History of the Northern Arapaho Tribe
Prior
to White Contact
The Arapaho Tribe apparently migrated into its historical
homelands of Colorado and Wyoming from the northeast. Tribal
history tells of a crossing of a great frozen river to
the north sometime in the past, which likely may have been
the Missouri. Unlike other tribes which migrated onto the
Plains more recently, the Arapaho have no traditions or
memories of farming. Early explorers and traders mention
the presence of Indians who may have been branches of the
Arapaho Tribe in parts of the Dakotas and Montana in the
1700's.
There were originally five dialects of the
broader Arapaho language, spoken by different groups of
people. All of
these other dialects are no longer spoken, though Gros
Ventre has been well documented, and there are still individuals
alive who are familiar with the language.
The Arapaho were nomadic buffalo hunters,
whose lifestyle in the 18th and 19th centuries corresponded
closely to
that of their traditional allies, such as the Cheyenne,
Sioux and Gros Ventre, and their traditional enemies such
as the Crow, Kiowa and Comanche. They were part of the
classic High Plains culture, living in tepees and hunting
buffalo on horseback.
Nineteenth
Century
At the time of regular contact with Whites in the early
1800's, the Arapaho occupied lands ranging from northern
New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas northwards into Wyoming
and South Dakota. After the construction of trading posts
at Bent's Fort in the Arkansas river valley and Ft. Laramie
on the North Platte, the tribe divided into northern and
southern groups, which centered on the respective river
valleys. The 1851 Ft. Laramie Treaty fixed the boundaries
of the Arapaho lands from the Arkansas River in the south
to the North Platte in the north, with the western boundary
roughly along the continental divide and the eastern boundary
in western Kansas and Nebraska.
Confrontation with White invaders of Arapaho territory
intensified rapidly after the discovery of gold near Denver
in 1858. Many bands traditionally wintered in the sheltered
Denver/Boulder area. A treaty in 1861 attempted to remove
the southern branch of the Tribe to a small area along
the Arkansas River, but the treaty was never ratified by
representatives of the Tribe. As conflict turned violent,
a peaceful band of Arapaho and Cheyenne camped along Sand
Creek in southeastern Colorado in 1864. They were attacked
without warning, despite white flags of truce, and brutally
massacred by Colorado militia. The Sand Creek Massacre
touched off widespread conflict throughout 1864-65. Treaties
were finally signed in 1867 and 1869 which resulted in
the Southern Arapaho moving to west-central Oklahoma, where
they remain to this day.
The Northern Arapaho were involved in the so-called "Red
Cloud's War" of 1866-67, which was touched off by
White invasion of traditional hunting areas due to the
lure of gold in Montana. The Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho
were victorious in this conflict, but strife continued,
culminating in the Battle of Little Bighorn (in which some
Arapaho participated), and repression by US troops during
the following year. In 1878, the Northern Arapaho agreed
to move onto the Wind River Reservation in central Wyoming,
which they share with their traditional enemies, the Eastern
Shoshone.
Early
Reservation Era
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many changes
came to the Reservation. Catholic and Episcopal missionary
activity led to widespread conversion to Christianity,
though many Arapaho continue to practice the traditional
religion as well, centerered around the so-called "Sun
Dance." Farming and ranching were promoted and partially
adopted as an alternative economic lifestyle. Permanent
housing (often log cabins) was gradually constructed. Children
often were educated at boarding or mission schools, where
they were encouraged to abandon traditional cultural practices
and their language. Government laws led to the selling
off of much reservation land, as well as allotment of much
of the remainder to individuals, as a western-style private-property
concept was forced on the Tribe. Traditional chiefs were
replaced by Tribal Councils, a model of government largely
imposed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Contemporary
Era
The era of World War II accelerated these changes. Many
Indians participated in the War and had their first extensive
contacts with the world outside the reservation and its
environs. Soon after the War, a major language shift occurred,
as parents began raising their children speaking only English,
believing that this would help them succeed in that larger
world. Government policy began increasingly to emphasize
assimilation and "termination" of tribal entities.
Television came to the Reservation, bringing the English-based
world into homes in new and seductive ways. This was a
critical moment in the history of the Northern Arapaho.
Beginning in the 1960's, and accelerating in the 1970's,
many tribes, including the Northern Arapaho, reacted against
the rapid pace of change which occurred following World
War II. Efforts at preserving and reviving native language,
arts, rituals and culture grew and intensified, culminating
on the Reservation in the establishment of Arapaho-controlled
school systems where Arapaho language and culture courses
were a central part of the curriculum. The Tribal College
movement began throughout the nation, but was centered
in the western US, and the Wind River Tribal College began
offering classes in 1999. Tribal Resource Centers were
established, along with Language and Culture Commissions,
and major efforts have been launched to collect and preserve
oral histories, traditional narratives and indigenous music.
The Pow-wow circuit has grown in influence and popularity,
and several of these events are held annually on the reservation,
in addition to the so-called "Sun Dance."
Coinciding with this cultural resistance and revival was
a shift in government policy away from goals of "termination" towards
a recognition of the value of tribal organization and indigenous
language and culture.Politically, the Northern Arapaho
Tribe has moved to take increasing control over its housing,
welfare and medical programs, as well as resource exploitation
on the reservation. The growing political visibility and
activity of the Tribe has included recent efforts to establish
scholarships for Arapaho students at Colorado colleges
and universities, and a major push to establish the Sand
Creek National Historic Park to commemorate the events
of 1864.
Ironically, in light of the major social and political
advances made by the Northern Arapaho and other tribes
in the face of continuing indifference or hostility from
many quarters (despite official rhetoric to the contrary),
Northern Arapaho and many other Native American cultures
face another crucial moment at the turn of the 21st century.
While much of the revival of the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's
has been successful in elevating pan-Indian cultural pride
and awareness, the particular traditional tribal cultures
and languages are more threatened than ever. For the most
part, previous efforts at language preservation have produced
extensive documentation, but have not led to a growth in
younger fluent or even semi-fluent speakers. More and more
often, ceremonies such as the Sun Dance are conducted in
English, and traditional aspects of this and other rituals
are lost or ignored. The traditional oral storytelling
traditions are slowly fading away, with their rich historical
and cultural heritage. The Arapaho have begun a pre-school
language immersion program to try and counter these developments,
but face many obstacles due to the relatively small number
of traditional elders and native speakers remaining, and
the high costs of immersion programs and teacher training
on a reservation where unemployment remains high, economic
opportunities are limited, and budgets are tight.