Southern Arapaho

Southern Arapaho. The Southern Arapaho are a Native American tribe historically part of the larger Arapaho people, who traditionally lived on the Great Plains. Following the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, they were formally separated from their northern kin and later relocated to Indian Territory. Today, they are federally recognized as part of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, headquartered in Concho, Oklahoma.

History

The Southern Arapaho, alongside the Northern Arapaho, were once a unified people inhabiting areas of present-day Minnesota and the Dakotas before migrating westward onto the Central Plains. A key division occurred following the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, which assigned the Southern Arapaho and their allies, the Southern Cheyenne, to lands south of the Platte River. They were signatories to the 1865 Treaty of the Little Arkansas and the 1867 Medicine Lodge Treaty, which further reduced their territory. The tribe was profoundly affected by the 1864 Sand Creek massacre, where a peaceful camp led by Chief Black Kettle was attacked by Colorado Territory militia. Following the Battle of Washita River in 1868, they were eventually forced onto a reservation in Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma, after the 1869 Medicine Lodge Treaty conditions were enforced.

Culture

Traditional Southern Arapaho culture was centered on Plains Indian nomadic life, revolving around the bison hunt and seasonal ceremonies. They are renowned for their intricate beadwork and quillwork, which adorned clothing, parfleche containers, and other items. The Sun Dance was a central religious ceremony, and the sacred Flat Pipe bundle remains a core spiritual object. Social structure was organized through age-graded societies, such as the Crazy Dogs, which played roles in policing camps and organizing warfare. Like many Plains tribes, they adopted the horse culture in the 18th century, which transformed their hunting and warfare capabilities. Their cultural practices persist today through powwows, ceremonies, and artistic traditions maintained by the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes.

Language

The Southern Arapaho speak a dialect of the Arapaho language, which is part of the Algonquian language family, closely related to Gros Ventre and more distantly to Cheyenne. The language is critically endangered, with most fluent speakers belonging to the elder generation. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes' tribal college and language programs, often in collaboration with institutions like the University of Colorado Boulder, actively work on preservation through documentation and immersion classes. Linguistic studies of the language have been conducted by scholars such as Zdeněk Salzmann.

Notable people

Notable Southern Arapaho individuals include Chief Little Raven, a prominent diplomat who negotiated with U.S. officials and advocated for peace. Chief Black Kettle, a leader of the Southern Cheyenne who was closely allied with the Southern Arapaho, is historically associated with the tribe due to the shared camp at Sand Creek. Modern figures include Myron E. Dewey, a filmmaker and journalist from the Walker River Paiute Tribe with Southern Arapaho ancestry, and tribal activists and artists who contribute to cultural revitalization efforts within the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes.

Contemporary tribes

The Southern Arapaho are federally recognized as part of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, a single tribal nation headquartered in Concho, Oklahoma. This tribe is governed by the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal Council and provides services to citizens across several counties in Oklahoma. The tribe operates various economic enterprises, including the Lucky Star Casino, and manages programs for education, health, and cultural preservation. The Northern Arapaho Tribe resides on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, maintaining a separate government but shared cultural and linguistic heritage.

Category:Arapaho Category:Native American tribes in Oklahoma Category:Federally recognized tribes in the United States