Wikipedia

Mandan

For other uses, seeMandan (disambiguation).

TheMandanare aNative American tribe of the Great Plainswho have lived for centuries primarily in what is nowNorth Dakota.They are enrolled in theThree Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation.About half of the Mandan still reside in the area of the reservation; the rest reside around the United States and in Canada.

Mandan
Portrait of Sha-kó-ka, a Mandan girl,
byGeorge Catlin,1832
Total population
1,171 (2010)[1]
Regions with significant populations
United States(North Dakota)
Languages
English•Hidatsa• formerlyMandan
Related ethnic groups
Hidatsa,Arikara

The Mandan historically lived along both banks of the UpperMissouri Riverand two of its tributaries—theHeartandKniferivers—in present-dayNorthandSouth Dakota.Speakers ofMandan,aSiouan language,they developed a settled, agrarian culture. They established permanent villages featuring large, round,earth lodges,some 40 feet (12 m) in diameter, surrounding a central plaza. Matrilineal families lived in the lodges. The Mandan were a great trading nation, trading especially their large corn surpluses with othertribesin exchange forbisonmeat and fat. Food was the primary item, but they also traded for horses, guns, and other trade goods.

Population

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The Mandan population was 3,600 in the early 18th century.[2]It is estimated to have been 10,000–15,000 before European encounter. Decimated by a widespreadsmallpoxepidemic in 1781, the people had to abandon several villages, and remnants of the Hidatsa also gathered with them in a reduced number of villages. In 1836, there were more than 1,600 full-blood Mandans but, following another smallpox epidemic in 1836–37, this number was estimated to have dropped to 125 by 1838.

In the 20th century, the people began to recover. In the 1990s, 6,000 people were enrolled in the Three Affiliated Tribes.[2]In the 2010 Census, 1,171 people reported Mandan ancestry. Some 365 of them identified as full-bloods, and 806 had partial Mandan ancestry.[1]

Etymology

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Offering of the Mandan Indians,aquatint byKarl Bodmer

The English nameMandanis derived from the French-Canadian explorerPierre Gaultier, Sieur de la Verendrye,who in 1738 heard it asMantannesfrom hisAssiniboineguides, which call the MandanMayádąna.He had previously heard the earth lodge peoples referred to by the Cree asOuachipouennes,"the Sioux who go underground". The Assiniboine are Siouan speakers. Nearby Siouan speakers had exonyms similar toMantannesin their languages, for instance,TetonMiwáthaŋniorMiwátąni,YanktonaiMiwátani,YanktonMawátaniorMąwátanį,DakotaMawátąnaorMawátadą,etc.[3]

The Mandan have used differingautonymsto refer to themselves: Numakaki (Nųmą́khų́·ki) (or Rųwą́ʔka·ki) ( "many men, people" ) was inclusive and not limited to a specific village or band. This name was used before the smallpox epidemic of 1837–1838.[4]Nueta (Nų́ʔetaa), the name used after this epidemic ( "ourselves, our people" ) was originally the name of Mandan villagers living on the west bank of the Missouri River.[4]

The Mandan probably usedNųmą́khų́·ki / Rųwą́ʔka·kito refer to a general tribal entity. Later, this word fell to disuse and instead two divisions' names were used,NuwetaorRuptare(i.e., MandanNų́ʔetaaorRų́ʔeta). Later, the termNų́ʔetaa / Rų́ʔetawas extended to refer to a general tribal entity. The nameMi-ah´ta-nēsrecorded by Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden in 1862 reportedly means "people on the river bank", but this may be afolk etymology.

Various other terms and alternate spellings that occur in the literature include: Mayátana, Mayátani, Mąwádanį, Mąwádąδį, Huatanis, Mandani, Wahtani, Mantannes, Mantons, Mendanne, Mandanne, Mandians, Maw-dân, Meandans, les Mandals, Me-too´-ta-häk, Numakshi, Rųwą́'kši, Wíhwatann, Mevatan, Mevataneo.[5]Gloria Jahoda inTrail of Tearsstates that they also call themselves the "Pheasant people."[6]George Catlin said the Mandans (orSee-pohs-kah-nu-mah-kah-kee,"people of the pheasants", as they call themselves)[7]

Language

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A pair of Mandan men in a print byKarl Bodmer,19th century. Yellow Feather at left, "son of a celebrated chief". He was killed by a Sioux around a year after Bodmer painted him.[8]
Main article:Mandan language

TheMandan languageorNų́ų́ʔetaa íroobelongs to theSiouan language family.It was initially thought to be closely related to the languages of theHidatsaand theCrow.However, since the Mandan language has been incontactwith Hidatsa and Crow for many years, the exact relationship between Mandan and other Siouan languages (including Hidatsa and Crow) has been obscured. For this reason, linguists classify Mandan most often as a separate branch of the Siouan family.

Mandan has two maindialects:NuptareandNuetare.Only the Nuptare variety survived into the 20th century, and all speakers were bilingual in Hidatsa. LinguistMauricio Mixcoof theUniversity of Utahhas been involved in fieldwork with remaining speakers since 1993. As of 1999,there were only six fluent speakers of Mandan still alive. As of 2010,programs in local schools encourage students' learning the language.[9]

The Mandan and their language received much attention fromEuropean Americans,in part because their lighter skin color caused speculation they were of European origin. In the 1830s,Prince Maximilian of Wiedspent more time recording Mandan over all other Siouan languages and additionally prepared a comparison list of Mandan andWelshwords (he thought that the Mandan may have been displaced Welsh).[10]The theory of theMandan–Welsh connectionwas also supported byGeorge Catlin,but researchers have found no evidence of such ancestry.

Mandan has different grammatical forms that depend on the sex of theaddressee.Questions asked of men must use thesuffix-oʔšawhile the suffix-oʔrąis used when asking of women. Likewise theindicativesuffix is-oʔswhen addressing men and-oʔrewhen addressing women, and also forimperatives:-ta(male),-rą(female).[11]Mandan, like many other North American languages, has elements ofsound symbolismin their vocabulary. A/s/sound often denotes smallness/less intensity,/ʃ/denotes medium-ness,/x/denotes largeness/greater intensity:[12]

  • síre"yellow"
  • šíre"tawny"
  • xíre"brown"
  • sró"tinkle"
  • xró"rattle"

History

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Buffalo Dance:"Bison-Dance of the Mandan Indians in front of their Medecine Lodge in Mih-Tutta-Hankush":aquatint byKarl Bodmerfrom the book"Maximilian, Prince of Wied's Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834"

Origins and early history

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The exact origins and early history of the Mandan are unknown. Early studies bylinguistsgave evidence that the Mandan language may have been closely related to the language of theHo-Chunkor Winnebago people of present-dayWisconsin.Scholars theorize the Mandans' ancestors may have settled in the Wisconsin area at one time. This idea is possibly confirmed in theiroral history,which refers to their having come from an eastern location near a lake.

SomeEthnologistsand scholars studying the Mandan subscribe to the theory that, like otherSiouan-speaking people (possibly including the Hidatsa), they originated in the area of the mid-Mississippi Riverand theOhio Rivervalleys in present-dayOhio.If this was the case, the Mandan would have migrated north into theMissouri River Valleyand its tributary theHeart Riverin present-dayNorth Dakota.That is where Europeans first encountered the historical tribe. This migration is believed to have occurred possibly as early as the 7th century but probably between 1000 CE and the 13th century, after the cultivation of maize was adopted.[13]It was a period of a major climatic shift, creating warmer, wetter conditions that favored their agricultural production.[14]

After their arrival on the banks of the Heart River, the Mandan constructed several villages, the largest of which were at the mouth of the river.[15]Archeological evidence and ground imaging radar have revealed changes in the defensive boundaries of these villages over time. The people built new ditches and palisades circumscribing smaller areas as their populations reduced.

What was known as Double Ditch Village was located on the east bank of the Missouri River, north of where present-day Bismarck developed. It was occupied by the Rupture Mandan for nearly 300 years. Today the site has depressions that are evidence of their lodges and smaller ones where they created cache pits to store dehydrated corn. The name comes from two defensive trenches built outside the area of the lodges. Construction of the fortifications here and at other locations along the Missouri has been found to have correlated to periods of drought, when peoples would have raided each other for food.[16]

At some point during this time, the Hidatsa people also moved into the region. They also spoke a Siouan language. Mandan tradition states that the Hidatsa were anomadictribe until their encounter with the Mandan, who taught them to build stationary villages and cultivate agriculture.[15]The Hidatsa continued to maintain amicable relations with the Mandan and constructed villages north of them on theKnife River.

Later the Pawnee and Arikara moved from the Republican River north along the Missouri River. They wereCaddoan languagespeakers, and the Arikara were often early competitors with the Mandan, although both were horticulturalists. They built a settlement known as Crow Creek village on a bluff above the Missouri. The modern town of Chamberlain, South Dakota developed about eleven miles south of here.[17]

The Mandan were divided into bands. TheNup'tadi(does not translate) was the largest linguistic group.[15]The other bands were theIs'tope( "those who tattooed themselves" ),Ma'nana'r( "those who quarreled" ),Nu'itadi( "our people" ), and theAwi'ka-xa / Awigaxa(does not translate).[15]TheNup'tadiandNu'itadilived on both banks of theMissouri River,while the Awigaxa lived further upstream at the Painted Woods.[15]

The bands all practiced extensive farming, which was carried out by the women, including the drying and processing of corn.[15]The Mandan-Hidatsa settlements, called the "Marketplace of the Central Plains", were major hubs of trade in theGreat Plains Indian trading networks.[15]Crops were exchanged, along with other goods that traveled from as far as the Pacific Northwest Coast.[15]Investigation of their sites on the northern Plains have revealed items traceable as well to the Tennessee River, Florida, the Gulf Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard.[18]

The Mandan gradually moved upriver, and consolidated in present-day North Dakota by the fifteenth century. From 1500 to about 1782, the Mandan reached the height of their population and influence. Their villages showed increasing densities as well as stronger fortifications, for instance at Huff Village. It had 115 large lodges with more than 1,000 residents.[19]

The bands did not often move along the river until the late 18th century, after their populations plummeted due to smallpox and other epidemics.[15]

European encounter

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Painting of a Mandan village by George Catlin, c. 1832

TheKoatiouak,mentioned in a 1736 letter by JesuitJean-Pierre Aulneau,are identified as Mandans.[20]Aulneau was killed before his planned expedition to visit the Mandans could take place.

The first European known to visit the Mandan was theFrench CanadiantradeSieur de la Verendryein 1738.[21]The Mandans carried him into their village, whose location is unknown.[4][22][23]It is estimated that at the time of his visit, 15,000 Mandan resided in the nine well-fortified[15]villages on the Heart River;[24]the villages held a total of 1,000 lodges.[15]According to Vérendrye, the Mandans at that time were a large, powerful, prosperous nation who were able to dictate trade on their own terms.[15]They traded with other Native Americans both from the north and the south, from downriver.

Horseswere acquired by the Mandan in the mid-18th century from theApacheto the South. The Mandan used them both for transportation, to carry packs and pull travois, and for hunting. The horses helped with the expansion of Mandan hunting territory on to the Plains. The encounter with the French from Canada in the 18th century created a trading link between the French and Native Americans of the region; the Mandan served asmiddlemenin the trade in furs, horses,guns,crops, and buffalo products. Spanish merchants and officials in St. Louis (after France had ceded its territory west of the Mississippi River to Spain in 1763) explored the Missouri and strengthened relations with the Mandan (whom they calledMandanas).

They wanted to discourage trade in the region by the English and the Americans, but the Mandan carried on open trade with all competitors. They were not going to be limited by the maneuvering of the Europeans. French traders in St. Louis also sought to establish direct overland communication between Santa Fé and their city; the fur trading Chouteau brothers gained a Spanish monopoly on trade with Santa Fe.

Asmallpoxepidemic broke out in Mexico City in 1779/1780. It slowly spread northward through the Spanish empire, by trade and warfare, reaching the northern plains in 1781. TheComancheandShoshonehad become infected and carried the disease throughout their territory. Other warring and trading peoples also became infected. The Mandan lost so many people that the number of clans was reduced from thirteen to seven; three clan names from villages west of the Missouri were lost altogether. They eventually moved northward about 25 miles, and consolidated into two villages, one on each side of the river, as they rebuilt following the epidemic. Similarly afflicted, the much reducedHidatsapeople joined them for defense. Through and after the epidemic, they were raided byLakota SiouxandCrowwarriors.[25]

In 1796 the Mandan were visited by the Welsh explorerJohn Evans,who was hoping to find proof that their language contained Welsh words. Numerous European Americans held that there were Welsh Indians in these remote areas, a persistent myth that was widely written about. Evans had arrived in St. Louis two years prior, and after being imprisoned for a year, was hired by Spanish authorities to lead an expedition to chart the upper Missouri. Evans spent the winter of 1796–97 with the Mandan but found no evidence of any Welsh influence. In July 1797 he wrote to Dr. Samuel Jones, "Thus having explored and charted the Missurie for 1,800 miles and by my Communications with the Indians this side of the Pacific Ocean from 35 to 49 degrees of Latitude, I am able to inform you that there is no such People as the Welsh Indians."[26]

British and French Canadians from the north carried out more than twenty fur-trading expeditions down to the Hidatsa and Mandan villages in the years 1794 to 1800.[27]

Lewis and Clarkmeeting theMandan Indians,byCharles Marion Russell,1897
Painting of Mandan ChiefBig White

By 1804 whenLewis and Clarkvisited the tribe, the number of Mandan had been greatly reduced by smallpox epidemics and warring bands ofAssiniboine,LakotaandArikara.(Later they joined with the Arikara in defense against the Lakota.) The nine villages had consolidated into two villages in the 1780s, one on each side of the Missouri.[15]But they continued their famous hospitality, and the Lewis and Clark expedition stopped near their villages for the winter because of it. In honor of their hosts, the expedition dubbed the settlement they constructed Fort Mandan. It was here that Lewis and Clark first metSacagawea,a captiveShoshonewoman. Sacagawea accompanied the expedition as it traveled west, assisting them with information and translating skills as they journeyed toward thePacific Ocean.Upon their return to the Mandan villages, Lewis and Clark took the Mandan ChiefSheheke(Coyote or Big White) with them to Washington to meet with PresidentThomas Jefferson.He returned to the upper Missouri. He had survived the smallpox epidemic of 1781, but in 1812 Chief Sheheke was killed in a battle withHidatsa.[28]

In 1825 the Mandans signed a peace treaty with the leaders of the Atkinson-O'Fallon Expedition. The treaty required that the Mandans recognize the supremacy of the United States, admit that they reside on United States territory, and relinquish all control and regulation of trade to the United States. This was in exchange for annual payments that were never received.[29]The Mandan and the United States Army never met in open warfare.[30]

In 1832, artistGeorge Catlinvisited the Mandan nearFort Clark.Catlin painted and drew scenes of Mandan life as well as portraits of chiefs, includingFour BearsorMa-to-toh-pe.His skill at rendering so impressed Four Bears that he invited Catlin as the first man of European descent to be allowed to watch the sacred annualOkipaceremony.[31]During the winter months of 1833 and 1834, PrinceMaximilian of Wied-Neuwiedand Swiss artistKarl Bodmerstayed with the Mandan.

Speculation about pre-Columbian European contact

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See also:Pre-Columbian transoceanic contact theories

18th-century reports about characteristics of Mandan lodges, religion and occasional physical features among tribal members, such as blue and grey eyes along with lighter hair coloring, stirred speculation about the possibility ofpre-Columbian European contact.Catlin believed the Mandan were the "Welsh Indians" of folklore, descendants of PrinceMadocand his followers who had emigrated to America fromWalesin about 1170. This view was popular at the time but has since been disputed by the bulk of scholarship.[32]

Hjalmar Holand has proposed that interbreeding with Norse survivors might explain the "blond" Indians among the Mandan on the Upper Missouri River.[33]In a multidisciplinary study of theKensington Runestone,anthropologist Alice Beck Kehoe dismissed, as "tangential" to the Runestone issue this and other historical references suggesting pre-Columbian contacts with 'outsiders', such as the Hochunk (Winnebago) story about an ancestral hero "Red Horn"and his encounter with" red-haired giants ".[34]ArchaeologistKen Federhas stated that none of the material evidence that would be expected from a Viking presence in and travel through the American Midwest exists.[35]

Intertribal warfare 1785-1845

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Sioux Indians attacked the Mandan village Nuptadi and set it on fire around 1785. The "turtles" used in the Okipa ceremony were saved. "When Nuptadi Village was burned by the Sioux...", recounted Mandan woman Scattercorn, "... the turtles produced water which protected them...".[36]

The Sioux kept consolidating their dominant position on the northern plains. In the words of "Cheyenne warrior" and Lakota-alliedGeorge Bent:"... the Sioux moved to the Missouri and began raiding these two tribes, until at last the Mandans and Rees [Arikaras] hardly dared go into the plains to hunt buffalo".[37]

The Arikara Indians were from time to time also among the foes of the Mandans. Chief Four Bears's revenge on the Arikara, who had killed his brother, is legendary.[38]

The Mandan maintained the stockade around Mitutanka Village when threats were present.[39]

Major fights were fought. "We destroyed fifty tepees [of Sioux]. The following summer thirty men in a war party were killed", tells the Mandan winter count of Butterfly for 1835–1836.[40]The big war party was neutralized by Yanktonai Sioux Indians.[41]

Mitutanka, now occupied by Arikaras as well as some Mandans, was burned by Yankton Sioux Indians on January 9, 1839. "... the small Pox last year, very near annihilated the Whole [Mandan] tribe, and the Sioux has finished the Work of destruction by burning the village".[42]

In 1845, the Hidatsa moved some 20 miles north, crossed the Missouri and builtLike-a-Fishhook Village.[43]Many Mandans joined for common protection.[44]

Smallpox epidemic of 1837–38

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"Mató-Tope,a Mandan chief ":aquatint byKarl Bodmerfrom the book"Maximilian, Prince of Wied's Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834"

The Mandan were first plagued bysmallpoxin the 16th century and had been hit by similar epidemics every few decades. Between 1837 and 1838, another smallpox epidemic swept the region. In June 1837, anAmerican Fur Companysteamboat traveled westward up the Missouri River from St. Louis. Its passengers and traders aboard infected the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribes. There were approximately 1,600 Mandan living in the two villages at that time. The disease killed 90% of the Mandan people, effectively destroying their settlements. Almost all of the tribe's members, including the secondchief,Four Bears, died. Estimates of the number of survivors vary from 27 up to 150 persons, with some sources placing the number at 125. The survivors banded together with the nearby surviving Hidatsa in 1845 and moved upriver, where they developed Like-a-Fishhook Village.

The Mandan believed that they had been infected by whites associated with the steamboat and Fort Clark. Chief Four Bears reportedly said, while ailing, "a set of Black harted [sic] Dogs, they have deceived Me, them that I always considered as Brothers, has turned Out to be My Worst enemies ".[45]Francis Chardon, in hisJournal at Fort Clark 1834–1839,wrote that the Gros Ventres (ie. Hidatsa), "swear vengeance against all the Whites, as they say the small pox was brought here by the S[team] B[oat]." (Chardon, Journal, p. 126). In the earliest detailed study of the event, inThe American Fur Trade of the Far West(1902),Hiram M. Chittendenblamed the American Fur Company for the epidemic. Oral traditions of the affected tribes continue to claim that whites were to blame for the disease.[46]R. G. Robertson in his bookRotting Face: Smallpox and the American Indian,blames Captain Pratte of the steamboatSt. Peterfor failing to quarantine passengers and crew once the epidemic broke out, stating that while

not guilty of premeditated genocide, but he was guilty of contributing to the deaths of thousands of innocent people. The law calls his offence criminal negligence. Yet in light of all the deaths, the almost complete annihilation of the Mandans, and the terrible suffering the region endured, the label criminal negligence is benign, hardly befitting an action that had such horrendous consequences.[47]

Some scholars who have argued that the transmission of smallpox to Native Americans during the 1836-40 epidemic was intentional, including Ann F. Ramenofsky who asserted in 1987: "Variola Majorcan be transmitted through contaminated articles such as clothing or blankets. In the nineteenth century, the U.S. Army sent contaminated blankets to Native Americans, especially Plains groups, to control the Indian problem. "[48]The Commissioner of Indian Affairs had refused to send the vaccine to the Mandans, apparently not thinking them worthy of protection.[49]

Some accounts repeat a story that an Indian sneaked aboard theSt. Peterand stole a blanket from an infected passenger, thus starting the epidemic. The many variations of this account have been criticized by both historians and contemporaries as fiction, a fabrication intended to assuage the guilt of white settlers for displacing the Indians.[50]"The blanket affair was created afterward and is not to be credited", notes B. A. Mann.[51]Given trade and travel patterns, there were numerous ways for people to have been infected, as they had been in earlier, also severe, epidemics.

Late-19th and 20th centuries

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Dance lodge from theElbowoodsarea on the Fort Berthold Reservation. Built in 1923, this is a wooden version of the classic Mandan earthwork lodge. This area was flooded in 1951. From theHistoric American Engineering Recordcollection, Library of Congress.

The Mandan were a party in theFort Laramie Treaty of 1851.They shared a mutual treaty area north of Heart River with the Hidatsa and the Arikara.[52]

Arikara, Hidatsa and Mandan Indian territory, 1851. Like-a-Fishhook Village, Fort Berthold I and II, and military post Fort Buford, North Dakota.

Soon attacks on hunting parties by Lakota and other Sioux made it difficult for the Mandan to be safe in the treaty area. The tribes called for the United States Army to intervene, and they would routinely ask for such aid until the end of Lakota primacy.[53]Despite the treaty, the Mandan received little protection from US forces.

In the summer of 1862, the Arikara joined the Mandan and Hidatsa in Like-a-Fishhook Village on the upper Missouri. All three tribes were forced to liveoutsidetheir treaty area south of the Missouri by the frequent raiding of Lakota and other Sioux.[54]Before the end of 1862, some Sioux Indians set fire to part of a Like-a-Fishhook Village.[55]

In June 1874, there "was a big war" near Like-a-Fishhook-Village.[56]ColonelGeorge Armstrong Custerfailed to cut off a large war party of Lakota that was attacking the Mandan, although "... the Mandans should be protected same as white settlers". Five Arikaras and a Mandan were killed by the Lakota. The attack turned out to be one of the last made by the Lakota on the Three Tribes.[57]

Arikara, Hidatsa and Mandan 1851 treaty territory. (Area 529, 620 and 621 south of the Missouri). Fort Berthold Indian Reservation included land both south and north of the Missouri (the light pink area). The acreage of the reservation was reduced later.

The Mandan joined with the Arikara in 1862. By this time, Like-a-Fishhook Village had become a major center of trade in the region. By the 1880s, though, the village was abandoned. In the second half of the 19th century, the Three Affiliated Tribes (the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara) gradually lost control of some of their holdings. TheFort Laramie Treaty of 1851recognized 12 million acres (49,000 km2) of land in the territory owned jointly by these tribes. With the creation of the Fort Berthold Reservation byExecutive Orderon April 12, 1870, the federal government acknowledged only that the Three Affiliated Tribes held 8 million acres (32,000 km2). On July 1, 1880, another executive order deprived the tribes of 7 million acres (28,000 km2) of land lying outside the boundaries of the reservation.

20th century to present

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In the early 20th century, the government seized more land; by 1910, the reservation was reduced to 900,000 acres (3,600 km2).[58]This land is located inDunn,McKenzie,McLean,Mercer,MountrailandWardcounties in North Dakota.

Under the 1934Indian Reorganization Act,which encouraged tribes to restore their governments, the Mandan officially merged with the Hidatsa and the Arikara. They drafted a constitution to elect representative government and formed the federally recognizedThree Affiliated Tribes,known as the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation.

In 1951, theU.S. Army Corps of Engineersbegan construction ofGarrison Damon the Missouri River. Developed for flood control and irrigation, this dam createdLake Sakakawea.It flooded portions of the Fort Berthold Reservation, including the villages of Fort Berthold andElbowoods,as well as a number of other villages. The former residents of these villages were moved andNew Townwas constructed for them.

While New Town was constructed for the displaced tribal members, much damage was done to the social and economic foundations of the reservation by the loss of flooded areas. The flooding claimed approximately one quarter of the reservation's land. This land contained some of the most fertile agricultural areas upon which their economy had been developed. The Mandan did not have other land that was as fertile or viable for agriculture. In addition, the flooding claimed the sites of historic villages and archaeological sites with sacred meaning for the peoples.

Culture

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Lodges and villages

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"Mih-Tutta-Hangjusch, a Mandan village":aquatint byKarl Bodmerfrom the bookMaximilian, Prince of Wied's Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834.The name of the village is usually spelled "Mitutanka" now. Located on the west bank of the Missouri River, it was burned by Yankton Sioux Indians in 1839.
Mandanearth lodge,photographed by Edward S. Curtis, circa 1908
Snow scene of a modern reconstructed earth lodge at theKnife River Indian Villages National Historic Site,North Dakota

The Mandan were known for their distinctive, large, circular earthen lodges, in which more than one family lived. Their permanent villages were composed of these lodges. Constructed and maintained by women, each lodge was circular with a dome-like roof and a square hole at the apex of the dome through which smoke could escape. Four pillars supported the frame of the lodge. Wood timbers were placed against these, and the exterior was covered with a matting made from reeds and twigs and then covered with hay and earth, which protected the interior from rain, heat and cold. It was sturdy enough so that numerous adults and children could sit on the top of the lodge. The lodge also featured an extendedportico-type structure at the entrance, to provide protection from cold and other weather.[59]

The interior was constructed around four large pillars, upon which crossbeams supported the roof. These lodges were designed, built and owned by the women of the tribe, and ownership was passed through the female line. Generally 40 feet (12 m) in diameter, they could hold several families, up to 30 or 40 people, who were related through the elder women. When a young man married, he moved to his wife's lodge, which she shared with her mother and sisters. Villages usually had around 120 lodges.[59]Reconstructions of these lodges may be seen atFort Abraham Lincoln State ParknearMandan, North Dakota,and theKnife River Indian Villages National Historic Site.

Originally lodges were rectangular, but around 1500CE,lodges began to be constructed in a circular form. Toward the end of the 19th century, the Mandan began constructing smalllog cabins,usually with two rooms. When traveling or hunting, the Mandan would use skintipis.[60]Today, the Mandan live in modern dwellings.

Villages were usually oriented around a central plaza that was used for games (chunkey) and ceremonial purposes. In the center of the plaza was a cedar tree surrounded by a vertical wood enclosure. The shrine represented the "Lone Man", one of the main figures in Mandan religion. He was said to have built a wooden corral that saved the people of a village from a flooding river in North Dakota.[61]Villages were often situated on high bluffs above the river. Often, villages would be constructed at the meeting of tributaries, in order to use the water as a natural barrier. Where there were few or no natural barriers, the villages built some type of fortification, including ditches and woodenpalisades.

Family life

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"The interior of the hut of a Mandan Chief":aquatint byKarl Bodmerfrom the book"Maximilian, Prince of Wied's Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834"

The Mandan were originally divided into thirteenclans,which were reduced to seven by 1781, due to population losses in the smallpox epidemic. Ninety percent of the population died in the 1837-1838 smallpox epidemic. By 1950 only four clans survived.[61]

Historically clans organized around successful hunters and their kin. Each clan was expected to care for its own, including orphans and the elderly, from birth to death. The dead were traditionally cared for by their father's clan. Clans held a sacred or medicine bundle, which consisted of a few gathered objects believed to hold sacred powers. Those in possession of the bundles were considered to have sacred powers bestowed to them by the spirits and thus were considered the leaders of the clan and tribe. In historic times, the medicine bundles could be purchased, along with knowledge of the rites and rights associated with them, and then inherited by offspring.

Children were named ten days after their birth in a ceremony that officially linked the child with its family and clan. Girls were taught domestic skills, especially cultivation and processing of maize and other plants, preparation, tanning and processing of skins and meats, needlework and quillwork, and how to build and keep a home. Boys were taught hunting and fishing. The boys beganfastingfor religious visions at the age of ten or eleven. Marriage among the Mandan was generally arranged by members of one's own clan, especially uncles; although, occasionally it would take place without the approval of the couple's parents. Divorce could be easily obtained.

Upon the death of a family member, the father and his people would erect a scaffold near the village to contain the body. The body would be placed with the head toward the northwest and feet to the southeast. Southeast is the direction of theOhio River Valley,from which the Mandan came. The Mandan would not sleep in this orientation, because it invited death. After a ceremony to send the spirit away, the family would mourn at the scaffold for four days. After the body rotted and the scaffold collapsed, the bones would be gathered up and buried, except for the skull, which was placed in a circle near the village. Family members would visit the skulls and talk to them, sometimes bearing their problems or regaling the dead with jokes. After the Mandan moved to the Fort Berthold Reservation, they resorted to placing the bodies in boxes or trunks, or wrapped them in fur robes and placed them in rocky crevices.

Mandan economy

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Mandan food came from farming, hunting, gathering wild plants, and trade. Corn was the primary crop, and part of the surplus was traded with nomadic tribes for bison meat.[4]Mandan gardens were often located near river banks, where annual flooding would leave the most fertile soil, sometimes in locations miles from villages. Women owned and tended the gardens, where they planted several varieties ofcorn,beansandsquash.Sunflowers were planted first in early April.[4]As early as the fifteenth century, the Mandan townHuffhad enough storage pits to store seventy thousand bushels of corn.[4]

Hunting the buffalo was a critical part of Mandan survival and rituals. They called the buffalo to "come to the village" in theBuffalo Danceceremony at the beginning of each summer. In addition to eating the meat, the Mandan used all parts of the buffalo, so nothing went to waste. 'Float bison', which accidentally fell or were driven into the river, were considered a Mandan delicacy and the meat was eaten when half-rotten.[4]The hides were used for buffalo-fur robes or were tanned, and the leather used for clothing, bags, shelter and other uses. The Mandan were known for theirpainted buffalo hidesthat often recorded historic events. The bones would be carved into items such as needles andfish hooks.Bones were also used in farming: for instance, thescapulawas used as ahoe-like device for breaking the soil. The Mandan also trapped small mammals for food and hunted deer. Deerantlerswere used to create rake-like implements used in farming. Birds were hunted for meat and feathers, the latter used for adornment. Archaeological evidence shows that the Mandan also ate fish.[4]

The Mandan and neighboring Hidatsa villages were key centers of trade on the Northern plains.[4]The Mandan sometimes traded far from home but more often nomadic plains peoples travelled to the upper Missouri villages to trade.[4]For exampleWilliam Clarkin the winter of 1804 documented the arrival of thousands of Assiniboine Indians as well as Cree and Cheyenne to trade. The Mandan bartered corn in exchange for dried bison meat. The Mandan also exchanged horses with the Assiniboine in exchange for arms, ammunition and European products.[4]Clark noted that the Mandan obtained horses and leather tents from peoples to the west and southwest such as Crows, Cheyennes, Kiowas and Arapahos.[4]

Dress

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Crow's Heart, a Mandan, wearing a traditional deerhide tunic, photo by Edward Curtis, ca. 1908
Mandan girls gathering berries, photo by Edward Curtis, ca. 1908

Up until the late 19th century, when Mandan people began adopting Western-style dress, they commonly wore clothing made from the hides of buffalo, as well as of deer and sheep. From the hides,tunics,dresses, buffalo-fur robes,moccasins,gloves, loincloths andleggingscould be made. These items were often ornamented with quills and bird feathers, and men sometimes wore thescalpsof enemies.

Mandan women wore ankle-length dresses made ofdeerskinorsheepskin.This would often be girded at the waist with a wide belt. Sometimes the hem of the dress would be ornamented with pieces of buffalo hoof. Underneath the dress, they wore leather leggings with ankle-high moccasins. Women's hair was worn straight down in braids.

During the winter months, men would commonly wear deerskin tunics and leggings with moccasins. They also kept themselves warm by wearing a robe of buffalo fur. During the summer months, however, they often wore only a loincloth of deerskin or sheepskin. Unlike the women, men would wear various ornaments in their hair. The hair was parted across the top with three sections hanging down in front. Sometimes the hair would hang down the nose and would be curled upwards with a curling stick. The hair would hang to the shoulders on the side, and the back portion would sometimes reach to the waist. The long hair in the back would create a tail-like feature, as it would be gathered into braids then smeared with clay andsprucegum, and tied with cords of deerskin. Headdresses of feathers were often worn as well.[62]Besides buffalo, elk, and deer hides, the Mandan also used ermine andwhite weaselhides for clothing.[63]

Today, Mandan people wear traditionally inspired clothing and regalia atpowwows,ceremonies, and other significant events.

Religion

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The okipa ceremony as witnessed by George Catlin, circa 1835.

The Mandan's religion and cosmology was highly complex and centered around the figure known asLone Man.Lone Man was involved in many of thecreation mythsas well as one of theflood myths.

In their creation myth, the world was created by two rival deities, the First Creator and the Lone Man. The Missouri River divided the two worlds that the beings created. First Creator created the lands to the south of the river with hills, valleys, trees, buffalo,pronghorn antelopeand snakes. To the north of the river, Lone Man created the Great Plains, domesticated animals, birds, fish and humans. The first humans lived underground near a large lake. Some of the more adventurous humans climbed a grapevine to the surface and discovered the two worlds. After returning underground, they shared their findings and decided to return with many others. As they were climbing the grapevine, it broke and half the Mandan were left underground.[64]

According to Mandan beliefs, each person possessed four different, immortalsouls.The first soul was white and often seen as a shooting star ormeteor.The second soul was colored a light brown and was seen in the form of themeadowlark.The third soul, called the lodge spirit, remained at the site of the lodge after death and would remain there forever. The final soul was black and after death would travel away from the village. These final souls existed as did living people; residing in their own villages, and farming and hunting.[60]

TheOkipaceremony was a major part of Mandan religious life. This complex ceremony related to the creation of the earth was first recorded byGeorge Catlin.A man would volunteer to be the Okipa Maker, and sponsor the preparations and foods needed. Preparations took much of a year, as there were days of events, when crowds were hosted.

The ceremony opened with a Bison Dance, to call the buffalo to the people. It was followed by a variety of torturous ordeals through which warriors proved their physical courage and gained the approval of the spirits. TheOkipabegan with the young men not eating, drinking, or sleeping for four days. Then they were led to a hut, where they had to sit with smiling faces while the skin of their chest and shoulders was slit and wooden skewers were thrust behind the muscles. With the skewers tied to ropes and supporting the weight of their bodies, the warriors would be suspended from the roof of the lodge and would hang there until they fainted. To add agony, heavy weights or buffalo skulls were added to the initiates' legs. After fainting, the warriors would be pulled down and the men (women were not allowed to attend this ceremony) would watch them until they awoke, proving the spirits' approval. Upon awakening, the warriors would offer the left little finger to the Great Spirit, whereupon a masked tribesman would sever it with a hatchet blow. Finally, participants would endure a grueling race around the village called "the last race", until the thongs tied to the buffalo skulls ripped out of their skin.[4]

Those finishing the ceremony were seen as being honored by the spirits; those completing the ceremony twice would gain everlasting fame among the tribe. Chief Four Bears, orMa-to-toh-pe,completed this ceremony twice.[65]The last Okipa ceremony was performed in 1889, but the ceremony was resurrected in a somewhat different form in 1983.[64][failed verification]The version of theOkipaas practiced by theLakotamay be seen in the 1970 filmA Man Called HorsestarringRichard Harris.

Present day

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The Mandan and the two culturally related tribes, theHidatsa(Siouan) andArikara(Caddoan), while being combined have intermarried but do maintain, as a whole, the varied traditions of their ancestors.[64]The tribal residents have recovered from the trauma of their displacement in the 1950s.

They constructed the Four Bears Casino and Lodge in 1993, attracting tourists and generating gaming and employment income for the impoverished reservation.[66]

The most recent addition to the New Town area has been the newFour Bears Bridge,which was built in a joint effort between the three tribes and the North Dakota Department of Transportation. The bridge, spanning the Missouri River, replaces an older Four Bears Bridge that was built in 1955. The new bridge—the largest bridge in the state of North Dakota—is decorated with medallions celebrating the cultures of the three tribes. The bridge was opened to traffic September 2, 2005, and was officially opened in a ceremony on October 3.[67]

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  • "Mändeh-Páhchu, A young Mandan Indian":aquatint byKarl Bodmerfrom the book"Maximilian, Prince of Wied's Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834"
  • A feast inside a Mandan lodge, art by George Catlin, showing the four pillars supporting the roof and the smoke hole, ca. 1830
  • "Ischohä-Kakoschóchatä, Dance of the Mandan Indians":aquatint byKarl Bodmerfrom the book"Maximilian, Prince of Wied's Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834"
  • "Ptihn-Tak-Ochatä, dance of the Mandan Women":aquatint byKarl Bodmerfrom the book"Maximilian, Prince of Wied's Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834"
  • Mandan ChiefMa-to-toh-peor Four Bears, by George Catlin
  • "Dog-sledges of the Mandan Indians":aquatint byKarl Bodmerfrom the book"Maximilian, Prince of Wied's Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834"
  • "Idols of the Mandan Indians":aquatint byKarl Bodmerfrom the book"Maximilian, Prince of Wied's Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834"

See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"2010 Census CPH-T-6. American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2010"(PDF).www.census.gov.Retrieved18 January2015.
  2. ^abPritzker 335
  3. ^"Searching for English word(s): mandan".AISRI Dictionary Database Search.Retrieved2019-08-11.
  4. ^abcdefghijklmElizabeth Fenn:Encounters at the Heart of the World: a History of the Mandan People
  5. ^Synonymy section written by D. R. Parks in Wood & Irwin, pp. 362–364.
  6. ^Jahoda p. 174.
  7. ^Catlin, p. 80, vol. 1North American Indians.
  8. ^Ewers, John C.: "Early White Influence Upon Plains Indian Painting: George Catlin and Karl Bodmer Among the Mandans, 1832–34".Indian Life on the Upper Missouri.Norman and London, 1988, pp. 98–109, quote p. 106.
  9. ^Personal communication from Mauricio Mixco in 1999, reported in Parks & Rankin p. 112.
  10. ^Chafe pp. 37–38.
  11. ^Hollow 1970, p. 457 (in Mithun p. 280).
  12. ^Hollow & Parks 1980, p. 82.
  13. ^Hodge, p. 796.
  14. ^Elizabeth Fenn,Encounters at the Hear of the World,New York: Hill and Wang, 2015 paperback, p. 8
  15. ^abcdefghijklm"The Mandan".North Dakota Studies.North Dakota State Government. Archived fromthe originalon 28 October 2017.Retrieved6 November2017.
  16. ^Fenn (2015), pp. 4–11, 13
  17. ^Fenn (2015), pp. 11–13
  18. ^Fenn (2015), p. 18
  19. ^Fenn (2015), Preface, and pp. 15–18
  20. ^Will, George Francis; Hyde, George E. (1917).Corn Among the Indians of the Upper Missouri.William Harvey Miner Company, Incorporated. p.176.
  21. ^Burpee, Lawrence J. (Ed.): Journals and Letters of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes de la Vérendrye and His Sons. New York, 1968.
  22. ^It was formerly thought that the village was Menoken, this was disproved when Menoken was shown to belong to an earlier period
  23. ^Meyer, Roy W.: The Village Indians of the Upper Missouri. The Mandans, Hidatsas, and Arikaras. Lincoln and London, 1977, pp. 18 and 21.
  24. ^Catholic Encyclopedia: Mandan Indians.1910-10-01.Retrieved2019-08-11.
  25. ^Elizabeth A. Fenn,Encounters at the Heart of the World,New York: Hill and Wang, 2014/2015 paperback, pp. 155–166
  26. ^Williams, Gwen A.,Madoc, the Making of a Myth,Eyre Methuen, 1979
  27. ^Wood, Raymond W. and Thomas D. Thiessen:Early Fur Trade on the Northern Plains. Canadian Traders Among the Mandan and Hidatsa Indians.Norman and London, 1987, Table 1.
  28. ^Potter 178
  29. ^Kappler, Charles J.:Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties.Vol. 2. Treaty with the Mandan Tribe, pp. 242–244.
  30. ^Meyer, Roy W.:The Village Indians of the Upper Missouri. The Mandans, Hidatsas, and Arikaras.Lincoln and London, 1977, p. 54.
  31. ^Catlin, George(1867).O-Kee-pa: a religious ceremony; and other customs of the Mandans.Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott.Retrieved2014-02-15.
  32. ^Newman 255–272
  33. ^Hjalmar Holand, "The Kensington Rune Stone: A Study in Pre-Columbian American History." Ephraim WI, self-published (1932).
  34. ^Alice Beck Kehoe,The Kensington Runestone: Approaching a Research Question Holistically,Long Grove IL, Waveland Press (2004)ISBN1577663713.Chapter 6.
  35. ^Feder, Kenneth L. (2010).Encyclopedia of Dubious Archaeology: From Atlantis to the Walam Olum: From Atlantis to the Walam Olum.ABC-CLIO. p. 137.ISBN978-0313379192.
  36. ^Bowers, Alfred W.: Mandan Social and Ceremonial Organization. Moscow, 1991, pp. 167, 191 and 360.
  37. ^Hyde, George E.:Life of George Bent. Written From His Letters.Norman, OK: 1987, p. 16.
  38. ^Bowers, Alfred W.:Mandan Social and Ceremonial Organization.Moscow, ID: 1991, p. 70.
  39. ^Chardon, F. A.:Chardon's Journal at Fort Clark, 1834–1839.(Edited by Annie Heloise Abel). Lincoln and London, 1997, pp. 30 and 60.
  40. ^Howard, James H.: "Butterfly's Mandan Winter Count: 1835–1876".Ethnohistory,Vol. 7, (Winter 1960), pp. 28–43, quote p. 29.
  41. ^Hanson, Jeffrey R.: "Ethnohistoric Notes on the Fate of a Mandan War Party in 1836",North Dakota History,1983, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 11–15.
  42. ^Chardon, F. A.:Chardon's Journal at Fort Clark, 1834–1839.(Edited by Annie Heloise Abel). Lincoln and London, 1997, p. 181.
  43. ^Gilman, Carolyn and Mary Jane Schneider:The Way to Independence. Memories of a Hidatsa Indian Family, 1840–1920.St. Paul, 1987, p. 4.
  44. ^Wilson, Gilbert L.:Waheenee. An Indian Girls Story told by herself to Gilbert L. Wilson.Lincoln and London, 1981, p. 11.
  45. ^Jones, Landon Y. (2005-04-30)."Tribal Fever".Smithsonian.Retrieved2019-08-11.
  46. ^"Report of the Investigative Committee of the Standing Committee on Research Misconduct at the University of Colorado at Boulder concerning Allegations of Academic Misconduct against Professor Ward Churchill"(PDF).May 9, 2006. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on May 23, 2006.Retrieved2008-03-26.
  47. ^Robertson,Rotting Face,pp. 299–303.
  48. ^Vectors of Death: The Archaeology of European Contact;University of New Mexico Press; 1987; pp. 147–148
  49. ^Fenn (2015), p.[page needed]
  50. ^R. G. Robertson,Rotting Face: Smallpox and the American Indian;Caxton Press; 2001, pp. 80–83; 298–312
  51. ^Barbara Alice Mann,The Tainted Gift: The Disease Method of Frontier Expansion;ABC-CLIO Publishers; 2009; pp. 62–63
  52. ^Kappler, Charles Joseph (1903).Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties.Vol. 2. Washington, Govt. Print. Off. p. 440.OCLC654252766.Retrieved2019-08-11.
  53. ^Meyer, Roy W.:The Village Indians of the Upper Missouri. The Mandans, Hidatsas, and Arikaras.Lincoln, NE and London, 1977, p. 106.
  54. ^Meyer (1977),The Village Indians of the Upper Missouri,p. 108.
  55. ^Meyer (1977),The Village Indians,p. 119.
  56. ^Howard, James H.: "Butterfly's Mandan Winter Count: 1833–1876".Ethnohistory,Vol, 7, (Winter 1960), pp. 28–43, quote p. 39.
  57. ^McGinnis, Anthony:Counting Coup and Cutting Horses. Intertribal Warfare on the Northern Plains, 1738–1889.Evergreen, 1990, p. 133.
  58. ^Pritzker p. 335.
  59. ^abPritzker p. 336.
  60. ^abZimmerman pp. 298–299.
  61. ^abBowers 161–162
  62. ^Zimmerman pp. 299–300.
  63. ^Pritzker 337
  64. ^abc"Mandan Creation Myth."Native Languages.(retrieved 24 Aug 2011)
  65. ^Jahoda pp. 177–182.
  66. ^"National Indian Gaming Association – NIGA".indiangaming.org.2006-01-11. Archived fromthe originalon 2006-01-11.Retrieved2019-08-11.
  67. ^Kvamme, Thomas A (2005-09-02)."New Four Bears Bridge is open for traffic".Williston Herald.
  • Bowers, Alfred W. (1950 reprinted 2004).Mandan Social and Ceremonial Organisation.Bison Books.ISBN978-0-8032-6224-9.
  • Chafe, Wallace. (1976).The Caddoan, Iroquoian, and Siouan languages.Trends in linguistics: State-of-the-art report (No. 3). The Hague: Mouton.ISBN90-279-3443-6.
  • Jahoda, Gloria.Trail of Tears: The Story of the American Indian Removals, 1813–1835.New York: Wings Books, 1975.ISBN0-517-14677-0.
  • Hollow, Robert C. (1970).A Mandan dictionary.(Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley).
  • Hollow, Robert C. and Douglas Parks (1980). Studies in plains linguistics: A review. In W. R. Wood & M. P. Liberty (Eds.),Anthropology on the Great Plains(pp. 68–97). Lincoln: University of Nebraska.ISBN0-8032-4708-7.
  • Newman, Marshall T. "The Blond Mandan: A Critical Review of an Old Problem."Southwestern Journal of Anthropology.Vol. 6, No. 3 (Autumn, 1950): 255–272.
  • Parks, Douglas R.; & Rankin, Robert L. (2001). The Siouan languages. In R. J. DeMallie (Ed.),Handbook of North American Indians: Plains(Vol. 13, Part 1, pp. 94–114). W. C. Sturtevant (Gen. Ed.). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.ISBN0-16-050400-7.
  • Potter, Tracy A.,Sheheke: Mandan Indian Diplomat, The Story of White Coyote, Thomas Jefferson, and Lewis and Clark.Helena, MT: Farcountry Press and Fort Mandan Press, 2003.ISBN1-56037-255-9.
  • Pritzker, Barry M.A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.ISBN978-0-19-513877-1.
  • Robertson, R. G. (2001).Rotting Face.Caldwell, ID: Caxton Press.ISBN0-87004-419-2.
  • Williams, Gwen A.,Madoc, the Making of a Myth,Eyre Methuen, 1979.
  • Zimmerman, Karen. "Mandan". InThe Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, Vol. III.Detroit: Gale, 1998.ISBN0-7876-1088-7.

Further reading

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  • Brower, J. V. (1904)Mandan.(Memoirs of Explorations in the Basin of the Mississippi; Vol. 8). St. Paul, Minn.: McGill-Warner.
  • Fenn, Elizabeth A. (March 2014).Encounters at the Heart of the World: A History of the Mandan People.Farrar, Straus and Giroux.ISBN978-0-374-71107-8.Retrieved17 May2015.Dr. Fenn, chair ofUniversity of Colorado-Boulder's history department, won thePulitzer Prizein History for her 2014 book and 10-year project detailing the history of the Mandan people.[1]
  • Hayden, Ferdinand Vandeveer. (1862). Contributions to the ethnography and philology of the Indian tribes of the Missouri Valley: Prepared under the direction of Capt. William F. Reynolds, T.E.U.S.A., and published by permission of the War Department.Transactions of the American Philosophical Society,12(2), 231–461. Philadelphia: C. Sherman and Son.
  • Hodge, Frederick Webb, Ed.Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico.Originally published by the Bureau of American Ethnology and the Smithsonian Institution in 1906. (Reprinted in New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 1971.ISBN1-58218-748-7)
  • Wolff, Gerald W.,and Cash, Joseph, H. (1974),Three Affiliated Tribes,a study of the cultural relationships among theArikaras,Hidatsas,and Mandans.
  • Wood, W. Raymond, & Lee Irwin. "Mandan". In R. J. DeMallie (Ed.),Handbook of North American Indians: Plains(Vol. 13, Part 1, pp. 94–114). W. C. Sturtevant (Gen. Ed.). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 2001.ISBN0-16-050400-7

Language

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  • Kennard, Edward. (1936). Mandan grammar.International Journal of American Linguistics,9,1–43.
  • Lowie, Robert H. (1913). Societies of the Hidatsa and Mandan Indians. In R. H. Lowie,Societies of the Crow, Hidatsa, and Mandan Indians(pp. 219–358). Anthropological papers of the American Museum Of Natural History (Vol. 11, Part 3). New York: The Trustees. (Texts are on pp. 355–358).
  • Mithun, Marianne. (1999).The languages of Native North America.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-23228-7(hbk);ISBN0-521-29875-X.
  • Mixco, Mauricio C. (1997).Mandan.Languages of the world series: Materials 159. Münich: LINCOM Europa.ISBN3-89586-213-4.
  • Parks, Douglas R.; Jones, A. Wesley; Hollow, Robert C; & Ripley, David J. (1978).Earth lodge tales from the upper Missouri.Bismarck, ND: Mary College.
  • Will, George; & Spinden, H. J. (1906).The Mandans: A study of their culture, archaeology and language.Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University (Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 81–219). Cambridge, MA: The Museum. (Reprinted 1976, New York: Kraus Reprint Corporation).
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  1. ^"Pulitzer Prize in History 2015".Pulitzer Prizes.2015.RetrievedMay 17,2015.
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