Fort Peck Indian Reservation Flag The Assiniboine’s name can be translated from Algonquin as “those who cook with stones,” and they were sometimes called Stoneys because of the interesting culinary techniques they used to cook their food on occasion.
Unlike some of the other Indian Tribes that call Montana home today, the Assiniboine moved west on their own without a lot of pushing from other tribes or Europeans. They are also present on two Indian Reservations in the state today, the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.
Unlike some of the other Indian Tribes that call Montana home today, the Assiniboine moved west on their own without a lot of pushing from other tribes or Europeans. They are also present on two Indian Reservations in the state today, the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.
Early Contact
Lake Nipigon European mention of the Assiniboine was first recorded in 1640 by the Jesuits, who also recorded that the land the tribe held was just west of Lake Nipigon, but it wasn’t until 1678 that the first contact was made with the tribe.
The French had future contacts with them, and noted that they were situated primarily around Lake Winnipeg. There numbers were around 10,000 at that point, and they lived in peace with Cree in the area, and eagerly began trading with the Hudson’s Bay Company.
Sometime around the first mention of them and the first initial contact, the Assiniboine split into two groups: one that remained in the Lake Winnipeg area of Canada, and another that headed south toward the Great Plains.
The French had future contacts with them, and noted that they were situated primarily around Lake Winnipeg. There numbers were around 10,000 at that point, and they lived in peace with Cree in the area, and eagerly began trading with the Hudson’s Bay Company.
Sometime around the first mention of them and the first initial contact, the Assiniboine split into two groups: one that remained in the Lake Winnipeg area of Canada, and another that headed south toward the Great Plains.
Heading to the Plains
Karl Bodner Painting By the 1730s this southern group of Assiniboine had managed to spread to the Missouri River region, and they began trading with the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes there. They divided again, with one group staying near the Missouri and the other moving north and west toward the Saskatchewan and Assiniboine Rivers.
This group that moved west changed just like the other tribes that had moved west before them, becoming more nomadic as they hunted the buffalo, a major feature of all Plains Indians. Still, they weren’t free from the influences of white settlers, even if they weren’t meeting them all that often.
In 1781 a smallpox epidemic struck the area and devastated the tribes there. The Assiniboine were hit hard, and they were weakened. It would become a common theme for them when further epidemics struck again in 1836 and 1869, and each time the tribe was weakened further, and their ability to defend themselves against other tribes decreased.
This group that moved west changed just like the other tribes that had moved west before them, becoming more nomadic as they hunted the buffalo, a major feature of all Plains Indians. Still, they weren’t free from the influences of white settlers, even if they weren’t meeting them all that often.
In 1781 a smallpox epidemic struck the area and devastated the tribes there. The Assiniboine were hit hard, and they were weakened. It would become a common theme for them when further epidemics struck again in 1836 and 1869, and each time the tribe was weakened further, and their ability to defend themselves against other tribes decreased.
Not One to Mess With
Assiniboine Hunting Buffalo Still, the Assiniboine were able to recover from this first taste of the disease, and life went on. Horses were introduced to the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes by the Crow, and by 1790 the Assiniboine had them as well. It didn’t take long before the Assiniboine began raiding other tribes for horses, and soon they were at war with the Blackfeet and Gros Ventre tribes, but only for a short time.
This martial spirit preceded them, and when Lewis and Clark were coming back from Fort Clatsop on the Pacific Coast, they heard disconcerting rumors about a dangerous and deadly tribe called the Assiniboine that they’d do best to steer clear from. They were convinced that contact with the Assiniboine would be bad, and were thankful when they made it through without spotting them.
Notes
Miller, David; Smith, Dennis; McGeshick, Joseph R.; Shanley, James; Shields, Caleb. The History of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana, 1800-2000. Fort Peck Community College: Poplar, 2008. p. 13-22.
Bryan, William L. Montana’s Indians: Yesterday and Today. American & World Geographic Publishing: Helena, 1996. p. 44.
This martial spirit preceded them, and when Lewis and Clark were coming back from Fort Clatsop on the Pacific Coast, they heard disconcerting rumors about a dangerous and deadly tribe called the Assiniboine that they’d do best to steer clear from. They were convinced that contact with the Assiniboine would be bad, and were thankful when they made it through without spotting them.
Notes
Miller, David; Smith, Dennis; McGeshick, Joseph R.; Shanley, James; Shields, Caleb. The History of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana, 1800-2000. Fort Peck Community College: Poplar, 2008. p. 13-22.
Bryan, William L. Montana’s Indians: Yesterday and Today. American & World Geographic Publishing: Helena, 1996. p. 44.
Learn More about the Assiniboine
Fort Peck Official Site
http://www.fortpecktribes.org/
National Museum of the American Indian
http://nmai.si.edu/home/
http://www.fortpecktribes.org/
National Museum of the American Indian
http://nmai.si.edu/home/
