Atsina

This article is about a Native American tribe. There is also a Togolese traditional dance called the Atsina.

Atsina is an inaccurate and derogatory name for a Native American tribe located in northcentral Montana commonly known as the Gros Ventre. There are currently 5,000 members and they share Fort Belknap Indian Reservation with the Assiniboine, their historical enemies. Gros Ventre is a name that was given to the people by the French who misinterpreted their sign language. Instead, the Gros Ventre people refer to themselves as A'ani or A'aninin, which means "white clay people".

In the 1700s the Gros Ventre inhabited much of the Canadian Prairies ranging as far north as the Saskatchewan River Forks. Long time enemies of the Cree and Assiniboine they were forced to withdraw from what is now Canada during the first half of the nineteenth century due to the acquisition of guns by the Cree from the Hudson's Bay Company. During the 1700s they attacked and burnt the Hudson's Bay Company post at South Branch House on the South Saskatchewan River near present day St. Louis, Saskatchewan.

External link

[Encyclopedia of North American Indians]

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