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This Resource Guide is written for the purpose of providing basic information about the histories and cultures of the Three Affiliated Tribes - the Mandan, |
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Hidatsa, and Sahnish. THe tribes believe their presence in North America is from the beginning of time. The Mandan call themselves "the People of the first |
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Man." The Hidatsa were known as Minnetaree, or Gros Ventre. Hidatsa was formerly the name of a vaillage occupied by these tribes, which has been said |
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to mean "willows." The name Minnetaree, spelled in various ways, means "to cross the water." Oral historians say the names "Arikara, Arickara, Ricarees, |
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and Rees" were given to them by the Pawnee and other informants to describe the way they wore their hair. It is important to be mindful that the people call |
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themselves Sahnish, which means, "the original people from whom all other tribes sprang." Although sharing cultures and histories for so long, the people |
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keep a distinct sense of tribal relationships. |
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