The Northern Plains were home to many nations beyond the more widely known Lakota and Cheyenne. Among the peoples associated with the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie are the Assiniboine and the allied Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara nations. Each of these peoples has a distinct history and culture, and together they illustrate the rich diversity of the region.
The Assiniboine
The Assiniboine are a Plains people whose homeland stretched across the northern Plains and into what is now Canada. Related linguistically to the Siouan-speaking peoples, they developed their own distinct identity and way of life. Like other Plains nations, the Assiniboine relied on the buffalo and the horse, ranging across wide territories in pursuit of the herds and maintaining networks of trade and diplomacy with their neighbors.
The village nations of the Missouri
The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara followed a different pattern of life from the mobile buffalo hunters of the open Plains. These nations lived in settled villages along the Missouri River, where they farmed the fertile bottomlands, raising corn, beans, squash, and other crops. Their earth-lodge villages were substantial and enduring communities.
Because they combined agriculture with hunting and occupied fixed sites along the river, the village nations became important centers of trade. Peoples from across the Plains came to exchange the products of the hunt for agricultural produce and other goods, making these villages hubs of exchange and contact.
Hardship and resilience
The village nations were especially vulnerable to introduced diseases, which struck their concentrated communities with devastating force during the nineteenth century. These losses were severe. In time, the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara drew closer together, and today they are united as the Three Affiliated Tribes, sharing a homeland and a government while maintaining their distinct identities.
Living nations today
The Assiniboine and the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara are living nations, with communities that continue to sustain their cultures, languages, and traditions. Their histories are essential parts of the story of the Northern Plains and the treaty era.
Recognizing these nations helps correct the tendency to reduce the diverse peoples of the Plains to a single image. The region was home to many nations, each with its own way of life. To read more, see our articles on the Apsáalooke Nation and daily life before 1851, or explore the tribal perspectives category.
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