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The Assiniboine Indians, or Nakota, are a Native American tribe related to the Dakota Sioux. They allied with the Ojibwa and Cree to form the Iron Confederacy, extending their range from southern South Dakota north to Canada and from Minnesota west to Montana. They had a loose political structure and identified themselves with tattoos. Their population decreased due to war and a smallpox epidemic. They live in settlements in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and share two reservations in Montana with the Gros Ventra and Sioux tribes.
The Assiniboine Indians, who call themselves the Nakota, are a Native American tribe located in Washington state and southwestern Canada. They are closely related to the Dakota Sioux, a fact confirmed by the similarity of the language. Originally part of the Sioux tribe, they broke away in the seventeenth century and allied with the Ojibwa, bitter enemies of the Dakota. Over the next two centuries, the Sioux and Assiniboine Indians were often at war with each other.
Nakota means “allies of the people”. The name Assiniboine was given to them by the Ojibwa and means “those who cook with stones”, while Canadian hunters who had observed their cooking methods called them Stonies. The women heated the rocks and then dropped them into kettles of water. The rocks would have boiled the water, cooking the food.
The Assiniboine Indians were a migratory band involved in hunting and trapping. In the early 18th century, the tribe was still located in present-day Minnesota and northwestern Ontario. In 1735, they united with the Ojibwa and Cree to form the Iron Confederacy, later joined by the Blackfeet. Fighting together and equipped with European horses and weapons, the Confederacy successfully pushed across the northwestern Great Plains, defeating all who opposed them. In time their range extended from southern South Dakota north to Canada and from Minnesota west to Montana.
The Assiniboine had a very loose political structure, divided into bands that traveled and hunted in a given territory. A man was considered part of the band into which he was born until marriage, when he would choose to remain in his band or join his bride’s. The bands were friendly and informal, and switching from one band to another or starting a new band was acceptable. The Assiniboine Indians identified themselves with tattoos. Men would wear tribal markings on their arms and chests, and women would have spirit lines tattooed on their faces.
In 1600, the Assiniboine Indians were estimated to have a population of about 10,000. The tribe was often at war, which negatively impacted the male population. A smallpox epidemic in 1838 killed between one-half and two-thirds of the tribe’s members. In 2010, it was estimated that there were just over 5,000 Assiniboine Indians in the United States and Canada.
In Canada, the Assiniboine Indians live in a number of settlements located in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Maps and Jesuit journals from the mid-17th century confirm that the Assiniboine were present in the Manitoba region and are considered one of the eight major First Nations tribes of Canada. It is believed that the slaughter of a group of Assiniboine warriors by wolf hunters who mistakenly thought the natives were responsible for stealing their horses led to the formation of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
In the United States, the tribes share two reservations in Montana. The Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, just 40 miles (64.27 km) from the Canadian border, is shared with the Gros Ventra tribe. Most of the population live on small ranches and farms, and the reservation is home to a tribally owned meatpacking plant. Montana’s second reservation, the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, is shared with their former enemies, the Sioux. While ranching and agriculture are also active here, the tribes have a growing manufacturing sector involved in metal fabrication, commercial sewing, electronics manufacturing, and oil extraction.
