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Spirit Talk News Volume 13, Number 6 November-December 2007 |
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Gros Ventre |
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A long time ago the people were living in the woodlands south of the Great Lakes. For reasons which have long been lost in history, they began a migration which would take them west and north to the Great Plains of Saskatchewan. It was here that they acquired their first horses. Soon, like the other woodlands tribes which had migrated onto the Great Plains, they developed a way of life which centered around the horse and hunting the buffalo. In Saskatchewan, the various bands of the people separated into two main bodies. One of these continued their migration to the south where they became known as the Arapaho. Today the Arapaho have reservations in Wyoming and Oklahoma. The other body of the people remained on the Northern Plains. They came to be known as the Gros Ventre. They acquired the name Gros Ventre from the French fur traders. In Plains Indian sign language the sign for the people is a sweeping motion in front of the stomach which indicates that they are big eaters. The French interpreted this to mean “big belly” which is Gros Ventre in French. There are some who say that the people were given the name Gros Ventre because the French traders originally met them near the Belly River in present-day Alberta. They say that the name was given to the people in recognition of this meeting place. The Blackfoot, long-time allies, call these people Atsina which means “Entrails People.” The reason for this name is not known. The people call themselves A’a’ninin which means “White Clay People.” At the time of the contact with the French traders, Gros Ventre territory spread across the Northern Plains. Their hunting territory ranged from as far west as the present-day cities of Calgary and Edmonton. It ranged as far east as the present-day city of Saskatoon. As the hunting pressures from other tribes on the Northern Plains increased, the Gros Ventre were gradually pushed south where their hunting territory centered around the Milk River area in Montana. The Gros Ventre were often allied with the three Blackfeet tribes, a people who spoke a related language. There were, however, times when Gros Ventre warriors would be allied with the Assiniboine and the Crow to raid against the Blackfeet. There was no overall Gros Ventre tribal government. In Montana during the during the nineteenth century, the Gros Ventre had 10-12 bands. Each of these bands was an independent unit and each had its own chiefs. The names and composition of these bands changed frequently. Families would often leave one band and join another. The band leaders had a great deal of influence in decisions regarding the movements of the band, but they did not have any directive authority. In other words, they could not tell anyone what to do. They simply gave advice and the people often followed their advice because the leaders were known to be wise. Gros Ventre society was organized into a series of age-graded associations. A young man would join the first ceremonial lodge by making a vow to the Great Mystery and then taking a pipe to an older man. If the older man accepted the pipe, he was then the younger man’s ceremonial father. As a ceremonial father, he was responsible for instructing and assisting the young man. The first ceremonial lodge was known as the Fly Lodge. All of the young men who were members of this lodge were peers—that is, they were fairly close together in age. After a few years, all of the members of the Fly Lodge would move up to the Crazy Lodge and a new group of young men would take over the Fly Lodge. As the men grew older, they would move up to the Kit-Fox Lodge, then the Dog Lodge, the Drum Lodge, and finally the Old Man’s Lodge. All of the members of a lodge had an obligation to help and encourage one another in battle, and in disputes. They participated together in lodge ceremonies. The Gros Ventre have two tribal medicine bundles which are symbols of creation and of their place in the universe. These medicine bundles represent the special relationship between the Gros Ventre and the Supreme Being or Great Mystery Above. This relationship is the basis for health and happiness. Each bundle contains objects which symbolize the spiritual power and the spiritual heritage of the Gros Ventre. Each of the objects also has its own song. The oldest of the two medicine bundles is the Flat Pipe bundle which was given to them when the world was created. The ceremonies which were associated with this bundle – traditionally three seasonal ceremonies – provided the Gros Ventre with help for hunting and for obtaining horses. They also provided help in battle and in obtaining wealth.
The second bundle—the Feathered Pipe bundle—also represents their special relationship with the Great Mystery Above. The ceremonies associated with this bundle helped them to be successful in their life. The keeper of the Feathered Pipe had some power of weather control as well as the power to protect the people from illness. Each of the Gros Ventre bundles had its own keeper – a man who was responsible for caring for the bundle and for carrying out the ceremonies associated with it. Being the keeper of a bundle was not only a great honor, but it was also a full-time job. The keeper had to know all of the songs associated with the objects in the bundle as well as the ceremonies in which the bundle was used. The keeper was responsible for keeping the bundle safe and for performing the daily rituals which maintained the spiritual power of the bundle. The keepers of the medicine bundles could prophesize, cure the sick, and obtain supernatural aid for the Gros Ventres in making war, hunting, and obtaining horses. People would vow to cover the pipe – that is, to make a number of offerings to the bundle. When enough offerings had accumulated, the keeper would conduct a sweat lodge ceremony, smudge the offerings, and then take some of them to a sacred place on a mountain or butte. Some of the offerings would be given to those in need. An example of the healing power of the bundles was seen in an incident in 1903. Sitting High, the keeper of the Feathered Pipe bundle, conducted a ceremony in which a man vowed to dance with the pipe. The man was subsequently cured of blindness. The bundles were also used to control the weather. In 1904, the 4th of July celebration on the Fort Belknap Reservation was threatened by bad weather. Sitting High, the keeper of the Gros Ventre Feathered Pipe bundle, and several other elders sang all night to stop the rains. The weather cleared up the next day. From the Gros Ventre perspective, it is their sacred responsibility for these two pipe bundles which makes them unique among peoples. Many feel that these bundles and their ceremonies should not be shared with other people. In 1936, Curly Head held a Feathered Pipe ceremony. In the ceremony he unwraped the pipe. He also charged admission to the ceremony and allowed non-Indians to be present. Following the ceremony, two forest fires struck the reservation, destroying livestock and timber. Many people felt that these fires were the consequence of allowing non-Gros Ventre to witness the ceremony. Many people also feel that the ceremonies must be done correctly and with proper respect in order for them to work. In 1925, Horse Capture, the keeper of the Flat Pipe bundle, died. After his death, the pipe was left alone and was virtually abandoned. In 1938, Thick and The Boy attempted to hold a ceremony with the Flat Pipe bundle in order to help another Gros Ventre fulfill a vow. A number of things were done wrong: there was no feed, nothing was put down for the pipe, and the seating arrangement was wrong. Following the ceremony, there was a major flood on the reservation. One of the ceremonies unique to the Gros Ventre is the Grass Dance. While other tribes also had ceremonies whose names have been translated as “Grass Dance,” these are different from the Gros Ventre Grass dance. This ceremony would traditionally bring all of the people together and express their cultural identity as Gros Ventre. Part of the Grass Dance involved a dog ritual. Eight men – two men who were authorized to wear crow belts (feathered bustles worn only by men who had counted coup in war), the spear (fork) keeper, the spoon keeper, two whip men, and the two assistants to the whip men – would dance around a kettle containing cooked puppy. After the dog meat was eaten, there would be a series of special dances. At this time, the warriors would tell of their exploits. At times, the whistle keeper would call for a punishing song in which the dancers would dance to the point of exhaustion. Like the other tribes on the Northern Plains, there were a number of places which had immense spiritual importance for the Gros Ventre. One of these was in the Little Rockies. It was here that young people would often be isolated during the vision quest. In addition, there were special plants in this area which would be collected for spiritual and medicinal use. Like the other Northern Plains tribes, the Sun Dance is an important ceremony. Traditionally, Gros Ventre men would not take part in the ceremony until they had achieved the status of a warrior. Thus the Sun Dance served as a stimulus to young men to encourage them to count coup in battle so that they, too, could take part in this ceremony.
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Some of the books which describe Gros Ventre culture and history include: |
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