The Gros Ventre, or A'aninin, live primarily in the southern part of the Fort Belknap reservation. Most Gros Ventres live in or around the community of Hays. Hays is located at the foothills of the beautiful Little Rocky Mountains. These "island mountains", were viewed by Lewis and Clark as they passed through the Missouri River, several miles south. The Gros Ventre refer affectionately to the Little Rockies as the "Fur Caps". Though many Gros Ventre tribal members live all over the US and Montana, the Fur Caps welcome them home from whatever direction they may travel from.
The name, "Gros Ventre" comes from the French word, meaning "big belly". It is thought to have came from the motion that the A'aninin made when asked who they were by the French explorers and trappers. One story says that the A'aninin would make a sweeping downward gesture with their hand, outward from the chest to the waist area. To the A'aninin, they were making a reference to waterfalls, possibly on the Saskatchewan River, part of their traditional homeland. This was misinterpreted by the French, hence the "Gros Ventre" label. Many A'aninin leaders and elders refer to themselves by the name, "A'aninin", or the English translation, "White Clay", or "People of the White Clay". "Gros Ventre" is a name given to them by strangers, and it is not how they describe themselves. For the sake of academic research, I will refer to them as the "Gros Ventre", to make it easier to find information
The Gros Ventre did one outstanding thing that put them in a class apart from most other Plains tribes. They washed their clothing in a clay substance found in streams that came out of the Little Rockies. When rubbed on wet buckskin, the clay caused the material to become very white in color. The streams coming out of the Mission Canyon and Little Rockies contained a clay that was found only in that area. It may have been as a result of the unique rock formations contained in the area, such as the "Mission Canyon Limestone" which is named after the limestone formation found in the Little Rockies.
The Gros Ventre tribe was divided into twelve bands. The bands were called the Coffees, Plenty Bad, Greys, Fast Travelers, Water Horses Once a Day, Upper Quarters, Frozen, Buffalo Overloaded, Tendons, Bloods, Night Hawks, and the Tendouas Assiniboine. These bands camped in this order when the whole tribe was together. The tribe circled their tents together when they were all gathered with an opening towards the east. When the bands were seperated, they usually camped along a waterway, with each family staying close together.
Central to the beliefs of the Gros Ventre are the two sacred pipes of the Gros Ventre; The Flat Pipe and The Feathered Pipe. The pipes were revered and special care was taken to the care of each pipe. Each pipe had a caretaker and respect was given to the power and reverence of each pipe.
The Gros Ventre, as mentioned before, were a part of the Arapaho Nation until the late 1700's or so. The reasons are unclear for the split. But they share a similar language and consider each other in kinship. The Gros Ventre language is of the Algonquin family. It is a difficult language to learn. Estimates of the number of fluent speakers who speak Gros Ventre as a first languge is less than ten. There are many who can speak parts of the language and speak some phrases, but fluency is not widespread. Efforts are being made in the schools, both K-12 and the college level, to introduce the language to new speakers. The creation of the White Clay immersion school at Fort Belknap College has brought the language back to everyday use in the classroom setting. Also, many younger Gros Ventres, such as Terry Brockie and BJ Hammett have become fluent as a result of their work with Gros Ventre elders.
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