The beds stood against the wall
of the hut consisting of a large square case made of parchment or skins,
with a square entrance, and large enough to hold several persons, who lied
very conveniently and warm on skins and blankets.
The
Mandans
cultivated maize, beans, gourds, and sunflowers, as well as manufacturing
earthenware, the clay being tempered with flint or granite reduced to
powder by the action of fire. Polygamy was common among them. Their
beliefs and ceremonies were generally similar to those of the Plains
tribes. The
Mandan
were always friendly to the United States and beginning in 1866 a number
of the men served as scouts.
In
Lewis and
Clark's
time the
Mandan
were estimated to number 1,250, and in 1837 1,600, but were reduced by
smallpox to between 125 and 150. By the turn of the century the
Mandan
people was estimated at about 250.
There were the following
divisions, which seem to have corresponded with their villages before the
Mandan
consolidated:
Horatamumake (Kharatanunanke)
Matonumake (Matonumanke)
Seepooshka (Sipushkanumanke)
Tanatsuka (Tanetsukanumanke)
Kitanemake (Khitanumanke)
Estapa (Histapenumanke)
Meteahke
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Today, the
Mandan are a
part of the
Mandan
Hidatsa and
Arikara Nation, located in New Town,
North Dakota .
Contact Information:
MHA
Nation
404 Frontage Road
New Town,
North Dakota
58763
701-627-4781
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