Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana

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Who is the Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana?

This federally recognized tribe is made up of members from two tribes: the Assiniboine and the Gros Ventre.

Official Tribal Name: Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana

Address:  656 Agency Main St, Harlem, MT 59526
Phone:  406-353-2205
Fax:  406-353-4541
Email: Directory

Official Website:  www.ftbelknap.org 

Recognition Status: Federally Recognized

Traditional Name / Traditional Meaning:

The Gros Ventre tribe originally split off from the Arapaho tribe. Their name for themselves is A’aninin, meaning “white clay people.” 

Common Name:  Gros Ventre and Assiniboine 

Meaning of Common Name:

Gros Ventre was the name given to this tribe by the French, and means “big belly.” See this detailed explanation of Sioux Names.

Alternate names / Alternate spellings / Mispellings:

The Gros Ventre are also known as the Atsina.

Name in other languages:

Region:  Great Plains

State(s) Today:  Montana

Traditional Territory:

Confederacy:  Sioux Nation

Treaties:

Reservation: Fort Belknap Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land
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Time Zone:  Mountain

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Government:

Buy an Assiniboine t-shirt

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Origins:

Bands, Gens, and Clans

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Modern Day Events & Tourism:

Annual Indian celebrations such as the Milk River Indian Days, Hays Powwow, and Chief Joseph Memorial Days feature traditional dancing and various cultural activities. 

Legends / Oral Stories:

Create your own reality
Lakota Star Knoledge
Legend of the Talking Feather
The End of the World according to Lakota legend
The Legend of Devil’s Tower
The White Buffalo Woman
Tunkasila, Grandfather Rock
Unktomi and the arrowheads

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Religion & Spiritual Beliefs:
The Sioux Drum

Burial Customs:

Wedding Customs

Education and Media:

Tribal College:  Aaniiih Nakoda College
Radio:  
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Assinaboine and Gros Ventre People of Note:

James Welch (1940 – August 4, 2003) was an award-winning A’aninin (Gros Ventre) author and poet.

Bein Es Kanach (Red Whip) was a famous A’aninin  (Gros Ventre) chief.

Theresa Lamebull (1896 – August 2007) At 111 years of age, she is believed to have been be the oldest living member of the Gros Ventre Tribe of Montana and possibly the oldest Native American ever recorded.

George Horse-Capture (1937 – 2013) was a Gros Ventre anthropologist and author, who became a curator at the Plains Indian Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian.

Arthur Amiotte, (Oglala Lakota)-Painter, Sculptor, Author, Historian

Musicians:

Bryan Akipa, flutist (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate)

Catastrophic Events:

Tribe History:

Assiniboine and Gros Ventre Tribes and Fort Belknap Reservation Timeline
Descendants Remember Battle of Little Big Horn

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