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The Indian advocate. ([Sacred Heart, Okla.]) 1???-1910, August 01, 1909, Image 5

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Persistent link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/45043535/1909-08-01/ed-1/seq-5/

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THE INDIAN ADVOCATE 271
cieties) t and have no trace of the clan system.
They recognize among themselves five main divisions,
each speaking a different dialect and apparently represen
ting as many originally distinct but cognate tribes viz:
(1) Nakasine'na, Baachinena, or Northern Arapaho.
Nakasinena, 'sagebrush men, ' is the name used by them
selves. Baachinena, 'red willow men (?),' is the name by
which they were commonly known to the rest of the tribe.
The Kiowa distinguished them as Tagyako, 'sagebrush
people, ' a translation of their proper name. They keep the
sacred tribal articles, and are considered the nucleus or
mother tribe of the Arapaho, being indicated in the sign
language (q. v.) by the sign for "mother people."
(2) Nawunena, 'southern men' or Southern Arapaho,
called Nawathineha, 'southerners, ' by the Northern Ara
paho. The Kiowa know them as Ahayadal, the (plural)
name given to the wild plum. The sign for them is made
by rubbing the index finger against the side of the nose.
(3) Aaninena, Hitunena, Atsina, or Gros Ventres of the
Prairie. The first name, said to mean 'white clay people
is that by which they call themselves. Hitunena, or Hitu
nenina, 'begging men' 'beggars' or more exactly 'spongers'
is the name by which they are called by the other Arapaho.
The same idea is intended to be conveyed by the tribal sign,
which has commonly been interpreted as 'big bellies,'
whence the name Gros Ventres applied to them by the
French Canadians. In this way they have been by some
writers confused with the Hidatsa, the Gros Ventres of the
Missouri. See Atsina.
(4) Basawunena, 'wood-lodge people, ' or possibly, 'big
lodge people. ' These, according to tradition, were former
ly a distinct tribe and at war with the Arapaho, but have
been incorporated for at least 150 years. Their dialect is
said to have differed considerably from the other Arapaho
dialects. There are still about 50 of this lineage among
the Northern Arapaho, and perhaps a few with the other
two main divisions.
(5) Hanahawunena ('rock men' -Kroeber) or Aanunha-
1'tcA
I

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