Hunkpapa facts for kids
The Hunkpapa (Lakota: Húŋkpapȟa) are a group of Native American people. They are one of the seven main groups, or "council fires," of the Lakota tribe. The name Húŋkpapȟa means "Head of the Circle" in the Lakota language. This is because, traditionally, the Hunkpapa would set up their tipis at the entrance of the big circle when all the Sioux tribes met. They speak the Lakȟóta language, which is one of the three main dialects of the Sioux language.
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Hunkpapa History in the 1800s
Early Interactions and Treaties
In August 1823, some Lakota, including Hunkpapa, joined US soldiers and fur traders. They fought against an Arikara Indian village in what is now South Dakota. This event was called the Arikara War. The Hunkpapa were among the first Native Americans to fight alongside US forces west of the Missouri River.
The Hunkpapa tribe might have formed more recently than other Lakota groups. The first time they were mentioned in European-American records was in a treaty from 1825. By signing this treaty, the Hunkpapa and the United States agreed to stay friends. The Hunkpapa chiefs also seemed to accept the power of the United States. However, it's not clear if they fully understood what the treaty meant.
Health and Land Changes
In 1832, the United States started a program to vaccinate Native Americans against smallpox. Some Hunkpapa might have received these vaccinations. When a smallpox outbreak happened in 1837, the Hunkpapa were affected, but they lost fewer than a hundred people. Overall, the Hunkpapa seemed to suffer less from new diseases than many other tribes.
In 1851, a big peace treaty was signed near Fort Laramie. This treaty set the boundaries for the Lakota Indian territory. Leaders from eight different tribes signed it, along with the United States. The treaty said that land north of the Yellowstone River belonged to the Crow Indians. The Little Bighorn River was also in Crow territory. The treaty also defined an area for the Arikara, Hidatsa, and Mandan tribes in what is now North Dakota.
Conflicts Over Land
Soon after the 1851 treaty, the Hunkpapa and other Sioux tribes attacked the Arikara, Hidatsa, and Mandan. These three tribes had been greatly affected by smallpox and asked the US Army for protection. Eventually, the Hunkpapa and other Lakota took control of the area north of the Heart River. They forced the Arikara, Hidatsa, and Mandan to live in Like-a-Fishhook Village, which was outside their treaty land. The Lakota controlled this area until 1876–1877.
In 1855, the US Army estimated the Hunkpapa Lakota population to be about 2,920 people. Their territory stretched from the Big Cheyenne River to the Yellowstone River, and west to the Black Hills. They also had conflicts with settlers along the Platte River.
In 1864, the Hunkpapa supported their relatives, the Santee Sioux, in a large battle near Killdeer Mountain. They fought against US troops led by General A. Sully.
The Great Sioux Reservation
A new treaty in 1868 created the Great Sioux Reservation. The Lakota agreed to let railroads be built outside their reservation. The United States also recognized that land north of the North Platte River and east of the Bighorn Mountains was still Indian territory. These hunting grounds were mainly used by the Sicangu (Brule-Sioux) and the Oglala Lakota.
The Hunkpapa often camped outside the official reservation areas. They played a big part in expanding the Lakota's hunting grounds westward in the late 1860s and early 1870s. This expansion often took land from other tribes. The Lakota regularly used the eastern part of the Crow Indian Reservation, sometimes even raiding the Crow Agency. Because of these actions, the Crow Indians asked the US Army for help against the Lakota.
Battles and Reservations
In 1873, the Hunkpapa attacked the Seventh Cavalry in US territory north of the Yellowstone. These battles, like Honsinger Bluff and Pease Bottom, happened on land the United States had bought from the Crow tribe. These constant attacks led the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to suggest that the "unfriendly Lakota" should be forced onto the Great Sioux Reservation. This idea came up in 1873, before gold was found in the Black Hills, but the US government didn't act on it until three years later.
The Hunkpapa were among the Native American groups who won the famous Battle of Little Bighorn in the Crow Indian Reservation in July 1876.
By the 1880s, most Hunkpapa lived on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North and South Dakota. This reservation includes land along the Grand River that the Arikara Indians had used in 1823.
During the 1870s, when Native Americans on the Great Plains fought against the United States, the Hunkpapa were led by Sitting Bull. They fought alongside the Oglala Lakota. The Hunkpapa were among the last tribes to move to reservations. By 1891, most Hunkpapa Lakota, about 571 people, lived on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Since then, they have not been counted separately from the rest of the Lakota people.
Hunkpapa Population in the 1800s
In 1805, the Hunkpapa population was estimated to be around 1,600 people, living in about 160 tipis. By 1849, the number of Hunkpapa tipis had doubled because other groups joined their camps. In 1855, they had 360 lodges, but their numbers slowly declined in the following decades. In 1855, there were almost 2,000 Lakota lodges in total. Fifteen years later, only 315 out of 2,400 tipis belonged to Hunkpapa camps.
Notable Hunkpapa Lakota People
- Bear's Rib, a chief in the 1800s.
- Dana Claxton (born 1959), a Hunkpapa Lakota filmmaker, photographer, and artist.
- Robert Tree Cody, a flutist.
- Zahn McClarnon, an actor whose mother is Hunkpapa Lakota. He has been in shows like Longmire.
- Athena LaTocha, a painter.
- Annie Little Warrior (1895–ca. 1966), an artist from Standing Rock, North Dakota.
- Phizí (Gall), one of the commanders at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
- Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake (Sitting Bull), a famous chief and leader who fought against the US Army.
- Tȟatȟóka Íŋyaŋke (Running Antelope), a Hunkpapa chief and advisor to Sitting Bull.
- Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, a social worker who created ways to help American Indian people deal with historical trauma.
- William "Hawk" Birdshead, founder of the Indigenous Life Movement.
- Waŋblí Ayútepiwiŋ (Eagle Woman) (1820–1888), a diplomat, trader, and peace activist.
- Ćehu′p Jaw (Ćehu′pa) (ca. 1853–1924), a Hunkpapa historian and artist.
- Tȟašína Máni (Moving Robe Woman), a woman who fought in the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
See also
In Spanish: Hunkpapa para niños
