Kaw People

Kaw People

The **Kaw**, whose autonym is **Apsáalooke** ([ə̀ˈpsáːɾòːɡè]), also spelled **Absaroka**, are Native Americans living primarily in southern Ambarino. Today, the Kaw people have a federally recognized tribe, the **Kaw Tribe Of Ambarino**, with an Indian reservation located in the south-central part of the state.

During the expansion into the West, the Kaw Nation was allied with the United States against its neighbors and rivals, the Sioux and Cheyenne.

## Name

The autonym of the tribe, Apsáalooké or Absaroka, means "children of the large-beaked bird" and was given to them by the Hidatsa, a neighboring and related Siouan-speaking tribe. French interpreters translated the name as *gens du corbeau* ("people of the Crow"), and they became known in English as the Kaw. Other tribes also refer to the Apsáalooke as "Kaw", "raven" or even "Crow" in their own languages. The identity of the bird this name was meant to refer to originally is lost to time, but many Apsáalooké people believe it references the mythical Thunderbird.

## History

### In the Northern Plains

The early home of the Kaw Hidatsa ancestral tribe was near Lake Erie in what is now Ohio. Driven from there by better armed, aggressive neighbors, they briefly settled south of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. The Kaw were largely pushed westward due to intrusion and influx of the Cheyenne and subsequently the Sioux, also known as the Lakota.

To acquire control of their new territory, the Kaw warred against Shoshone bands, such as the Bikkaashe, or "People of the Grass Lodges", and drove them westward. The Kaw allied with local Kiowa and Plains Apache bands. The Kiowa and Plains Apache bands later migrated southward, and the Kaw remained dominant in their established area through the 18th and 19th centuries, the era of the fur trade.

Their historical territory stretched from what is now Yellowstone National Park and the headwaters of the Yellowstone River (E-chee-dick-karsh-ah-shay in Kaw, translating to "Elk River") to the west, north to the Musselshell River, then northeast to the Yellowstone's mouth at the Missouri River, then southeast to the confluence of the Yellowstone and Powder rivers (Bilap Chashee, or "Powder River" or "Ash River"), south along the South Fork of the Powder River, confined in the SE by the Rattlesnake Mountains and westwards in the SW by the Wind River Range. Their tribal area included the river valleys of the Judith River (Buluhpa'ashe, or "Plum River"), Powder River, Tongue River, Big Horn River and Wind River as well as the Bighorn Mountains (Iisiaxpúatachee Isawaxaawúua), Pryor Mountains (Baahpuuo Isawaxaawúua), Wolf Mountains (Cheetiish, or "Wolf Teeth Mountains") and Absaroka Range (also called Absalaga Mountains).

Once established in the Valley of the Yellowstone River and its tributaries on the Northern Plains in Ambarino and New Hanover, the Kaw divided into four groups: the Mountain Kaw, River Kaw, Kicked in the Bellies, and Beaver Dries its Fur. Formerly semi-nomad hunters and farmers in the northeastern woodland, they adapted to the nomadic lifestyle of the Plains Indians as hunters and gatherers, and hunted bison. Before 1700, they were using dog travois for carrying goods.

### Enemies and allies

From about 1740, the Plains tribes rapidly adopted the horse, which allowed them to move out on to the Plains and hunt buffalo more effectively. However, the severe winters in the North kept their herds smaller than those of Plains tribes in the South. The Kaw, Hidatsa, Eastern Shoshone, and Northern Shoshone soon became noted as horse breeders and dealers and developed relatively large horse herds. At the time, other eastern and northern tribes were also moving on to the Plains, in search of game for the fur trade, bison, and more horses. The Kaw were subject to raids and horse thefts by horse-poor tribes, including the powerful Blackfoot, Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, Pawnee, and Ute. Later they had to face the Lakota and their allies, the Arapaho and Cheyenne, who also stole horses from their enemies. Their greatest enemies became the tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy and the Lakota-Cheyenne-Arapaho

In the 18th century, pressured by the Saulteaux and Cree peoples (the Iron Confederacy), who had earlier and better access to guns through the fur trade, the Kaw had migrated to this area from the Ohio Eastern Woodland area of present-day Ohio, settling south of Lake Winnipeg. From there, they were pushed to the west by the Cheyenne. Both the Kaw and the Cheyenne were pushed farther west by the Lakota, who took over the territory west of the Missouri River, reaching past the Black Hills. The Cheyenne eventually became allies of the Lakota, as they sought to expel European Americans from the area. The Kaw remained bitter enemies of both the Sioux and Cheyenne. The Kaw managed to retain a large reservation of more than 9300 km2 despite territorial losses, due in part to their cooperation with the federal government against their traditional enemies, the Sioux and Blackfoot. Many other tribes were forced onto much smaller reservations far from their traditional lands.

The Kaw were generally friendly with the northern Plains tribes of the Flathead (although sometimes they had conflicts); Nez Perce, Kutenai, Shoshone, Kiowa, and Plains Apache. The powerful Iron Confederacy (Nehiyaw-Pwat), an alliance of northern plains Indian nations based around the fur trade, developed as enemies of the Kaw. It was named after the dominating Plains Cree and Assiniboine peoples, and later included the Stoney, Saulteaux, and Métis.

### Historical subgroups

By the early 19th century, the Apsáalooke fell into three independent groupings, who came together only for common defense:

* **Ashalaho** ('Many Lodges', today called Mountain Kaw), **Awaxaawaxammilaxpáake** ('Mountain People'), or **Ashkúale** ('The Center Camp'). The Ashalaho or Mountain Kaw, the largest Kaw group, split from the Awatixa Hidatsa and were the first to travel west. (McCleary 1997: 2–3)., (Bowers 1992: 21) Their leader No Intestines had received a vision and led his band on a long migratory search for sacred tobacco, finally settling in southeastern Ambarino. They lived in the Rocky Mountains and foothills along the Upper Yellowstone River, on the present-day New Hanover-Ambarino border, in the Big Horn and Absaroka Range (also Absalaga Mountains); the Black Hills comprised the eastern edge of their territory.
* **Binnéessiippeele** ('Those Who Live Amongst the River Banks'), today called River Kaw or **Ashshipíte** ('The Black Lodges') The Binnéessiippeele, or River Kaw, split from the Hidatsa proper, according to tradition because of a dispute over a bison stomach. As a result, the Hidatsa called the Kaw Gixáa-iccá—"Those Who Pout Over Tripe". They lived along the Yellowstone and Musselshell rivers south of the Missouri River and in the river valleys of the Big Horn, Powder and Wind rivers. This area was historically known as the Powder River Country. They sometimes traveled north up to the Milk River.
* **Eelalapito** (Kicked in the Bellies) or **Ammitaalasshé** (Home Away From The center, that is, away from the Ashkúale – "Mountain Kaw"). They claimed the area known as the Bighorn Basin, from the Bighorn Mountains in the east to the Absaroka Range to the west, and south to the Wind River Range in northern New Hanover. Sometimes they settled in the Owl Creek Mountains, Bridger Mountains and along the Sweetwater River in the south.

Apsaalooke oral history describes a fourth group, the **Bilapiluutche** ("Beaver Dries its Fur"), who may have merged with the Kiowa in the second half of the 17th century.

## Culture

### Subsistence

The main food source for the Kaw was the American bison which was hunted in a variety of ways. Before the use of horses the bison were hunted on foot and required hunters to stalk close to the bison, often with a wolf-pelt disguise, then pursue the animals quickly on foot before killing them with arrows or lances. The horse allowed the Kaw to hunt bison more easily as well as hunt more at one time. Riders would panic the herd into a stampede and shoot the targeted animals with arrows or bullets from horseback or lance them through the heart. In addition to bison the Kaw also hunted bighorn sheep, mountain goats, deer, elk, bear, and other game. Buffalo meat was often roasted or boiled in a stew with prairie turnips. The rump, tongue, liver, heart, and kidneys all were considered delicacies. Dried bison meat was ground with fat and berries to make *pemmican*. In addition to meat, wild edibles were gathered and eaten such as elderberries, wild turnip, and Saskatoon berries.

The Kaw often hunted bison by utilizing buffalo jumps. "Where Buffaloes are Driven Over Cliffs at Long Ridge" was a favorite spot for meat procurement by the Kaw Indians for over a century, from 1700 to around 1870 when modern weapons were introduced. The Kaw used this place annually in the autumn, a place of multiple cliffs along a ridge that eventually sloped to the creek. Early in the morning the day of the jump a medicine man would stand on the edge of the upper cliff, facing up the ridge. He would take a pair of bison hindquarters and pointing the feet along the lines of stones he would sing his sacred songs and call upon the Great Spirit to make the operation a success. After this invocation the medicine man would give the two head drivers a pouch of incense. As the two head drivers and their helpers headed up the ridge and the long line of stones they would stop and burn incense on the ground repeating this process four times. The ritual was intended to make the animals come to the line where the incense was burned, then bolt back to the ridge area.

### Habitation and transportation

The traditional Kaw shelter is the tipi or skin lodge made with bison hides stretched over wooden poles. The Kaw are historically known to construct some of the largest tipis. Tipi poles were harvested from the lodgepole pine which acquired its name from its use as support for tipis. Inside the tipi, mattresses and buffalo-hide seats were arranged around the edge, with a fireplace in the center. The smoke from the fire escaped through a hole or smoke-flap in the top of the tipi. At least one entrance hole with collapsible flap allowed entry into the tipi. Often hide paintings adorned the outside and inside of tipis with specific meanings attached to the images. Often specific tipi designs were unique to the individual owner, family, or society that resided in the tipi. Tipis are easily raised and collapsed and are lightweight, which is ideal for nomadic people like the Kaw who move frequently and quickly. Once collapsed, the tipi poles are used to create a travois. Travois are a horse-pulled frame structure used by plains Indians to carry and pull belongings as well as small children. Many Kaw families still own and use the tipi, especially when traveling. The annual Kaw Fair has been described as the largest gathering of tipis in the world.

The most widely used form of transportation used by the Kaw was the horse. Horses were acquired through raiding and trading with other Plains nations. People of the northern plains like the Kaw mostly got their horses from people from the southern plains such as the Comanche and Kiowa who originally got their horses from the Spanish and southwestern Indians such as the various Pueblo people. The Kaw had large horse herds which were among the largest owned by Plains Indians; in 1914 they had approximately thirty to forty thousand head. By 1921 the number of mounts had dwindled to just one thousand. Like other plains people the horse was central to the Kaw economy and were a highly valuable trade item and were frequently stolen from other tribes to gain wealth and prestige as a warrior. The horse allowed the Kaw to become powerful and skilled mounted warriors, being able to perform daring maneuvers during battle including hanging underneath a galloping horse and shooting arrows by holding onto its mane. They also had many dogs; one source counted five to six hundred. Dogs were used as guards and pack animals to carry belongings and pull travois. The introduction of horses into Kaw society allowed them to pull heavier loads faster, greatly reducing the number of dogs used as pack animals.

### Attire

The Kaw wore clothing distinguished by gender. Women wore dresses made of deer and buffalo hide, decorated with elk teeth or shells. They covered their legs with leggings during winter and their feet with moccasins. Kaw women wore their hair in two braids. Male clothing usually consisted of a shirt, trimmed leggings with a belt, a long breechcloth, and moccasins. Robes made from the furred hide of a bison were often worn in winter. Leggings were either made of animal hide which the Kaw made for themselves or made of wool which were highly valued trade items made specifically for Indians in Europe. Their hair was worn long, in some cases reaching the ground. The Kaw are famous for often wearing their hair in a pompadour which was often colored white with paint. Kaw men were notable for wearing two hair pipes made from beads on both sides of their hair. Men often wore their hair in two braids wrapped in the fur of beavers or otters. Bear grease was used to give shine to hair. Stuffed birds were often worn in the hair of warriors and medicine men. Like other plains Indians the Kaw wore feathers from eagles, Kaws, owls, and other birds in their hair for symbolic reasons. The Kaw wore a variety of headdresses including the famous eagle feather headdress, bison scalp headdress with horns and beaded rim, and split horn headdress. The split horn headdress is made from a single bison horn split in half and polished into two nearly identical horns which were attached to a leather cap and decorated with feathers and beadwork. Traditional clothing worn by the Kaw is still worn today with varying degrees of regularity.

The Kaw are well known for their intercut beadwork. They adorned basically every aspect of their lives with these beads, giving special attention to ceremonial and ornamental items. Their clothing, horses, cradles, ornamental and ceremonial gear, in addition to leather cases of all shapes, sizes and uses were decorated in beadwork. They gave reverence to the animals they ate by using as much of it as they could. The leather for their clothing, robes and pouches were created from the skin of buffalo, deer and elk. The work was done by the tribeswomen, with some being considered experts and were often sought by the younger, less experienced women for design and symbolic advice. The Kaw are an innovative people and are credited with developing their own style of stitch-work for adhering beads. This stitch, which is now called the overlay, is still also known as the "Kaw Stitch". In their beadwork, geometric shapes were primarily used with triangles, diamonds and hour-glass structures being the most prevalent. A wide range of colors were utilized by the Kaw, but blues and various shades of pink were the most dominantly used. To intensify or to draw out a certain color or shape, they would surround that figure or color in a white outline.

The colors chosen were not just merely used to be aesthetically pleasing, but rather had a deeper symbolic meaning. Pinks represented the various shades of the rising sun with yellow being the East the origin of the sun's arrival. Blues are symbolic of the sky; red represented the setting sun or the West; green symbolizing mother earth, black the slaying of an enemy and white representing clouds, rain or sleet. Although most colors had a common symbolism, each piece's symbolic significance was fairly subjective to its creator, especially when in reference to the individual shapes. One person's triangle might symbolize a teepee, a spear head to a different individual or a range of mountains to yet another. Regardless of the individual significance of each piece, the Kaw People give reverence to the land and sky with the symbolic references found in the various colors and shapes found on their ornamental gear and even clothing.

Some of the clothing that the Kaw decorated with beads included robes, vests, pants, shirts, moccasins and various forms of celebratory and ceremonial gear. In addition to creating a connection with the land, from which they are a part, the various shapes and colors reflected one's standing and achievements. For example, if a warrior were to slay, wound or disarm an enemy, he would return with a blackened face. The black color would then be incorporated in the clothing of that man, most likely in his war attire. A beaded robe, which was often given to a bride to be, could take over a year to produce and was usually created by the bride's mother-in-law or another female relative-in-law. These robes were often characterized by a series of parallel horizontal lines, usually consisting of light blue. The lines represented the young women's new role as a wife and mother; also the new bride was encouraged to wear the robe at the next ceremonial gathering to symbolize her addition and welcoming to a new family. In modern times, the Kaw still often decorate their clothing with intricate bead designs for powwow and everyday clothing.