Assiniboine

From Native American Information Superhighway Alltribes™ Wiki

The Assiniboine: People originally from the Northern Great Plains of the United States and Canada. In modern times, they have been based in present-day Saskatchewan; they have also populated parts of Alberta, southwestern Manitoba, northern Montana and western North Dakota. They were well known throughout much of the late 18th and early 19th century.

The life style of this group was semi-nomadic. During the warmer months, they followed the herds of bison for hunting, preserving the meat for winter. They did a considerable amount of trading with European traders. They worked with the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara tribes, a factor strongly attached to their life style.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition journals noted the tribe as the party was returning from Fort Clatsop down the Missouri River. The explorers had heard rumors that the Assiniboine were a ferocious group and hoped to avoid contact with them. They did not encounter them at all.