(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Indians 201: A very short overview of the Mandan Indians [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-01-02
While the most common stereotype of Plains Indians brings forth an image of horse-mounted, buffalo-hunting nomads living in tipis, many of the Plains Indian nations were farmers who lived in permanent villages and raised crops of corn (maize), beans, and squash. The Mandans were among the earliest farming nations on the Northern Plains. Their villages were along the Missouri River in the Dakotas.
Archaeologists feel that the Mandans first moved to the banks of the Missouri River in what is now South Dakota from northwestern Iowa or southwestern Minnesota. After five centuries in this area, there was a climatic change (the Pacific I climate episode) which drove them north into present-day North Dakota. The photographer and ethnographer Edward Curtis, in Prayer to the Great Mystery: The Uncollected Writings and Photography of Edward S. Curtis, reports:
“Mandan tradition tells of a gradual migration up the Missouri ‘from the place where the river flows into the great water’.”
Edward Curtis, in reviewing Mandan oral tradition, concludes:
“One can hardly doubt, therefore, that the Mandan dwelt originally in the warm Gulf region near the mouth of the Mississippi.”
For two centuries their villages lay north of the Grand River. In their 1917 book Corn Among the Indians of the Upper Missouri, George Will and George Hyde write:
“The Mandans were evidently the first Siouan tribe to reach the Upper Missouri.”
When the climate changed again, they found themselves in competition with other groups, such as the Arikara.
Oral Tradition Regarding Creation
One oral tradition says the Mandans came out from the underground on the west bank of the Mississippi River near its delta on the Gulf of Mexico. They left this point of origin and began a long, slow migration to the north. They continued their migration along the Mississippi until they reached Minnesota. Here they found that the land was not good for farming, so they turned to the south and west. They settled for a time near Pipestone, Minnesota, but they didn’t like pipestone as its red color signified blood and was thus unsuitable for ceremonial smoking. They preferred to make their ceremonial pipes from clay.
From Pipestone, about 40 lodges separated from the main tribe and moved north to the Red River and its tributary, the Sheyenne. After a flood forced them to move, they found the Missouri and settled in the Heart River area.
Those who remained at Pipestone were visited by Lone Man and the First Creator. From these two great culture heroes they learned many ceremonies. The tribe then moved west and settled along the Missouri River. Lone Man and First Creator convinced the people to move north and to join the other Mandans in the Heart River area.
Farming
The Mandans raised corn (maize), beans, sunflowers, tobacco, pumpkins, and squash. They produced not only enough agricultural products for their own use, but also a substantial surplus which was traded to other tribes, and later to the Europeans and Americans. In her book Women of the Earth Lodges: Tribal Life on the Plains, anthropologist Virginia Bergman Peters writes:
“The combination of a satisfactory agricultural base and a surplus of corn vital to their extensive trade brought wealth and political power to the upper Missouri River villages.”
In preparing the fields for planting, the Mandans used rakes and digging sticks. Some of the rakes were made from deer antler and some were made from long willow shoots. For field cultivation, the Mandans used a hoe that was often made from the shoulder-blade of a buffalo or elk which was attached to a long wooden handle.
The Mandans planted between nine and eleven different varieties of corn. The Mandan farmers also observed some basic plant genetics and separated the fields with the different varieties of corn.
With regard to the corn grown by the Mandans and other Missouri River tribes, George Will and George Hyde report:
“It is extremely hardy, not only adapting itself to varying amounts of moisture, and producing some crop under drought conditions, but resistant also to the unseasonable frosts which are apt to occur in the home region.”
One of the main varieties of corn was flint corn which was well-adapted to the semi-arid Northern Plains climate. This corn took about 60 days to mature and, because of its short stalk, was better able to withstand winds. George Will and George Hyde report:
“Flint corn is usually eight rowed, occasionally ten or twelve rowed; this species is high in protein and the grain is very hard and heavy.”
The Mandans also grew flour corn, which is softer and lighter. It is largely composed of starch and is deficient in protein. The advantage of this species of corn, however, was that it could be easily crushed or ground and it was much softer than the flint corn when eaten parched.
Squash was planted in late May or early June. To prepare the seeds for planting, they were first wetted, then placed on matted red-grass leaves and mixed with broadleaf sage. Buffalo skin was then folded over the squash bundle which was then hung in the lodge to dry for two days. During this time the seeds would begin to sprout. The sprouted seeds were then planted in mounds about four feet apart.
Immediately after planting the squash, the beans were planted in mounds about two feet apart. The beans were often planted between the rows of corn. Five different varieties of beans were planted.
Mandan crops were stored for winter in cache pits. These pits were shaped like a jug with a narrow neck at the top. The storage pits would be from 6 to 8 feet deep. The cache would hold 20 to 30 bushels. They were lined with grass or woven plants to prevent spoilage from moisture.
To prepare the corn for storage the ears were braided into strands. According to George Will and George Hyde:
“There was a standard size for these braids, the length being from knee down around the foot and up to the knee again.”
Once braided, the corn would be hung on the frame of the drying scaffold.
One of the popular ways of preparing the corn for eating was making corn balls. In one version of the corn balls, pounded sugar corn was mixed with grease. Another kind of corn ball was made using pounded corn, pounded sunflower seed, and boiled beans. It is reported that this tasted like peanut butter.
Hunting and Fishing
While the Mandans were a farming people, they supplemented their agricultural diet with buffalo meat. Along the Missouri River in North Dakota, the farming tribes would “fish” for buffalo. In the fall, buffalo attempting to cross the thin ice on the river would fall through and drown. Their bodies were carried downstream by the current and collected by the village tribes along the river. The meat from these animals was often well-aged—some Europeans would call it “high”—but the Indians enjoyed dining on buffalo that had been dead for months. Some nineteenth-century traders reported that the Indians were eating “fished” buffalo that were so rotten the flesh had to be scooped with a spoon.
The Mandans also built corrals next to precipitous stream banks. These were used to trap pronghorn antelope. The animals would be driven into the corral by a line of men, women, and children jumping up, startling and preventing the pronghorns from turning back. Once captured in the corral, the animals could be easily clubbed to death.
Fish were another source of protein. The Mandans used fish traps made out of willows. These traps would be placed in the shallow waters near the edge of the stream and baited with rotten meat. During the summer months they would catch large quantities of catfish. Several species of catfish were taken: blue (Ictalurus furcatus) which weighed up to 100 pounds; flathead (Pylodictus olivaris) which was up to five feet long and could weigh up to 100 pounds; channel (Ictalurus punctatus) which seldom weighed more than 25 pounds; and the black bullhead (Ictalurus melas) which weighed two pounds or less.
Houses and Villages
The Mandans, as a farming people, lived in permanent villages in which they constructed large earthlodges. In an article in North Dakota History, Valerie Mathes reports:
“The women owned the lodges, as well as domestic items such as bedding, and pots, and also dogs, mares, and colts.”
The earthlodges were circular structures built partially underground. They had a log framework which was covered with willow mats and then overlaid with a thin coating of earth and sod. At the top of the dome-shaped lodge there was an opening—often two or three feet across—which allowed smoke to escape. Next to this opening would be an old bull-boat or a covered wicker frame which could be placed over the hole during bad weather.
The floor of the lodge was often excavated a foot or more below ground level. Beneath the smoke hole, there would be a shallow depression, five or six feet across, curbed with stone for the fire.
The size of the earthlodges ranged from 20 to 50 feet in diameter. A typical earthlodge would have15-25 people living in it.
It would take a group of women about a week to construct an earthlodge. The lodge would then last about 7-10 years at which time the buried portions of the framework posts would be rotting out. A new earthlodge would then be built at the same location.
Beds were generally placed around the wall of the earthlodge. George Will and George Hyde describe the beds this way:
“Each bed is a separate, box-like structure, entirely closed in except for one small opening; the bed is raised somewhat above the floor and is filled with robes.”
The roofs of the earthlodges were often used as balconies for relaxing or for seeing what was going on in the area. Village life took place on the roofs of the lodges as well as on the ground.
To provide shaded outdoor working and lounging areas, ramadas were constructed using upright posts and horizontal joists to support a brush roof. There were no walls.
In addition to the earthlodges and the ramadas, there were also numerous scaffolds on which buffalo meat was hung to dry.
Each house also had a wood mortar which was set firmly into the floor. Using a heavy wooden pestle, the women would use this mortar for grinding corn.
Mandan villages usually had an open plaza near the center. The plaza was roughly 160 feet long and 90 feet wide. In the center of the plaza was a shrine—Mni-mih-douxx (“Water Middle Mark”)—which commemorates Lone Man’s act of saving his people during the great flood. Also on the plaza was the Medicine Lodge or Tixopinic. This was not only the largest building in the village, but it was also the only non-round building in the village. According to Tracy Potter, in her book Sheheke Mandan Indian Diplomat: The Story of White Coyote, Thomas Jefferson, and Lewis and Clark:
“The big lodge was the only public building in the village, and it was the center of the city’s religious, political, and social life.”
Government
The primary governmental unit among the Mandans was the village. As with many other American Indian nations, the village had two chiefs: a War Chief and a Peace Chief (also known as a Civil Chief). The War Chief was a man with many war honors while the Peace Chief was a man who owned an important ceremonial bundle and who had performed many ceremonies for the people. The Peace Chief was chosen on the basis of his compassion, his concern for other people, his generosity, and his adherence to tribal traditions. Tracy Potter writes:
“The civil chief was expected to have the interest of the people at heart.”
The Peace Chief settled village quarrels, maintained relations with other tribes, and was expected to give many feasts.
Clothing and adornment
Writing about the agricultural tribes in the northeastern portion of the Northern Plains, anthropologist Virginia Bergman Peters writes:
“While engaged in labor of any kind the people of the village tribes wore very little clothing, even in the coldest weather.”
Mandan men were often naked, and the women wore only a narrow breechcloth which was about a foot in length. During inclement weather a poncho-cape was often worn.
With regard to footwear, Josephine Paterek, in her book Encyclopedia of American Indian Costume reports:
“The Mandan wore the one-piece soft-sole moccasins with the side seam.”
Josephine Paterek also reports:
“Winter moccasins were made larger so they could be stuffed with grass or fur for warmth.”
With regard to Mandan hairstyles, Josephine Paterek reports:
“The men cherished their long hair, augmenting it with human locks or horsehair, so that it reached to their calves or even to the ground.”
Some men allowed a sparse beard to grow. Concerning Mandan women, Josephine Paterek reports:
“Women wore their hair as long as they could cultivate it, had a center part, and often wore it in two large braids.”
Pottery and baskets
The Mandans made large pots from the black clay found around their villages. These would range in size from one quart to five gallons. The bottoms of the Mandan pots were rounded and when the pots were not on the fire they would be placed upon a fiber coil.
Baskets were made by weaving strips of box-elder bark. These baskets would have a frame of willow rods and then the box-elder bark would be woven into this frame resulting in a very durable basket.
Marriage
Among the Mandans, residence after marriage was with the wife’s family, a practice which anthropologists label as matrilocal. In an article in Gateway Heritage, Carolyn Gilman describes it this way:
“Women never had to leave their homes: when a couple married, the man came to live in his wife’s earth lodge, moving in with her parents and sisters.”
Children would refer to their mother’s sisters as “mother” and if a woman died, her sisters would raise her children.
Trade
The agricultural villages served as distribution points for both raw materials—stones for making tools and Osage wood for making bows—and for finished products, such as bows made with mountain-sheep horn. Among the other items traded out of the Mandan villages were eagle feathers, dentalium and Olivella shells from the Pacific coast, conch shells from the Gulf coast, and copper from the Great Lakes. Trade was conducted by the women and berdaches (Two Spirits).
More tribal profiles
Indians 201: A very short overview of the Wichita Indians
Indians 201: A short overview of the Tillamook Indians
Indians 101: A very brief overview of the Osage Indians
Indians 101: A very short overview of the Menominee Indians
Indians 101: A Brief Overview of the Illinois Indians
Indians 201: A short overview of the Duwamish Indians
Indians 201: A very short overview of California's Chumash Indians
Indians 101: A Brief Overview of the Assiniboine Indians
Note: Indians 201 is a revision/expansion of an earlier essay.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/1/2/2294218/-Indians-201-A-very-short-overview-of-the-Mandan-Indians?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
