Arapaho Indians
Arapaho Indians Index
Tribal Origin: Algonquian Family
Native Name: Iñunaina, means ‘our people’
Home Territories: Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming, and Nebraska
Language: Arapaho Language
There are three major divisions in the Arapaho tribe: the Atsina, who were allied with the Blackfoot and who now live in Montana; the Southern Arapaho, now living with the Cheyenne in Oklahoma; and the Northern Arapaho living today on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming.
The Northern Arapaho not only retain all of the sacred tribal stone articles but are also considered by tribal members to represent the parent group.
The Northern Arapaho migrated out of Minnesota onto the Plains in the 1600s.
Occupying Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming, the Arapaho were seasoned hunters, following buffalo, elk, and deer as their primary food sources.
Highly skilled with the bow and arrow, they used every part of the animal they killed for food, clothing, and to create their homes and tools.
To keep up with the herds, the Arapaho lived in teepees made of long poles and buffalo hides and used sleds, known as travois, to move their homes and belongings quickly.
They were constantly at war with other Indian tribes.
The Arapaho believed in a powerful spirit world. Many actions and objects had symbolic meaning for them, and they performed various rituals and religious ceremonies, most notably the sun dance.
With westward expansion came conflict with white settlers. When white settlers tried to take their land, the Arapaho attempted to fight them off, but in the 1860s the Arapaho entered into treaties with the U.S. government.
These agreements were not always kept and the tribe lost their land.
The Arapaho, along with the Cheyenne, were victims of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864, in which U.S. troops murdered approximately 150 men, women, and children as they attempted to surrender.
The Arapaho and Cheyenne, allied with the Sioux, fought General Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876.
In 1878, the Northern Arapaho joined the Eastern Shoshone in the Wind River Valley. The enemy tribes agreed to this arrangement because the government assured them the Arapaho would be moved soon.
Fifty years later, the Arapaho were still there. The Shoshone and Arapaho made their peace and the government compensated the Shoshone for the loss of land.
Fort Washakie was the only military outpost established to protect, rather than fight, the Indians. The post operated until 1909 and many of the original buildings are still intact.
Ranching is the economic mainstay of the Wind River Reservation, where the Arapaho raise cattle. The Shoshone own a construction company and the tribes jointly own a bingo operation. Tourism also provides a small number of jobs for tribal members.
Despite the existence of these businesses, unemployment and poverty are both high on the reservation, with more than one in five Wind River residents living in poverty.
The Shoshone and Arapaho currently share the Wind River Reservation, the third largest reservation in the U.S., with more than 2.2 million acres in Wyoming’s Wind River Valley.
There are about 5,000 modern day Arapaho, most of whom live in Wyoming and Oklahoma.
Modern Day Arapaho Tribes
Arapahoe Tribe of the Wind River Reservation (Wyoming) (F)
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes (Oklahoma) (F)
Arapaho Language
Arapaho Treaties
Arapaho Legends
Hichaba Nihancan (also spelled Hixcéébe Nixóó3o, Chebbeniathan, and other ways, meaning Spider Above or Spider of Heaven) is the Arapaho name for the Creator God, as distinguished from the earthly Nihancan (see below.)
Sometimes the name is translated in English as Man Above, since the literal form of a spider is not ascribed to Hichaba Nihancan. Some people believe that Nihancan and Hichaba Nihancan were originally the same mythological entity, and split into two figures after trickster legends were borrowed from the Crow and Sioux.
Characters of Arapaho Legends
Nihancan (also spelled Niatha, Nih’oo3oo, and several other ways. Pronounced Nih-aw-thaw, but speakers of some Arapaho dialects pronounced the “th” sound as an “s”) – A spider trickster.
He is called “White Man” in many older translations, but this is a misleading because the Arapahos named white people after the trickster character, not the other way around. He is also sometimes referred to as Crazy Man, Trickster, or Fool.
In some tales Spider plays the typical trickster/transformer role common to Algonquian tribes, making more or less benign mischief and shaping the world for the Arapahos as he goes. But in other tales, Nihancan is depicted as a more violent, anti-social trickster type similar to Siouan spider spirits like Iktomi.
By-The-Door and Spring-Boy – Mythical twins whose mother was killed by a monster are common to the folklore of many Midwestern and Plains tribes. They are generally portrayed as heroic monster-slayers in Arapaho legends.
Found-In-The-Grass – A rags-to-riches hero of Arapaho folklore. In some variants of the myth he is an orphan, while in others, he is an older version of the magical twin Spring-Boy.
Hecesiiteihii or Hantceciitehi (heh-chass-ee-tay-hee)- The Little People of the Arapahos (also known as Cannibal Dwarves) are dangerous man-eaters and particular enemies of the Arapaho tribe.
Sometimes their name is given as Nimerigar in anthropology texts but Arapaho volunteers do not recognize this name.
Hiincebiit or Hiintcabiit (heen-chabb-eet ) – A great horned water serpent. Although they are powerful and dangerous, in Arapaho legends, horned serpents often do not harm people who pay them the proper respect, and sometimes even reward people who give them offerings with good luck in hunting or war.
Splinter Foot Girl (or Foot-Stuck-Child) An Arapaho heroine with magical powers, born from the swollen leg of a male hunter. She and her family of hunters turned into stars, usually the stars of the Pleiades.
Thunderbird (Boh’ooo, Baha, or Boh’ooonii’eihii, pronounced ba-h-aw) – A huge bird of prey, common to the mythology of most Plains Indian tribes,who is responsible for creating thunderstorms. To the Arapahos, Thunderbird is a symbol of summer and was diametrically opposed to White Owl, who represents winter. The sound of Thunderbird’s flapping wings make the sound of thunder, and lightening comes from the blink of its eyes. Thunderbird also owns the rainbows.
Whirlwind Woman – A powerful storm spirit of Arapaho mythology.
White Owl – Represents winter.
Modern Day Arapaho Tribes
Arapahoe Tribe of the Wind River Reservation (Wyoming) (F)
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes (Oklahoma) (F)
Famous Arapaho
Arapaho Language
Arapaho Treaties