"Tribes of Montana" (2007)

today we'll learn about the tribes of Montana and how they got their names this subject takes us back to the early 1800s when sign language was commonly used to communicate with people who didn't know each other's languages of the names we use today for Montana tribes some come from names other tribes gave them and others came from European misunderstandings of sign language we'll learn the signs used to refer to the different tribes some of which were misinterpreted and led to the names we use today we will also learn the names the tribes used to refer to themselves to begin listen to the names we use today for the tribes of Montana and get a sense of where they now live a cinebulle Blackfeet Chippewa Kri crew grove on could need Northern Cheyenne pend oreille sailesh sooo in the 1830s a fruit trader named Warren Farris was intrigued by some of the strange and inappropriate names he heard for tribes in the region according to Ferriss many tribes had names that described some physical characteristic flat heads pierced noses big bellies but that none of the tribes displayed the noted physical traits he wrote about this in his journal for the first group the flat heads he noticed that not one showed any signs of a deformed head for the next group then as purse pierced nose in French he didn't see anyone with a pierced nose and finally he reported that the grow vaunt big belly in French are as slim as any other Indians what are the sources of these unusual names we believe that many of these misnomers came about because European travelers long ago misinterpreted sign language so the universal language was a sign language for those who didn't speak other languages the tribes of the Great Plains developed a way to communicate through signs no one knows how old this language might be how do we learn about sign language the most important source is the people themselves some people still speak sign language and many of their grandchildren understand it I remember my grandfather and when he would talk to us he'd sign I mean it's it's that old Indian can't hold his hand still and so we learned a lot of the different signs for different things like me you know the simple signs and some of the tribal signs with what they called each other and clan signs you know each each tribe had their own sign for themselves and then another tribe would have a sign for them as they saw them another source of information comes from research done over a century ago when sign talking was a common practice we integrate sign language information from a book by WP Clark who spent time with many Indian tribes in 1870s and 80s learning all he could about sign language another source of information comes from tapes made at the 1930 sign language preservation conference held in browning Montana this sign talker gathering brought together the best of the sign talkers who still lived in the area in 1930 it was easy to get confused if you were a traveler from afar because of variations and signs from one tribe to another and from one person to another names reflect different points of view and they are not necessarily the same from place to place people have names they call themselves that other people don't usually use these names instead tribes carry names given by others these names vary depending on the relationships with neighbors you might understand this better when you think of your own neighborhood maybe you have neighbors you refer to by the color of their house the kind of car they drive or something they do that you think is funny let's look at an example from a tribe that used to be part of Montana the northern Shoshone in Bannack people who now live at Fort Hall Idaho the sign commonly used for Shoshone by Plains tribes is shown by Rob Collier from the Nez Perce tribe Shoshone the term snake for the Shoshone is a misnomer ronald snake ed moe explains this to us in our cultures we refer to ourselves either as location that we come from or the type of food that we eat like the what is known today as a lamb pie Shoni there they call themselves a God dukkha which means salmon eaters and of course the sign language that was used on plains was a waving motion well the white people thought that meant a snake so they called us the snake Indians we caught ourselves Noah or the people another misnomer is the name Nez Perce people who live just west of Montana Lewis and Clark had been told about these people and may have been the first to confuse the name from the Shoshones on August 14th 1805 Meriwether Lewis learns of some people whom he refers to as pursed nose Indians Lewis apparently misconstrues the gesture the original meaning of which is unknown WP Clark reports that the gesture of passing the index finger under and close to nose is the common sign for the Nez Perce but he also mentions that the Blackfeet sometimes make the sign for powder because the people we know as Nez Perce used a bluish black paint to paint themselves Blackfeet speakers still refer to the Nez Perce as the blue mud people the Blackfeet people they call this the blue powder or blue mud people because we that was what we painted our faces with was a blue paint made from a blue powder or blue mud as first people say they never pierced their noses they call themselves mean we poop nimiipuu means now that's what we call ourselves this person it means we the people so you can better understand how sign language can be misinterpreted you'll be watching the signs for tribes of Montana and writing down what you think they mean we're not going to tell you which tribe is which the first time through you're going to want to take out a pencil and paper and number your page from 1 to 13 since you'll be guessing the meaning of 13 signs there are no wrong answers just use your imagination and have fun you'll have 10 seconds to complete your guests before the next sign appears we'll show you the signs again afterward when we discover how the tribes of Montana got their names many of which were misunderstandings of the signs using your pencil and paper watch the signs and write down what you think they mean you might not have heard the name before so just write down what you think the sign shows following the Jeff you're made by Rob Collier sign number one what do you think this sign means number two number three just imagine if you were traveling long ago and had to watch those signs along with all sorts of other information I bet there were lots of misunderstandings now let's go back through history and see how the tribes in western Montana got their names this is where you can compare your guests with the interpretation others made long ago the sign number will appear before each sign we review so you can compare it to your guests in western Montana three tribes live on the Flathead reservation the Kootenai the pend oreille and the Salish Rob Collier shows us one sign for the Kootenai sign number one Kootenai sign for whitetail deer people of the whitetail deer we say Kootenai z' today but the word Kootenai doesn't really mean anything in the language it was a name that was given I assume from some other tribe what they called us and then it was a mispronunciation of whatever that word is because none of the other neighboring tribes it doesn't mean anything in their language either so but what how the Kootenai I was referred to themself was through their tribal affiliation through their specific band in past history the people were called tanaka and way that you pronounce it it can mean slightly different things one of the ways is that it means eating food plain you know with no seasoning the other translation of it let's say we went into battle with a with our enemies and one of us shot an arrow into our into one of our enemies and killed them somebody would go over there and pull the arrow back out and lick the blood off of the arrow that's Tanaka there are seven bands of Kootenays the band that lived in the area that's referred to today as Montana is the Sanka band the band Sanka is standing arrow the Pend Oreille are also based on the Flathead reservation in their original homeland this is the upper pend oreille the lower Pend Oreille or the Kalispel tribe live in eastern Washington on the Pend Oreille River this name is a French term for earrings probably derived from sign language number to ponder a sign indicates ear pendant under a when the first white man came to this area there was a lot of the Indian men at war a and earring or earrings and they used the shells the abalone shells and the different kinds of shells too for decoration and I was only imagining that the the first Frenchman that came through the area seen that protrusion coming from an ear and so they called it pend oreille the proper name for Pend Oreille the name by which they call themselves is police pay the pend oreille is called themselves police pay and that became mispronounced in to Kalispell the Salish are the third group that makes up the people of the Flathead reservation Salish a term used to designate Salish speaking tribes Rob Collier shows us the sign used for the Salish number-3 Salish sign indicates head flat on sides apparently some early French traders misinterpreted this sign to mean flat head as evidenced by the use of the term Tet plot which means flat head in French in September of 1805 Lewis and Clark arrived at camp of these people on the Bitterroot River William Clark adds to the confusion about names by recording another name in his journal they called themselves old oh shoot according to Louie Adams this term was a misunderstanding not only was the flathead a misnomer so is Atlas shoot when the Indians our people met Lewis and Clark's band and due to the communication had used sign language well one of their their people must have told three equals just just like that you know or are you people from or do you live any probably because they met him way up in up in the high country so we probably just turned around said Tilly shoot down below and that's what that means so they wrote her down otally shoot and that wasn't right today shoot us down below the Salish call themselves scaly meaning the people let's review in western Montana three tribes live on the Flathead reservation the Kootenai the Pend Oreille and the Salish the Salish are also known as flat heads although that's a misnomer as we've discussed the Kootenai call themselves turn aha and the Pend Oreille call themselves police pay the Salish call themselves scarred Lee meaning the people now let's head east of the Continental Divide in Montana there are six reservations on the east side of the divide the Blackfeet reservation rocky boy Fort Belknap Fort Peck crow and Northern Cheyenne number four what do you think this sign means number five number six there are three groups of Blackfeet - in Canada the Blackfoot or Siksika and the blood or guy nie and another group of two bands one in Canada and another on the Blackfeet reservation in Montana known as the begun E or some people say pagan the three bands are referred to as the Blackfoot Confederacy number four Blackfoot the sign indicates black moccasins Blackfoot number five blood the act of wiping off a bloody nose this is a misnomer the sign actually referred to the way they painted their faces blood number six pagan or begun E in our language the sign represents rubbing cheek with rawhide spot in a robe the Blackfeet people or the beginning as they're known in their language or the spotted robes no one knows for sure why this large tribe got the name Blackfeet some say that another group observed them walking across some scorched earth that it turned their moccasins black and that's how they got their name the name Blackfeet is a name that was given to us by the federal government it's a federal distinction that we use but we call ourselves need seed to be the real people let's review the pig and Blackfeet or pecan II live on the Blackfeet reservation they call themselves need seed to be the real people what do you think this sign means number seven the name grow vaunt means big belly in french the grove ant tribe is based on the Fort Belknap reservation number seven grow vaunt sign for the Falls people of the Falls to explain the origins of the name grow vaunt tribal representative Darryl Martin suggests it is a misnomer this misinterpretation are the Falls people we're actually from the South Fork the Saskatchewan River and it's pretty high up north and the sign language of course is for Falls and then we're also known as the white clay people because we used to dig white clay and that would clean your robes one of the misinterpretation by the French was the sign language of course the Falls as your hands fall down and they misinterpret that as big belly so grow vaunt in French means big belly so that's just a misinterpretation of the name are our official names in my languages I mean in which means upright man or upright person or otherwise white clay or Falls people the misnomer of Grove odd came about from a misunderstanding of the sign language for the Falls Indians who were also known as white clay or upright people let's review the grow vaunt are based at Fort Belknap the named grove aunt is a misnomer based on a misunderstanding of sign language they were called the Falls people or white clay people by their neighbors and called themselves I mean in which means upright man or upright person what do you think this sign means number 8 the Assiniboine people of Montana are split between two reservations Fort Belknap and Fort Peck I am a part of the wide-open aband and the hood a sonic band they're the red bottom clan and the canoe paddlers to avoid opana means as canoe paddlers number eight for a cinebulle the sign the act of paddling canoe men canoe paddlers the French gave the word assiniboins to assiniboins but the Ojibwe called us cooks with stone people who cook with stone and the French interpreted as the sin of bone so that's how we got the name is cinnamon otherwise we know it ourselves as Nikora Nakota people so we're a cinnamon to the French but to us were Nakota people let's review the grove aunt and one band of Assiniboine are based at Fort Belknap another band of Assiniboine or Nakota is based at the Fort Peck reservation along with the Dakota and Lakota Sioux the word Assiniboine is a misinterpretation by some early French visitor of a name given to those people by the Ojibwe it meant stone boilers the Assiniboine call themselves we know it ourselves as Nikora nakata people number 9 what do you think this sign means the Great Sioux Nation includes the various groups of the Lakota Nakota and Dakota most people from these tribes live in South Dakota and some in North Dakota as well as Montana lands were reserved for Sioux people in Montana on the Fort Peck reservation the named Sue meaning snake was created by early french-canadian traders who abbreviated the name by which another tribe referred to the Dakota nod a way sue Iroquois snake there is disagreement about the word sue and where it came from listen to Jessie taken alive tell about the name Lakota we refer to herself as Lakota and the books call that particular group sue a what is has to be corrected is that as Lakota people we literally translate that word as friends and allies and because we are friends and allies means that we are friends and allies to ourselves first and we must be truthful to ourselves first and then we go on with that way of life and living as we have been for centuries number 9 Dakota or Sioux sign is necklace people not cut throat is sometimes interpreted a cutting edge is always represented by the little finger necklace people the Dakota Lakota and Nakota have names for their own groups Yankton for example referred to people from the faraway villages let's review lands were reserved for Sioux people in Montana on the Fort Peck reservation the name Sioux comes from an abbreviation of an Ojibwe word with a french-canadian twist the Great Sioux Nation includes the Lakota Dakota and Nakota each one of these has many bands with their own names what do you think this sign means number 10 The Crow Reservation is home to the crow crow is thought to be a faulty translation of their name for themselves absolu in the language of our sister tribe the Hidatsa absolutely means children of the large big bird other tribes would imitate a bird in flight when referring to the Absaroka in sign language number 10 crew uppsala that sign represents beating of wings children have the large beat bird the whites interpreted this as the crow and thus called them crow Indians the crow are divided into two bands River crow Binet Zepeda Mountain crow our Helmand Espada let's review the crow reservation is home to the absolute also known as crow the name crow is a misinterpretation of sign language for a Hidatsa word that means children of the large beak bird the crow called themselves absoluta what do you think this sign means number 11 the Cheyenne of Montana are based on the northern cheyenne reservation just east of the crow the name Cheyenne came from the French understanding of a Sioux term the Sioux called a Chehalis which meant the people at the alien speech number 11 Cheyenne the sign means striped arrow feather striped arrow feather the name for Cheyenne is in reference of how they are there arrow of feathers are there's a lot of reverence for arrows and a lot of the regalia and their moccasins we call ourselves Kista which means the people let's review the Northern Cheyenne are based on a reservation just east of the crow Cheyenne is a misunderstanding by the French of a Sioux word the Northern Cheyenne call themselves we call ourselves testa which means the people number 12 what do you think this sign means number thirteen what do you think this sign means the Chippewa and Cree of Montana have lived together so long they are like one group of people although they are originally from separate tribes one band has reserved lands on the rocky boy reservation the little shell band of the Chippewa Cree has no reserved lands they are based in Great Falls Rob Collier shows us a sign for the Chippewa number 12 the sign means timber people the same sign used for all Eastern Indians timber people Chippewa comes from the Algonquin word for puckering but the Chippewa refer to themselves as Anishinabe meaning original people Rob Collier shows us a sign for the Cree number 13 Cree the sign means rabbit men rabbit people the Plains Cree call themselves national walk which translates to those who speak the same language Cree also refer to themselves as in a walk meaning plain genuine natural people let's review the Chippewa and Cree live on the rocky boy reservation the little shell band of the Chippewa Cree has no reserved lands neighboring groups on the plains called the Chippewa timber people the Cree are known by some of their neighbors as rabbit men the Chippewa call themselves Anishinabe meaning original people the Plains Cree call themselves Nagina walk which translates to those who speak the same language Cree also refer to themselves as in a walk meaning plain genuine natural people I bet you would like to see those signs again stand up make sure you have room to spread your arms and see if you can learn these signs by following along Kootenai sign for whitetail deer Pend Oreille the sign indicates ear pendant Salish sign indicates head flat on sides Blackfoot the sign indicates black moccasins blood the act of wiping off a bloody nose pagan or begun II in our language the sign represents rubbing cheek with rawhide spot in a robe grove on sign for the Falls for Assiniboine the sign the act of paddling Dakota or Sioux sign is necklace people Kru uppsala that sign represents beating of wings cheyenne the sign means striped arrow feather Chippewa the sign means timber people Kri the sign means rabbit men look at all that you have learned you know all the tribes of on Tana and where they live you know the names they call themselves and what others call them you know which ones are misnomers and how they came to be used and you know the signs for each of these tribes now go practice with each other

Channel: The Montana Experience: Stories from Big Sky Country

Views: 95,364

Rating: 4.9017434 out of 5

Keywords: Tribe, Montana (US State), Native, American, Montana, West, Native American, Salish, Kootenai, Flathead, Indian, Crow, Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, Cheyenne, Blackfeet, Nez Perce, Sioux, Pend d'Oreille, Chippewa, Cree, names

Id: YgEvbYgGfus

Length: 34min 43sec (2083 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 25 2014