THE WILD WEST HISTORY

Arapaho indians

The Arapaho Indian tribe most likely lived in Minnesota and North Dakota. European expansion forced the Arapaho westward towards the area which is now Colorado, Wyoming, and Kansas. When the U.S. was placing Indians on reservations, one group of the Arapaho were sent to Oklahoma. There they shared the reservation with the Cheyenne and eventually the Cheyenne and Arapaho cultures grew similar.

They lived in teepees made of buffalo hide. Before they were sent to reservations, they migrated often chasing herds, so they had to design their teepees so that they could be transported easily. It is said that a whole village could pack up their homes and belongings and be ready to leave in only an hour.

They originally used dogs to pull sleds with their belongings on them. When the Europeans came to North America, the Arapaho saw the Europeans' horses and realized that they could travel quicker and further with horses instead of dogs. They raided other Indian tribes, primarily the Pawnee and Comanchee, to get the horses they needed.

Later on, they became great traders and often sold furs to other tribes and non-Indians. While nobody knows for sure, many think the name 'Arapaho' might have come from the Pawnee word for 'traders.'

The children often fished and hunted with their fathers for recreation. While they had more chores to do than present day Arapaho, they still had time to play games. They played many games, including one involving a netted hoop and a pole where they would try to throw their pole through the center of the net. It was much like the game of darts

In present day, some Arapahos have gotten into the gaming or casino industry. A few of them own casinos, most notably the Arapaho Casino located in Wyoming.

Arapaho Chiefs and Leaders

Little Raven
Little Raven (Hósa, 'Young Crow'). An Arapaho chief.He was first signer, for the Southern Arapaho, of the treaty of Fort Wise, Colorado., February 18, 1861.  At a later period he took part with the allied Arapaho and Cheyenne in the  war along the Kansas border, but joined in the treaty of Medicine Lodge, Kansas, in 1867, by which these tribes agreed to go on a reservation, after which treaty all his effort was consistently directed toward keeping his people at peace with the Government and leading then to civilization.

Through his influence the body of the Arapaho remained at peace with the whites when their allies, the Cheyenne and Kiowa, went on the warpath in 1874-75. Little Raven died at Cantonment, Okla., in the winter of 1889, after having maintained for 20 years a reputation as the leader of the progressive element. He was succeeded by Nawat, 'Left-hand'.

Nawat ('Left-hand' ) 

The principal chief of the Southern Arapaho since the death of Little Raven (q. v.) in 1889.

He was born about 1840, and because noted as a warrior and buffalo hunter, taking active part in the western border wars until the treaty of Medicine Lodge in 1867, since which time his people, as a tribe, have remained at peace with the whites.  In 1890 he took the lead in signing the allotment agreement opening the reservation to white settlement, notwithstanding the Cheyenne, in open council, had threatened death to anyone who signed. He several times visited Washington in the interest of his tribe. Having become blind, he has recently resigned his authority to a younger man.