Glossary

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Gros Ventre

The Gros Ventre belong to the Algonquian language family, and the name is derived from the French word meaning 'big belly'. It is thought to come from a misinterpretation of the motion they made when they met French explorers and traders. The Gros Ventre were in fact referring to waterfalls, perhaps from the Saskatchewan River. The Gros Ventre refer to themselves as 'A'aninin' meaning 'white clay' or 'people of the white clay'. A distinguishing feature of the group is that they washed their clothing in a clay substance which when rubbed on wet buckskin caused the material to become white in colour. It is believed that the earliest contact with the Gros Ventre was around 1754 near the north and south forks of the Saskatchewan River. The Gros Ventre suffered from the smallpox epidemic as did many other plains tribes. The Gros Ventre were closely associated with the Blackfoot and viewed the Cree and Assiniboine as enemies. In 1855, the Gros Ventre had migrated from southern Alberta into what is now present day Montana where they signed a peace treaty with the American government. Subsequently, they took reservation in 1888 at Fort Belknap in the United States after travelling from a number of different trading posts. They now reside primarily on the Belknap Reservation in Montana.

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