People of the Sky: the Arapaho
The Arapaho are an Algonquian-speaking people closely allied with the Cheyenne and Lakota. Sources differ on the etymology for the word Arapaho. It may have come from a Pawnee word for trader, or from a Crow word for tattoo. The Arapaho refer to themselves as people of our own kind. They Cheyenne referred to them as people of the sky. The Lakota and Assiniboine referred to them as Blue Sky people. The Caddo knew them as the pierced-nose people. Tribes who disliked the Arapaho for various reasons, such as the Ute and Pawnee, at times referred to them as dog-eaters.
Like many other Plains tribes,, the Arapaho oral tradition placed them in the Great Lakes area, what is now Manitoba and Minnesota. They were eventually forced westward along with the Cheyenne by the Ojibwe during the turbulence of the 17th century Beaver Wars. Once on the plains, the Arapaho acquired horses and learned to use dogs as pack animals to drag travois. The tribe recognizes five major divisions and dialects, divided eventually into Northern and Southern Arapaho. They remained allied with the Cheyenne and later the Lakota, eventually pushing the Kiowa and Comanche southward into New Mexico and Texas. Their culture placed great emphasis on the annual bison hunts and the ability of warriors to keep the tribe safe from their enemies. Young men could prove their right to join elite warrior societies based on their age, progressing through the ranks as they grew older and gained more experience. Enemies included the Pawnee, Crow, Blackfoot, Arikara, Plains Ojibwe and Shoshone, to name a few.
Though chiefs such as Black Coal worked hard to prevent conflicts with the United States, local conditions often upset this balance. An infamous incident was the Sand Creek Massacre, in November, 1864, when Colorado militia attacked a village of peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho, killing mostly women, children, the aged and other non-combatants. After this incident, the Arapaho faced many battles with the Army in an attempt to fight off the theft of their land and being forced onto reservations. They were allied of the Lakota and Cheyenne in both Red Cloud's War of 1866-68 and the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. During Red Cloud's War, Arapaho families were killed again in what became known as the Fetterman Fight or Fetterman Massacre. Eventually, the Arapaho were placed on reservations, the Southern Arapaho with the Shoshone on the Wind River Reservation, and the Southern Arapaho with the Southern Cheyenne in Oklahoma.
Like many other Plains tribes,, the Arapaho oral tradition placed them in the Great Lakes area, what is now Manitoba and Minnesota. They were eventually forced westward along with the Cheyenne by the Ojibwe during the turbulence of the 17th century Beaver Wars. Once on the plains, the Arapaho acquired horses and learned to use dogs as pack animals to drag travois. The tribe recognizes five major divisions and dialects, divided eventually into Northern and Southern Arapaho. They remained allied with the Cheyenne and later the Lakota, eventually pushing the Kiowa and Comanche southward into New Mexico and Texas. Their culture placed great emphasis on the annual bison hunts and the ability of warriors to keep the tribe safe from their enemies. Young men could prove their right to join elite warrior societies based on their age, progressing through the ranks as they grew older and gained more experience. Enemies included the Pawnee, Crow, Blackfoot, Arikara, Plains Ojibwe and Shoshone, to name a few.
Though chiefs such as Black Coal worked hard to prevent conflicts with the United States, local conditions often upset this balance. An infamous incident was the Sand Creek Massacre, in November, 1864, when Colorado militia attacked a village of peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho, killing mostly women, children, the aged and other non-combatants. After this incident, the Arapaho faced many battles with the Army in an attempt to fight off the theft of their land and being forced onto reservations. They were allied of the Lakota and Cheyenne in both Red Cloud's War of 1866-68 and the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. During Red Cloud's War, Arapaho families were killed again in what became known as the Fetterman Fight or Fetterman Massacre. Eventually, the Arapaho were placed on reservations, the Southern Arapaho with the Shoshone on the Wind River Reservation, and the Southern Arapaho with the Southern Cheyenne in Oklahoma.
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