The Hidatsa

In 1765 the Hidatsa was discovered by whites and documentation reveals that the Hidatsa peoples still used the dogs and the dog travois as a mode of transportation, not horses.  In 1804 Lewis and Clark discovered them still using dogs as a sole means of transportation.  

Native North Americans, also known as the Minitari and the Gros Ventre.  After their separation from the Crow, with whom they were united before the historic period, they occupied several agricultural villages on the upper Missouri River in North Dakota and were in close alliance with the occupants of other villages, the Arikara and the Mandan . The Hidatsa villages, with circular earth lodges, were enclosed by an earthen wall. Among other Hidatsa traits were the cultivation of corn and an annual organized buffalo hunt. They had a complex social organization and elaborate ceremonies, including the sun dance. After the smallpox epidemic of 1837, they moved up the Missouri and established themselves close to the trading post of Fort Berthold . Together with the Arikara and Mandan , many Hidatsa reside on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota . There were some 1,500 Hidatsa in the United States in 1990.

See A. W. Bowers, Hidatsa Social and Ceremonial Organization (1965).

REPRINTS IN ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 10
THE HORSE AND DOG IN HIDATSA CULTURE by Gilbert I. Wilson

             THE HISTORY OF DOGS IN THE HIDATSA CULTURE

The Hidatsa Nation was originally part of the Mandan Nation both speaking the Siouan dialect closely resembling the Crow dialect.

In 1765 the Hidatsa was discovered by whites and documentation reveals that the Hidatsa peoples still used the dogs and the dog travois as a mode of transportation, not horses.  In 1804 Lewis and Clark discovered them still using dogs as a sole means of transportation.

In 1837-38 smallpox reduced the Hidatsa nation to about 500 souls and all but exterminated the Mandan Nation.

The following documentations of the life of the Hidatsa people and their dogs were taken by interview from the few remaining descendants left of the once thriving, peaceful Native Americans.

Maxidiwiac or Buffalo Bird Woman was the daughter of the chief of the Hidatsa peoples and a dog breeder, dog trainer extraordinaire .

In 1913 Wolf Chief, an Hidatsa born in 1849 stated that the original breed of dog that the Hidatsa bred and raised, was well on the road to extinction, as the influx of European bred dog, was watering down the gene pool.

Buffalo Bird Woman said, “We had but one breed of dog in the village in old times, but the colors varied greatly.  We have none of the old  purebred dogs left on the reservation.”

To the Hidatsa, the dog was a very important beast of burden and its care and management and breeding was left to the women.

In the mid 1800’s H.H.Sibley noted the difference in size and appearance amongst the different tribes.  All dogs were large, with sharp erect ears.  In shape they vary only little from the wolf and are equally as large and strong.

Some like the Siouan dogs are wolf colored and have long slender legs and a surly disposition. “ In wandering through the prairies I have often mistaken wolves for the Siouan dogs.”

Others like the Mandan and Hidatsa dogs, have dogs of many colors, black, white, blue, yellow or tan spotted, black and white spotting, white with black spots, or red or gray spots on a white background.

One Hidatsian noted that all the colors found on our squash are also the colors of our dogs.

Their voices are not the normal European dog bark, but a howl like that of the wolf.

Two historical documentations of the dogs of the Hidatsa people are described as follows:

“The mournful howl of a dog, mounted on the top of one of the lodges, breaks the almost deathlike stillness.  The notes are instantly caught up by others, and directly every cur in the village is taking his part with commendable energy.  Commencing soft and low, the noise grows louder and deeper until it finally dies away in a prolonged wail; modulated by distance, the sound is not unmusical.

This canine matinee, rouses up the sleepers; a stir is evident in the village, and soon the curling smoke from the lodges floats in the morning air.  The squaws, old and young, followed by the usual retinue of dogs, hasten down to the river to fill their kettles while the warriors from the tops of the lodges anxiously scan the prairies to discover ‘signs’ of enemies.  Everything appearing quiet, the horses are driven forth, each band guarded by a young brave, who takes them where the best pasture is to be found and brings them back at sundown.”

Henry, who visited the Hidatsa in 1806 gives a different impression:

“We found it dangerous whilst in this village to stir out of the hut without a good stout cudgel to keep off the dogs: they were so numerous and savage as to sometimes to defy the brandishing of our clubs, so that we were actually obliged to engage them… …Therefore it is necessary for a person to be constantly upon his guard against the equally troublesome children and dogs.   At the Mandanes’ we were not incommoded in this manner: they have no dogs to annoy strangers, and the children are not so impertinent. They have not the same occasion for dogs as the Big Bellies (Hidatsa), being a stationary people, whose longest excursions are only for a few days to hunt buffalo, for which purpose, and to convey home the meat of which the Mandan use horses.”

“The dogs work very hard, have hard blows and a hard fare”.

The Hidatsa family had between 30 to 40 dogs and the dogs were noted as having a ‘show of fierceness’ but on the least threat would run off.”

The Hidatsa people had 4 kinds of dogs.

The “Ixitsec” or forehead raised ……meaning that the dog’s forehead did not lie flat but was convex and swelled outward like a lump.

“This dog has a surly temper and if you want to kill him you may.”

The “Atikeec, or lodge digger…loved to dig holes outside the family lodge.  “When the dog digs outside the lodge it is a sign someone within the lodge is going to die or that enemies or the Sioux will kill someone.  So if you want to kill this dog do so as he is a bad dog.”

The third kind of dog called the “Mawakua naxpic……or “that hung high catch with the mouth  so named because the dog could jump high in the air and grab the meat that was drying high up on a meat drying rack.  “If you don’t like the dog that jumps up and steals the meat then kill it.”

The fourth kind of dog was the “Icta dopac..or eyes four, or four eyes.

These dogs had a spot of tan, orange, gray or white above their eyes making them look like they had four eyes.  “He was very gentle, very good dog…no need to kill this one.”

When a dog became too old for work, it was allowed to live out its life  as a member of the family dwelling in the lodge with its owner.

Dead dogs were thrown in the river or carried far off into the woods to be disposed of they were not buried or eaten.

The following are all quotes from Buffalo Bird Woman born in 1840.

“Dogs were bred at any time during the year, but wolves only in the winter.”

“A kennel was built for the pregnant bitch.  A pit 5 to 6 feet in diameter and 1&1/2 to 2 ft. deep was dug.  The pit was dug deep enough so that the small pups could not climb out.  In rain or cold weather the door was covered with an old skin or buffalo hide.”

“As soon as we learned that a bitch was gravid (pregnant) we were careful not to harness her and make her pull a travois.  We were also careful not to kick a gravid female in the abdomen.   Some bitches were very surly and cross when gravid, others were always gentle whether gravid or not.   There was usually born from 7 to 10 pups.

As we wanted only  big dogs and all the pups from a bitch’s first litter never grew large, we always killed them, sparing not one.”

“From the second litter we kept 3 to 4 of the pups, with larger heads, wide faces and big legs, for we knew they would be big, strong dogs.

The rest we killed by dashing their heads against the ground.”

“In order that the mother might stay in good condition, we never saved more than 3 to 4 pups out of any litter.   Out of the 3 to 4 pups saved, we would choose one bitch for future breeding and the rest males for work.”

“Sometimes a neighbor might ask that a puppy be kept for him.  In that case one of those we had intended to kill was left alive with the rest. We always gave such a puppy as a gift and never expected anything in return.”

“After the pups were 10 days old and ate the food we gave them……we smoked them.

We burned some of the large kind of sage on some coals and we held the puppy with its head in the sage smoke, until white saliva like soapsuds dribbled from its mouth.  If the pup fell over while he was held a few inches from the ground and dropped, I knew he wouldn’t  grow up to be strong.  But if he hold his place and did not fall over I would say, “ Hey! Hey! This dog will carry my tent!”

Smoking the puppies was good for them.  It gave them a good appetite so that they would eat anything and everything, with no worms in their intestines.”

“Male dogs were castrated at one year to keep them gentle and keep them fat.

Dogs ate meat and were fed a boiled corn mush.  The meat that spoiled was fed to the dogs.  If an animal killed during a hunt was lean and poor in flesh, it was given to the dogs.”

“Sometimes a hungry dog ate so fast that the food stuck in his throat and he fell dead.  At such times the woman would take up the dog and bring him down against the ground on his hips alternating with thumps of her fists on his backbone just above the hips.  In a moment, the dog would come to life again with a yelp.”

Excerpts and quotes from Wolf Chief, Buffalo Bird Woman’s son:

“The dogs of the family belonged to the women.  Dogs were bought and sold.  Trained dogs were never sold.  For a desirable puppy, a knife or a piece of tent skin, a pair of moccasins or another small article might be given in trade.”

“The chief use of the dogs was the gathering of wood.”

“When we took a travois from its place leaning against the side of our lodge, to go after wood, the dogs would howl and wag their tails with joy.  I never found a dog to be lazy when bringing in wood.  To make our dogs go faster we called them…we never whipped our dogs. Sometimes a woman would take a stick to a dog that tried to bite a man, but the dogs never tried to bite women or children.

While the dogs were hitched to the travois they never tried to run away.”

“We never had to lead a dog with a thong.  If for some reason a dog stopped it was sufficient to call him by name and the dog would obey and follow.”

“The dogs were owned by women but the men of the family and village gave them their names.”

“Three women could load 20 dogs by noon .  A good dog could bring in nearly 100lbs. of wood.”

“One or more women with 15 to 20 dogs could bring in enough wood to last a month.  But a family with only 4 to 5 dogs would have to go out every week.”

“Before long in the woods with the sound of the axes, were the shrill voices of the women scolding their dogs who very naturally liked to vary the dull routine of every day life by getting up a little rough and tumble fight amongst themselves.”

“Dogs were also used to bring back dried grasses for the horses in later years.  This was done in the winter village.”

“Our dogs pulled our bull boat on the travois. The dogs and the people climbed into the boat.  The travois was bound to the boat in such a way that the skin saddle of the travois was out of the water.”

“In about 1879 the Hidatsa people stopped using the travois when they obtained wagons from the government.”

“There were 10 bobtailed dogs in out village, the bob-tail was purely natural, the pups were born this way.  A bobtailed dog was as good a dog and worker as was the dog with the long tail.”

“Our dogs were white with gray or black splotches on them.  My parent’s prized male was a large red dog.  I had a pure black dog with a bob tail.”

   THE HIDATSA DOG vs. THE SIOUX DOG

“The Hidatsa dogs were 2 to 3 yrs. old before they were required to work. The Hidatsa dogs were good tempered and better trained.

Dogs of the Hidatsa were never trained to hunt or used for fishing until after Small Pox about wiped out the Hidatsa Nation.  Then they learned how to train their dogs to hunt and fish when they merged with their neighbors.”

“The Sioux dogs were wild and surly.  The Sioux dogs were all wolf colored and had slim legs like the wolf.  The smaller of the Sioux dogs were eaten.

Hidatsa dogs were considered to be sacred and weren’t eaten because the flesh was not good for the dogs fed on carrion and  human excretment.”

“The Sioux had two sizes of dogs.  The smaller ones were eaten and resembled the wolf in shape. The larger dogs hunted and pulled a travois and had a rank taste to them.”

An observation noted by Buffalo Bird Woman when asked about coyote content in the dogs of neighboring tribes was that the dogs bit the same way her dogs bit………grabbing flesh and hanging on where a coyote bit in rapid succession with quick snapping bites…. Thus eliminating the myth of the dogs of the Plains Indians being part coyote. ~~~