4. Bä′sawunĕ′na, “wood lodge men,” or, according to another authority, “big lodge people.” These were formerly a distinct tribe and at war with the other Arapaho. They are represented as having been a very foolish people in the old times, and many absurd stories are told of them, in agreement with the general Indian practice of belittling conquered or subordinate tribes. They have been incorporated with the northern Arapaho for at least a hundred and fifty years, according to the statements of the oldest men of that band. Their dialect is said to have differed very considerably from the other Arapaho dialects. There are still about one hundred of this lineage among the northern Arapaho, and perhaps a few others with the two other main divisions. Weasel Bear, the present keeper of the sacred pipe, is of the Bäsawunĕna.
5. Ha’nahawunĕna or Aanû’hawă (meaning unknown). These, like the Bäsawunĕna, lived with the northern Arapaho, but are now practically extinct.
There seems to be no possible trace of a clan or gentile system among the Arapaho, and the same remark holds good of the Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Comanche. It was once assumed that all Indian tribes had the clan system, but later research shows that it is lacking over wide areas in the western territory. It is very doubtful if it exists at all among the prairie tribes generally. Mr Ben Clark, who has known and studied the Cheyenne for half a lifetime, states positively that they have no clans, as the term is usually understood. This agrees with the result of personal investigations and the testimony of George Bent, a Cheyenne half-blood, and the best living authority on all that relates to his tribe. With the eastern tribes, however, and those who have removed from the east or the timbered country, as the Caddo, the gentile system is so much a part of their daily life that it is one of the first things to attract the attention of the observer.
In regard to the tribal camping circle, common to most of the prairie tribes, the Arapaho state that on account of their living in three main divisions they have had no common camping circle within their recollection, but that each of these three divisions constituted a single circle when encamped in one place.
Among the northern Arapaho, on the occasion of every grand gathering, the sacred pipe occupied a special large tipi in the center of the circle, and the taking down of this tipi by the medicine keeper was the signal to the rest of the camp to prepare to move. On the occasion of a visit of several hundred Cheyenne and Arapaho to the Kiowa and Comanche at Anadarko, in the summer of 1892, each of the visiting tribes camped in a separate circle adjacent to the other. The opening of the circle, like the door of each tipi, always faces the east.
Under the name of Kanenăvish the Arapaho proper are mentioned by Lewis and Clark in 1805, as living southwest of the Black hills. As a tribe they have not been at war with the whites since 1868, and took no part in the outbreak of the Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Comanche in 1874. At present they are in three main divisions. First come the Gros Ventres, numbering 718 in 1892, associated with the Asiniboin on Fort Belknap reservation in Montana. There are probably others of this band with the Blackfeet on the British side of the line. Next come the northern Arapaho, numbering 829, associated with the Shoshoni on Wind River reservation in Wyoming. They were placed on this reservation in 1876, after having made peace with the Shoshoni, their hereditary enemy, in 1869. They are divided into three bands, the “Forks of the River Men” under Black Coal, the head chief of the whole division; the “Bad Pipes” under Short Nose, and the “Greasy Faces” under Spotted Horse. The third division, the southern Arapaho, associated with the Cheyenne in Oklahoma, constitute the main body of the tribe and numbered 1,091 in 1892. They have five bands: 1, Wa′quithi, “bad faces,” the principal band and the one to which the head chief, Left Hand, belongs; 2, Aqa′thinĕ′na, “pleasant men;” 3, Gawunĕ′na or Ga′wunĕhäna (Kawinahan, “black people”—Hayden), “Blackfeet,” so called because said to be of part Blackfoot blood, the same name being applied to the Blackfoot tribe; 4, Ha′qihana, “wolves,” because they had a wolf (not coyote) for medicine; 5, Säsa′bä-ithi, “looking up,” or according to another authority, “looking around, i. e., watchers or lookouts.” Under the treaty of Medicine Lodge in 1867, they and the southern Cheyenne were placed on the reservation which they sold in 1890 to take allotments and become citizens. Their present chief is Left Hand (Nawat), who succeeded the celebrated Little Raven (Hosa) a few years ago. The whole number of the Arapaho and Gros Ventres, including a few in eastern schools, is about 2,700.
Fig. 88—Arapaho tipi and windbreak.
Until very recently the Arapaho have been a typical prairie tribe, living in skin tipis and following the buffalo in its migrations, yet they retain a tradition of a time when they were agricultural. They are of a friendly, accommodating disposition, religious and contemplative, without the truculent, pugnacious character that belongs to their confederates, the Cheyenne, although they have always proven themselves brave warriors. They are also less mercenary and more tractable than the prairie Indians generally, and having now recognized the inevitable of civilization have gone to work in good faith to make the best of it. Their religious nature has led them to take a more active interest in the Ghost dance, which, together with the rhythmic character of their language, has made the Arapaho songs the favorite among all the tribes of Oklahoma. The chief study of the Ghost dance was made among the Arapaho, whom the author visited six times for this purpose. One visit was made to those in Wyoming, the rest of the time being spent with the southern branch of the tribe.