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The Arapaho (in French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
: Arapahos, Gens de Vache) are a tribe of Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
 historically living on the eastern plains
Great Plains

The Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie and steppe which lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada....
 of Colorado
Colorado

The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
 and Wyoming
Wyoming

The State of Wyoming is a sparsely populated U.S. state in the Northwestern United States of the United States. The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains, while the easternmost section of the state is a high altitude prairie region known as the High Plains ....
. They were close allies of the Cheyenne
Cheyenne

Cheyenne are a native Americans in the United States nation of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united Indian tribe, the S?'taa'e and the Ts?-ts?h?st?hese , which translates to "those like us"....
 tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux
Sioux

Sioux are a Native Americans in the United States and First Nations people. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many dialects....
. Arapaho
Arapaho language

The Arapaho language or "hinono'eitiit" is a Plains Algonquian languages spoken almost entirely by elders in Wyoming, and to a much lesser extent in Oklahoma....
 is an Algonquian language closely related to Gros Ventre, who are seen as an early offshoot of the Arapaho. Blackfoot
Blackfoot

The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niits?tapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native Americans in the United States Tribal sovereignty in Montana....
 and Cheyenne are the other Algonquian languages on the Plains, but are quite different from Arapaho.






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The Arapaho (in French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
: Arapahos, Gens de Vache) are a tribe of Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
 historically living on the eastern plains
Great Plains

The Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie and steppe which lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada....
 of Colorado
Colorado

The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
 and Wyoming
Wyoming

The State of Wyoming is a sparsely populated U.S. state in the Northwestern United States of the United States. The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains, while the easternmost section of the state is a high altitude prairie region known as the High Plains ....
. They were close allies of the Cheyenne
Cheyenne

Cheyenne are a native Americans in the United States nation of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united Indian tribe, the S?'taa'e and the Ts?-ts?h?st?hese , which translates to "those like us"....
 tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux
Sioux

Sioux are a Native Americans in the United States and First Nations people. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many dialects....
. Arapaho
Arapaho language

The Arapaho language or "hinono'eitiit" is a Plains Algonquian languages spoken almost entirely by elders in Wyoming, and to a much lesser extent in Oklahoma....
 is an Algonquian language closely related to Gros Ventre, who are seen as an early offshoot of the Arapaho. Blackfoot
Blackfoot

The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niits?tapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native Americans in the United States Tribal sovereignty in Montana....
 and Cheyenne are the other Algonquian languages on the Plains, but are quite different from Arapaho. By the 1850s, Arapaho bands separated into two tribes: the Northern Arapaho and Southern Arapaho. The Northern Arapaho Nation has lived since 1878, with the Eastern Shoshone
Shoshone

The Shoshone are a Native Americans in the United States in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
 on the Wind River Reservation, the seventh largest reservation in the United States. The Southern Arapaho Tribe lives with the Southern Cheyenne in Oklahoma and enrolled as a federally recognized tribe, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes

The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, Federally recognized tribes tribe, comprising the Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne in Oklahoma....
.
Scabby Bull, Arapaho 1806

Early history and culture

There is no direct historical or archaeological evidence to suggest how and when Arapaho bands entered the Great Plains
Great Plains

The Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie and steppe which lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada....
. The Arapaho Indian tribe most likely lived in Minnesota
Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents....
 and North Dakota
North Dakota

North Dakota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States and Western United States regions of the United States of America. North Dakota is the 19th largest state by area in the US; it is the 48th most populous, with just over 640,000 residents as of 2006....
 before entering the Plains. Before European expansion into the area, the Arapahos were living in South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, and Kansas. They lived in teepees which the women made from bison
American Bison

The American Bison is a bovinae mammal, also commonly known as the American buffalo. "Buffalo" is somewhat of a misnomer for this animal, as it is only distantly related to either of the two "true buffaloes", the Wild Asian Water Buffalo and the African buffalo....
 hide. Before they were sent to reservations, they migrated often chasing herds, so they had to design their teepees so that they could be transported easily. It is said that a whole village could pack up their homes and belongings and be ready to leave in only an hour. In winter the tribe split up into small camps sheltered in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in present-day Colorado. In late spring they moved out onto the Plains into large camps to hunt buffalo gathering for the birthing season. In mid-summer Arapahos traveled into the Parks region of Colorado to hunt mountain herds, returning onto the Plains in late summer to autumn for ceremonies and for collective hunts of herds gathering for the rutting season.

They originally used dogs to pull travois
Travois

A travois is a frame used by Indigenous peoples of the Americas, notably the Plains Indians of North America, to drag loads over land. The basic construction consists of a platform or netting mounted on two long poles, lashing in the shape of an elongated isosceles triangle; the frame was dragged with the sharply pointed end forward....
 with their belongings on them. When the Europeans came to North America, the Arapaho saw the Europeans' horses and realized that they could travel quicker and further with horses instead of dogs. They raided other Indian tribes, primarily the Pawnee
Pawnee

The Pawnee are a Native Americans in the United States tribe that historically lived along the Platte River, Loup River and Republican Rivers in present-day Nebraska and in Northern Kansas....
 and Comanche
Comanche

The Comanche are a Native Americans in the United States ethnic group whose range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas....
, to get the horses they needed.

Later on, they became great traders and often sold furs to other tribes and non-Indians. The name 'Arapaho' might have come from the Pawnee
Pawnee language

The Pawnee language is a Caddoan languages spoken by Pawnee Native Americans located in North central Oklahoma. Once the language of thousands of Pawnees, today Pawnee is spoken by a shrinking number of elderly speakers, and as more young people continue to learn English language as their first language, the status of Pawnee declines towards...
 word for 'traders.'

Arapaho Camp, Ca
The children often fished and hunted with their fathers for recreation. While they had more chores to do than present-day Arapaho, they still had time to play games. They played many games, including one involving a netted hoop and a pole where they would try to throw their pole through the center of the net. It was much like the game of darts
Darts

Darts refers to a variety of related sports, in which dart are thrown at a circular target hung on a wall. Though various different boards and games have been used in the past, the term 'darts' usually now refers to a standardized game involving a specific board design and set of rules....
, which is enjoyed today.

Sand Creek Massacre

During November 1864, a small village of Cheyenne and Arapaho became the victims of a controversial attack by the Union Army, led by Colonel John Chivington. This attack is now known as the Sand Creek Massacre
Sand Creek Massacre

The Sand Creek Massacre was an incident in the Indian Wars of the United States that occurred on November 29, 1864, when Colorado Territory militia attacked and destroyed a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho encamped in southeastern Colorado Territory....
.

The late Eugene Ridgely, a Cheyenne-Northern Arapaho artist, is generally credited with bringing to light the fact that Arapahos were involved with the Massacre. His children, Eugene "Snowball" Ridgely, and Gail Ridgely, have been instrumental in designating the massacre site as a National Historic Site.

Casino Development

In July 2005, Arapahos won a contentious court battle with the State of Wyoming to get into the gaming
Gambling

Gambling is the wikt:wager#Verb of money or something of material Value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods....
 or casino industry. The 10th Circuit Court ruled that the State of Wyoming was acting in bad faith when it would not negotiate with the Arapahos for gaming. Presently, the Arapaho Tribe owns and operates high-stakes, Class III gaming at the Wind River Casino, Little Wind Casino and 789 Smoke Shop and Casino. They are regulated by a Gaming Commission composed of three Tribal members. The Northern Arapaho Tribe opened the first casinos in Wyoming.

Meanwhile, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes

The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, Federally recognized tribes tribe, comprising the Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne in Oklahoma....
 operate three casinos: the Lucky Star Casino in Clinton
Clinton, Oklahoma

Clinton is a city in Custer County, Oklahoma and Washita County, Oklahoma counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 8,833 at the United States Census, 2000....
, the Feather Warrior Casino in Watonga
Watonga, Oklahoma

Watonga is a city in Blaine County, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,658 at the United States Census, 2000. It is the county seat of Blaine County, Oklahoma....
, and the Feather Warrior Casino in Canton
Canton, Oklahoma

Canton is a town in Blaine County, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 618 at the United States Census, 2000, and the ZIP Code Tabulation Area for its ZIP Code, 73724, was 1,143.Canton football team makes it to the playoffs, the first time in 25 years and then become regional champions....
.

Notable Arapahos


  • Chief Little Raven (ca. 1810-1889), negotiated peace between the between Southern Arapaho and Cheyenne and the Comanche
    Comanche

    The Comanche are a Native Americans in the United States ethnic group whose range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas....
    , Kiowa
    Kiowa

    The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians in the United States who migrated from what is now Canada to their present location in Southwestern Oklahoma....
    , and Plains Apache
    Plains Apache

    The Plains Apache are a Southern Athabaskan group that lived primarily on the plains of North America along the Kiowa. Many currently live in Oklahoma and are enrolled in the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma....
    . He secured rights to the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation in Indian Territory
    Indian Territory

    The Indian Territory, also known as The Indian Country, The Indian territory or the Indian territories, was land set aside within the United States for the use of Native Americans in the United States....
    .
  • Chief Left Hand
    Chief Niwot

    Chief Niwot or Left Hand was a tribal leader of the Southern Arapaho people and played an important part in the history of Colorado. The Arapaho called themselves simply Inuna-ina, meaning ?our people.? Chief Niwot and his people lived along the Front Range often wintering in Boulder Valley, site of the future Boulder, Colorado....
     (ca. 1840-1911), celebrated warrior and advocate for Arapahos in Washinton. He brought the Ghost Dance
    Ghost Dance

    Noted in historical accounts as the Ghost Dance of 1890, the Ghost Dance was a religious movement incorporated into numerous Indigenous peoples of the Americas belief systems....
     to the tribe and served as Principal Chief.
  • Yvonne Kauger
    Yvonne Kauger

    Yvonne Kauger , She is currently a Justice on the Oklahoma Supreme Court, and was appointed to the Court's District 4 seat by Governor George Nigh in 1984, and served as Chief Justice from 1997 to 1998....
     (1937-), Cheyenne-Arapaho Oklahoma Supreme Court justice.
  • Carl Sweezy (1881-1953), early professional Native American fine artist
  • Mirac Creepingbear, Arapaho-Kiowa painter
  • Harvey Pratt
    Harvey Pratt

    Harvey Phillip Pratt is an United States forensic artist and Native Americans in the United States artist, who has worked for over forty years in law enforcement, completing thousands of composite drawings and hundreds of soft tissue postmortem reconstructions....
    , contemporary Cheyenne-Arapaho artist


See also

  • Arapaho language
    Arapaho language

    The Arapaho language or "hinono'eitiit" is a Plains Algonquian languages spoken almost entirely by elders in Wyoming, and to a much lesser extent in Oklahoma....
  • Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
    Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes

    The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, Federally recognized tribes tribe, comprising the Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne in Oklahoma....
  • Wind River Indian Reservation
    Wind River Indian Reservation

    Wind River Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation shared by the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes of Native Americans in the United States in the central western portion of the U.S....


External links