Gros Ventre Tribe

Alternate Names: Gros Ventre, Gros Ventres Ancestral homeland: lived on the Milk River branch of the Missouri River in northern Montana, they also migrated into Saskatchewan

History
The Grosventre separated from the Arapaho in the mid 1650's. Part of the tribe went to Canada and settled new Eagle Hills.

The tribe had early trade relations with the Cree Indians.

In the 1780's and 1790 the tribe migrated to the Upper Missouri River. In so doing they encroached on the Crow Indians and came into conflict with the Cree and Assiniboin. They sought alliance with the Blackfeet Indians. The intertribal conflict led to 400 Grosventre Indians being killed by the Cree and Assiniboin in 1835 at Sweetgrass Hill.

Treaty signed in 1855 with the U.S. Government, at mouth of Judith River, in the Territory of Nebraska, with the Gorsventres, Blackfoot, Piegan, Blood, Flathead, and Nez Perce, which established a common hunting ground.

In the 1860s, intertribal conflicts caused war, the tribe joined forces with the Crow to defeat the Blackfeet, who were once their allies. The tribe suffered a major loss to the Piegan Indians.

In 1888 the tribe was placed on the Fort Belknap Reservation.

The population of the tribe in 1990 was estimated to be 2,875.

Brief Timeline

 * 1650: the Grosventre separated from the Arapaho and moved northwest, to Eagle Hills in Saskatchewan, Canada
 * 1700: traded with the Cree
 * 1780: smallpox epidemic
 * 1780: migrated south to Upper Missouri River; by doing so they encroached on the Crow. Sought alliance with the Blackfeet.
 * 1790: tribal problems with the Cree and Assiniboin
 * 1835: 400 Grosventre killed by Cree and Assiniboin at Sweetgrass Hill
 * 1851: Treaty
 * 1855:
 * 1866:
 * 1867: suffered a major losses by Piegan
 * 1888: placed on the Fort Belknap Reservation in northern Montana; the Assiniboin also came to the Fort Belknap Reservation.
 * 1896: The Grosventre and Assiniboin coerced to sell land by government (gold had been discovered in area known as Little Rockies.)

Reservations
The primary reservation for the Grosventre Indians is the Fort Belknap Reservation, which they share with the Assiniboin.

Additional References to the History of the Tribe and/or Band

 * Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, gave a more complete history of the Grosventre tribe, with estimations of the population of the tribe at various time periods.
 * Fort Belknap Indian Community website has a page of history of the Gros Ventre Indians.

Tribal Headquarters
Fort Belknap Indian Community RR1, Box 66 101 Tribal Way Harlem, MT 59526 Phone: (406) 353-2205 Fax: (406) 353-4541 Official Website: www.ftbelknap-nsn.gov

Records
Agencies

The following agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs had responsibility for the Grosventre Indians:


 * Fort Berthold Agency
 * Blackfeet Agency
 * Fort Belknap Agency

Correspondence and Census

Treaties


 * 1851 September 17, Fort Laramie in Indian Territory, with Sioux, Grosventre, Assiniboin, Blackfeet, Crow, Dakota, Cheyenne, Arapho Manda
 * 1855 October 17, with the Blackfeet
 * 1866 July 27, Agreement at Fort Berthold-unratified

Vital Records


 * Fort Belknap, M595, birth and deaths, early - 1935, FHL Film: 576485 and births and deaths, 1936-1939, FHL Film: 576486
 * Fort Berthold, M595, births and deaths, 1926-1932, FHL Film: 576490 and births and deaths,1936-1939, FHL film: 576491

Important Web Sites

 * Gros Ventres Tribe Wikipedia
 * By-Laws of the Three Affiliated Tribes