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Mandan

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   Mandan
   A Mandan man in a buffalo robe overlooking the Missouri River.
   Photograph by Edward S. Curtis, circa 1908. Courtesy of the Library of
   Congress.
   Total population Full-blooded^*:

    1971:       1  1838:    ≈125  1836:  ≈1,600
   Descendants: Approximately several thousands of mixed ancestry.
   Regions with significant populations Descendants:

   Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota, USA
   Language Mandan, Hidatsa, English
   Religion Mandan
   Related ethnic groups Hidatsa, Arikara

   The Mandan are a Native American tribe that historically lived along
   the banks of the Missouri River and its tributaries, the Heart and
   Knife Rivers in present-day North and South Dakota. Unlike many
   neighboring tribes in the Great Plains region, the Mandan practiced
   agriculture and established permanent villages. These villages were
   composed of round earthen lodges surrounding a central plaza. In
   addition to farming, the Mandan gathered wild plants and berries and
   hunted buffalo. In contrast to the other tribes in the region, which
   led a nomadic existence following herds of buffalo, the Mandan
   developed a religious ceremony known as the Okipa, with the dual
   purpose of attracting buffalo and renewing the world for another year.

   Archaeological research suggests the Mandan people migrated from the
   Ohio River valley to the banks of the Missouri River. They were first
   encountered by Europeans along the Missouri in 1738. The Mandan's
   friendliness and willingness to trade brought many traders and fur
   trappers to their villages over the next century. By the turn of the
   19th century, because of attacks by neighboring tribes and epidemics of
   smallpox and whooping cough, the numbers of the Mandan had diminished
   dramatically. Beginning in 1837, a major smallpox outbreak reduced the
   number of Mandan to approximately 125. With such meager numbers, the
   Mandan banded together with two neighboring tribes, the Arikara and
   Hidatsa.

   In an effort to establish good relations, the U.S. government founded
   the Fort Berthold Agency to care for the combined tribes. The Agency
   soon set up the Fort Berthold Reservation. With the 1934 Indian
   Reorganization Act, the Mandan officially merged with the Hidatsa and
   the Arikara into the " Three Affiliated Tribes," known as the Mandan,
   Hidatsa and Arikara Nation. About half of the Mandan still reside in
   the area of the reservation, the rest residing around the United States
   and in Canada.

Synonymy

   The English name Mandan is derived from similar exonyms from
   surrounding Siouan languages, such as Teton Miwátąni, Yanktonai
   Miwátani, Yankton Mawátani or Mąwátanį, Dakota Mawátąna or Mawátadą,
   etc. The Mandan have used several terms at different times to refer to
   themselves:
     * Rųwą́ʔka·ki "men, people": before 1837 (transcribed by Westerners
       as Numakaki, Numangkake)
     * Wį́ʔti Ų́tahąkt "East Village" (after the village of the same
       name): late 19th century (transcribed by Westerners as Metutahanke
       or Mitutahankish)
     * Rų́ʔeta "ourselves, our people" (originally the name of a specific
       division): the currently-used term

   The Mandan probably used Rųwą́ʔka·ki to refer to a general tribal
   entity. Later, this word fell to disuse and instead two divisions names
   were used, Nuweta or Ruptare (i.e. Mandan Rų́ʔeta). Later the term,
   Rų́ʔeta was extended to refer to a general tribal entity. The name
   Mi-ah´ta-nēs recorded by Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden in 1862 reportedly
   means "people on the river bank", but this is may be a folk etymology.
   Various other terms and alternate spellings that occur in the
   literature including: Mayátana, Mayátani, Mąwádanį, Mąwádąδį, Huatanis,
   Mandani, Wahtani, Mantannes, Mantons, Mendanne, Mandanne, Mandians,
   Maw-dân, Meandans, les Mandals, Me-too´-ta-häk, Numakshi, Rųwą́ʔkši,
   Wíhwatann, Mevatan, Mevataneo. Gloria Jahoda in her book Trail of Tears
   states that they also call themselves the "Pheasant people."

Language

   The Mandan language belongs to the Siouan language family. It was
   initially thought to be closely related to the languages of the Hidatsa
   and the Crow. However, since the Mandan language has been in contact
   with Hidatsa and Crow for many years, the exact relationship between
   Mandan and other Siouan languages (including Hidatsa and Crow) has been
   obscured and is currently undetermined. For this reason, Mandan is most
   often considered to be a separate branch of the Siouan family.

   Mandan has two main dialects: Nuptare and Nuetare. Only the Nuptare
   variety survived into the 20th century, and all speakers were bilingual
   in Hidatsa. Linguist Mauricio Mixco of the University of Utah has been
   involved in fieldwork with remaining speakers since 1993. As of 1999,
   there were only six fluent speakers of Mandan still alive, though there
   are currently programs in local schools to encourage the use of the
   language.

   The Mandan and their language received much attention from
   Euro-Americans because of their lighter skin colour, which some
   speculated was due to an ultimate European origin. In the 1830s, Prince
   Maximilian of Wied spent more time recording Mandan over all other
   Siouan languages and additionally prepared a comparison list of Mandan
   and Welsh words (he thought that the Mandan may be displaced Welsh).
   The theory of the Mandan/Welsh connection, now discounted, was also
   supported by George Catlin.

   Mandan has different grammatical forms that depend on gender of the
   addressee. Questions asked of men must use the suffix -oʔša while the
   suffix -oʔrą is used when asking of women. Likewise the indicative
   suffix is -oʔs when addressing men and -oʔre when addressing women, and
   also for imperatives: -ta (male), -rą (female). Mandan, like many other
   North American languages, has elements of sound symbolism in their
   vocabulary. A /s/ sound often denotes smallness/less intensity, /ʃ/
   denotes medium-ness, /x/ denotes largeness/greater intensity:
     * síre "yellow"
     * šíre "tawny"
     * xíre "brown"

     * sró "tinkle"
     * xró "rattle"

Culture

Lodges and villages

   Mandan lodge, circa 1908. Photographed by Edward S. Curtis.
   Enlarge
   Mandan lodge, circa 1908. Photographed by Edward S. Curtis.

   One of the most recognizable features of the Mandan was their permanent
   villages made up of earthen lodges. Each lodge was circular with a
   dome-like roof and a square hole at the apex of the dome through which
   smoke could escape. The exterior was covered with a matting made from
   reeds and twigs and then covered with hay and earth. The lodge also
   featured a portico-type structure at the entrance. The interior had
   four large pillars upon which crossbeams supported the roof. These
   lodges were designed, built and owned by the women of the tribe, and
   ownership was passed through the female line. Lodges could hold up to
   30 or 40 people and villages usually had around 120 lodges.
   Reconstructions of these lodges may be seen at Fort Abraham Lincoln
   State Park near Mandan, North Dakota, and the Knife River Indian
   Villages National Historic Site. Originally lodges were rectangular,
   but around 1500 CE, lodges began to be constructed in a circular form.
   Towards the end of the 19th century, the Mandan began constructing
   small log cabins, usually with two rooms. When traveling or hunting,
   the Mandan would use skin tipis. Today, Mandan live in modern
   dwellings.

   Villages were usually oriented around a central plaza that was used for
   games and ceremonial purposes. In the centre of the plaza was a tree
   surrounded by a wood enclosure representing the Lone Man, one of the
   main figures in Mandan mythology, who built a wooden wall thus saving
   the people of the world from a deluge. Villages were often situated on
   high bluffs over the river. Often, villages would be constructed at the
   meeting of tributaries in order to use the water as a natural barrier.
   Where there were few or no natural barriers, the villages utilized some
   type of fortification including ditches and palisades.
   Interior of a Mandan lodge by George Catlin showing the four pillars
   supporting the roof and the smoke hole.
   Enlarge
   Interior of a Mandan lodge by George Catlin showing the four pillars
   supporting the roof and the smoke hole.

   Some speculate that the lodging, religion, and occasional blue eyes
   among the Mandan were remnants of Viking explorers, who left the
   Kensington Runestone as evidence of contact with the plains Indians.

Family life

   The Mandan were originally divided into thirteen clans organized around
   successful hunters and their kin. Each clan was expected to care for
   its own, including orphans and the elderly, from birth to death. Clans
   held a sacred bundle, which consisted of a few gathered objects
   believed to hold sacred powers. Those in possession of the bundles were
   considered to have sacred powers bestowed to them by the spirits and
   thus were considered the leaders of the clan and tribe.

   Children were named ten days after their birth in a naming ceremony,
   which also officially linked the child with their family and clan.
   Girls would be taught domestic duties, farming, and how to keep a home,
   while boys were taught hunting and fishing, and would begin fasting at
   the age of ten or eleven. Marriage among the Mandan was generally
   arranged by members of one's own clan, though occasionally it would
   take place without the approval of the couple's parents. Divorce could
   be easily obtained.
   Snow scene of a modern reconstruction of a Mandan lodge at the Knife
   River Indian Villages National Historic Site, North Dakota.
   Enlarge
   Snow scene of a modern reconstruction of a Mandan lodge at the Knife
   River Indian Villages National Historic Site, North Dakota.

   Upon the death of a family member, a scaffold would be erected near the
   village to contain the body. The body would be placed with the head
   towards the northwest and feet to the southeast. (Southeast is the
   direction of the Ohio River Valley, from whence the Mandan came. The
   Mandan would not sleep in this orientation, because it invited death.)
   After a ceremony to send the spirit away, the family would mourn at the
   scaffold for four days. After the body rotted and the scaffold
   collapsed, the bones would be gathered up and buried except for the
   skull, which was placed in a circle near the village. Family members
   would visit the skulls and talk to them, sometimes bearing their
   problems or regaling the dead with jokes. After the Mandan moved onto
   the Fort Berthold Reservation, they resorted to placing the bodies in
   boxes or trunks or wrapped them in fur robes and placed them in rocky
   crevices.

Subsistence

   A Mandan hunter with his sacred buffalo skull, circa 1909. Photograph
   by Edward S. Curtis.
   Enlarge
   A Mandan hunter with his sacred buffalo skull, circa 1909. Photograph
   by Edward S. Curtis.

   The Mandan survived by hunting, farming and gathering wild plants,
   though some food came from trade. Mandan gardens were often located
   near river banks, where annual flooding would leave the most fertile
   soil, sometimes in locations miles from villages. The gardens were
   owned and tended by the women, and they would plant corn, beans and
   squash, usually enough to last a single year.

   The buffalo which the Mandan hunted played an important part in Mandan
   rituals; calling the buffalo near to the village being one of the main
   objectives of the Okipa ceremony at the beginning of each summer. In
   addition to eating the flesh, the Mandan used all remaining parts of
   the buffalo, so nothing went to waste. The hides were used for
   buffalo-fur robes or were tanned, and the leather used for clothing and
   other uses. The Mandan were known for their painted buffalo hides that
   often recorded historic events. The bones would be carved into items
   such as needles and fish hooks. Bones were also used in farming, such
   as the scapula, which was used as a hoe-like device for breaking the
   soil. Besides buffalo, the Mandan trapped small mammals for food and
   hunted deer. Deer antlers were used to create rake-like implements used
   in farming. Birds were hunted for feathers, which were used for
   adornment.

Dress

   Mandan girls gathering berries, circa 1908. Photographed by Edward S.
   Curtis.
   Enlarge
   Mandan girls gathering berries, circa 1908. Photographed by Edward S.
   Curtis.

   Up until the late 19^th century when they began adopting Western-style
   dress, the Mandan commonly wore clothing made from the hides of buffalo
   as well as deer and sheep. From the hides, tunics, dresses, buffalo-fur
   robes, moccasins, gloves, loincloths and leggings could be made. These
   items were often ornamented with quills and bird feathers and sometimes
   even the scalps of enemies.

   Mandan women wore ankle-length dresses made of deerskin or sheepskin.
   This would often be girded at the waist with a wide belt. Sometimes the
   hem of the dress would be ornamented with pieces of buffalo hoof.
   Underneath the dress, leather leggings would be worn with ankle-high
   moccasins. Women's hair was worn straight down in braids.
   A pair of Mandan men in a print by Karl Bodmer. Note the buffalo-fur
   robes, moccasins, and the treatment of the hair.
   Enlarge
   A pair of Mandan men in a print by Karl Bodmer. Note the buffalo-fur
   robes, moccasins, and the treatment of the hair.

   During the winter months, men would commonly wear deerskin tunics and
   leggings with moccasins. They also kept themselves warm by wearing a
   robe of buffalo fur. During the summer months, however, a loincloth of
   deerskin or sheepskin would often suffice. Unlike the women, men would
   wear various ornaments in their hair. The hair was parted across the
   top with three sections hanging down in front. Sometimes the hair would
   hang down the nose and would be curled upwards with a curling stick.
   The hair would hang to the shoulders on the side, and the back portion
   would sometimes reach to the waist. The long hair in the back would
   create a tail-like feature, as it would be gathered into braids then
   smeared with clay and spruce gum then tied with cords of deerskin.
   Headdresses of feathers were often worn as well.
   Crow's Heart, a Mandan, circa 1908. He is wearing a traditional
   deerskin tunic. Photographed by Edward S. Curtis.
   Enlarge
   Crow's Heart, a Mandan, circa 1908. He is wearing a traditional
   deerskin tunic. Photographed by Edward S. Curtis.

Religion

   Of the tribes living on the Great Plains, the Mandan's religion was one
   of the more complex. Much of their mythology centered on a figure known
   as Lone Man. Lone Man was involved in many of the creation myths as
   well as one of the deluge myths. In their creation myth, the world was
   created by two rival deities, the First Creator and the Lone Man. The
   Missouri River divided the two worlds that the beings created. First
   Creator created the lands to the south of the river with hills,
   valleys, trees, buffalo, antelope and snakes. To the north of the
   river, Lone Man created the Great Plains, domesticated animals, birds,
   fish and humans. The first humans lived underground near a large lake.
   Some of the more adventurous humans climbed a grapevine to the surface
   and discovered the two worlds. After returning underground they shared
   their findings and decided to return with many others. As they were
   climbing the grapevine it broke and half of the Mandan were left
   underground.

   According to pre-Christian Mandan beliefs, each person possessed four
   different, immortal souls. The first soul was white and often seen as a
   shooting star. The second soul was colored a light brown and was seen
   in the form of the meadowlark. The third soul, called the lodge spirit,
   remained at the site of the lodge after death and would remain there
   forever. The final soul was black and after death would travel away
   from the village. These final souls existed as did living people;
   residing in their own villages, farming and hunting.
   The okipa ceremony as witnessed by George Catlin, circa 1835.
   Enlarge
   The okipa ceremony as witnessed by George Catlin, circa 1835.

   One notable feature of the Mandan’s religious life was the Okipa, which
   was first recorded by George Catlin. The ceremony opened with a Bison
   Dance followed by a variety of torturous ordeals through which warriors
   proved their courage and gained the approval of the spirits. The Okipa
   began with the warriors sitting with smiling faces while the skin of
   their chest was pierced with sticks. Using the sticks to support the
   weight of their bodies, the warriors would be suspended from the roof
   of the lodge and would hang there until they fainted. After fainting,
   the warrior would be pulled down and the men (women were not allowed to
   attend this ceremony) would watch the warrior until he awoke, proving
   the spirits' approval. After awakening, the warrior would sacrifice the
   little finger on both hands, each finger being severed by a medicine
   man with a knife. Finally, the warrior would be taken outside where he
   would run around the central plaza of the village a number of times.
   Those finishing the ceremony were seen as being honored by the spirits;
   those completing the ceremony twice would gain everlasting fame among
   the tribe. Chief Four Bears, or Ma-to-toh-pe, completed this ceremony
   twice. The last Okipa ceremony was performed in 1889 but the ceremony
   was resurrected in a somewhat different form in 1983. The version of
   the Okipa as practiced by the Lakota may be seen in the 1970 film A Man
   Called Horse starring Richard Harris.
   Print of the Mandan Bison Dance as observed by Karl Bodmer.
   Enlarge
   Print of the Mandan Bison Dance as observed by Karl Bodmer.

History

Origins and early history

   Like all Native American peoples, the exact origins and early history
   of the Mandan is unknown. Early studies by linguists gave evidence that
   the Mandan language may have been closely related to the language of
   the Ho-Chunk or Winnebago people of present-day Wisconsin, which has
   given rise to the theory that they may have settled in the region at
   one time. This idea is possibly confirmed in their mythology, where
   reference is made to having come from an eastern location near a lake.

   Ethnologists and scholars studying the Mandan subscribe to the theory
   that, like other Sioux people (possibly including the Hidatsa), they
   originated in the area of the upper Mississippi River and the Ohio
   River in present-day Ohio. If this is the case, the Mandan would have
   migrated north towards the Missouri River valley and its tributary the
   Heart River in present-day North Dakota, where Europeans first
   encountered them. This migration is believed to have occurred possibly
   as early as the 7th century but probably between 1000 CE and the 13th
   century.

   After their arrival on the banks of the Heart River, the Mandan
   constructed nine villages, two on the east side of the river and seven
   on the west side. At some point during this time, the Hidatsa people
   also moved into the region. Mandan tradition states that the Hidatsa
   were a nomadic tribe until their encounter with the Mandan, who taught
   them to build stationary villages and agriculture. The Hidatsa
   continued to maintain amicable relations with the Mandan and
   constructed villages north of them on the Knife River.

European encounter

   Painting of a Mandan village by George Catlin. Circa 1833.
   Enlarge
   Painting of a Mandan village by George Catlin. Circa 1833.

   The first encounter with Europeans occurred with the visit of the
   French Canadian trader Sieur de la Verendrye in 1738. It is estimated
   that at the time of his visit there were approximately 15,000 Mandan
   residing in the nine villages on the Heart River. Horses were acquired
   by the Mandan in the mid-18th century and were used for transportation
   and hunting. The horses helped with the expansion of Mandan hunting
   territory. The encounter with the French in the 18th century created a
   trading link between the French and the Native Americans of the region
   with the Mandan serving as middlemen in the of trade in furs, horses,
   guns, crops and buffalo products.

   In 1796 the Mandan were visited by the Welsh explorer John Evans, who
   was hoping to find proof that their language contained Welsh words.
   Evans spent the winter of 1796-7 with the Mandan, but found no evidence
   of any Welsh influence.

   By 1804 when Lewis and Clark visited the tribe, the number of Mandan
   had been greatly reduced due to smallpox epidemics and warring bands of
   Assiniboins, Lakotas and Arikaras (whom they would later join together
   with to fight against the Lakota). The nine villages at this point had
   consolidated into two villages. The Lewis and Clark expedition met with
   such hospitality in the Upper Missouri River villages that the
   expedition stopped there for the winter. In honour of their hosts, the
   expedition dubbed the settlement they constructed Fort Mandan. It was
   here that Lewis and Clark first met Sakakawea, a Shoshone woman who had
   been captured by the Hidatsa. Sakakawea guided the expedition westward
   towards the Pacific Ocean. Upon their return to the Mandan villages,
   Lewis and Clark took the Mandan Chief Sheheke (Coyote or Big White) to
   Washington to meet with President Thomas Jefferson. Chief Sheheke died
   in Washington, D.C. in 1806.

   In 1833, artist George Catlin visited the Mandan. Catlin painted and
   drew scenes of Mandan life as well as portraits of chiefs including
   Four Bears or Ma-to-toh-pe. His skill at rendering so impressed Four
   Bears that Catlin was the first man of European descent to be allowed
   to watch the Okipa ceremony. Catlin believed the Mandan were the "Welsh
   Indians" of folklore, the descendants Prince Madoc and his followers
   who had emigrated to America from Wales circa 1170, a view that was
   then popular but is not accepted by the bulk of scholarship today. The
   winter months of 1833 and 1834 brought Prince Maximilian of
   Wied-Neuwied and Swiss artist Karl Bodmer to stay with the Mandan.

Smallpox epidemic of 1837–38

   Mandan Chief Ma-to-toh-pe or Four Bears, by George Catlin
   Enlarge
   Mandan Chief Ma-to-toh-pe or Four Bears, by George Catlin

   The Mandan were first plagued by smallpox in the 16th century and had
   been hit by similar epidemics every few decades. Between 1837 and 1838,
   another smallpox epidemic swept the region. In June 1837, an American
   Fur Company steamboat traveled westward up the Missouri River from St.
   Louis. Its passengers and traders aboard infected the Mandan, Hidatsa
   and Arikara tribes. There were approximately 1,600 Mandan living in the
   two villages at that time. The disease effectively destroyed the Mandan
   settlements. Almost all the tribal members, including the chief, Four
   Bears, died. Estimates of the number of survivors vary from only 27
   individuals to up to 150, though most sources usually give the number
   125. The survivors banded together with the nearby Hidatsa in 1845 and
   created Like-a-Fishhook Village.

Late 19th and the 20th centuries

   Dance lodge from the Elbowoods area on the Fort Berthold Reservation.
   This is a wooden version of the classic Mandan lodge built in 1923.
   This area was flooded in 1951. From the Historic American Engineering
   Record collection, Library of Congress.
   Enlarge
   Dance lodge from the Elbowoods area on the Fort Berthold Reservation.
   This is a wooden version of the classic Mandan lodge built in 1923.
   This area was flooded in 1951. From the Historic American Engineering
   Record collection, Library of Congress.

   The Mandan joined with the Arikara in 1862. By this time,
   Like-a-Fishhook Village had become a major centre of trade in the
   region. By the 1880s, though, the village was abandoned. With the
   second half of the 19th century there was a gradual decrease in the
   holdings of the Three Affiliated Tribes (the Mandan, Hidatsa and
   Arikara). The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 recognized 12 million acres
   (49,000 km²) of land in the territory owned jointly by these tribes.
   With the creation of the Fort Berthold Reservation by Executive Order
   on 12 April 1870, the federal government recognized the holdings as
   only being 8 million acres (32,000 km²). On 1 July 1880, another
   executive order deprived the tribes of 7 million acres (28,000 km²)
   lying outside the boundaries of the reservation.

   With the arrival of the 20th century, the government seized more land,
   and by 1910, the reservation had shrunk to a mere 900,000 acres (3,600
   km²). This land is located in Dunn, McKenzie, McLean, Mercer, Mountrail
   and Ward counties in North Dakota. In 1951, the U.S. Army Corps of
   Engineers began construction of Garrison Dam on the Missouri River.
   This dam created Lake Sakakawea, which flooded portions of the Fort
   Berthold Reservation including the villages of Fort Berthold and
   Elbowoods as well as a number of other villages. The former residents
   of these villages were moved and New Town was established for them.

   While a new town was constructed for the displaced tribal members, much
   damage was done to the social and economic foundations of the
   reservation. The flooding claimed approximately one quarter of the
   reservations land. This land contained some of the most fertile
   agricultural land upon which the agricultural economy had been
   constructed. In addition, the flooding claimed the sites of historic
   villages and archaeological sites.

Present day

   The Mandan and the two related tribes while being combined have
   intermarried but do maintain, as a whole, the varied traditions of
   their ancestors. The last full-blood Mandan died in 1971. The tribal
   residents have recovered from the trauma of their displacement in the
   1950s and part of their recovery has been aided by two recent additions
   to New Town. The Four Bears Casino and Lodge was constructed in 1993
   drawing tourists and money to the impoverished reservation. The most
   recent addition to the New Town area has been the new Four Bears
   Bridge, which was built in a joint effort between the three tribes and
   the North Dakota Department of Transportation. The bridge, spanning the
   Missouri River, replaces an older Four Bears Bridge that was built in
   1955. The new bridge—the largest bridge in the state of North Dakota—is
   decorated with medallions celebrating the cultures of the three tribes.
   The bridge was opened to traffic 2 September 2005 and was officially
   opened in a ceremony on the 3 October.

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