Who Are the Arapaho?
The Arapaho (Hinono'eiteen, "Our People" or "Sky People") are a Plains Indian nation numbering approximately 12,000—divided between the Northern Arapaho in Wyoming (Wind River Reservation, shared with Eastern Shoshone) and the Southern Arapaho in Oklahoma (jointly enrolled with Southern Cheyenne). They speak Arapaho, an Algonquian language distinctive for its complex phonology. Close allies of the Cheyenne, the Arapaho similarly migrated from the Great Lakes to become quintessential Plains buffalo hunters. Their deeply spiritual culture emphasized ceremonial life, age-grade societies, and sacred tribal objects.
Plains Adaptation
Arapaho ancestors lived in Minnesota before pressure from other tribes pushed them westward (17th-18th centuries). They adopted horse culture and buffalo hunting, becoming one of the most mobile Plains peoples—ranging from Canada to Texas following buffalo herds. Society organized through elaborate age-grade lodges; men progressed through ranks (Kit Fox, Star, Tomahawk, Crazy Lodge, Dog Lodge, Old Men). The Sacred Flat Pipe and Sacred Wheel are tribal treasures never shown to outsiders. The Offerings Lodge (Sun Dance) was central ceremony. This spiritual emphasis distinguished Arapaho culture.
Alliance and Conflict
The Arapaho allied with Cheyenne, occasionally with Lakota, against common enemies—Ute, Shoshone, Crow, and eventually Americans. They participated in resistance to American expansion but adopted a more conciliatory approach than their Cheyenne allies. Some Arapaho suffered at Sand Creek (1864) alongside Cheyenne. Chief Little Raven sought peaceful solutions; the Arapaho signed the 1867 Medicine Lodge Treaty accepting reservation in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). The Northern Arapaho eventually settled at Wind River, Wyoming (1878), after years of displacement—placed there alongside their former enemies, the Shoshone, an arrangement that remains awkward today.
Reservation Challenges
Reservation confinement brought poverty and cultural suppression familiar across Indian Country. The Southern Arapaho merged administratively with Southern Cheyenne; they share tribal governance in Oklahoma today. The Northern Arapaho maintain separate government but share Wind River Reservation with Eastern Shoshone—two peoples with little historical connection. Both communities faced boarding school trauma, land allotment, and economic marginalization. The Northern Arapaho have pursued economic development including gaming; the Southern Arapaho/Cheyenne tribes have similar enterprises.
Contemporary Arapaho
Modern Arapaho balance cultural preservation with economic development. The Arapaho language is critically endangered—fewer than 1,000 speakers remain, mostly elderly. Immersion programs and language documentation efforts race against time. Traditional ceremonies continue; the Sun Dance is practiced by both tribes. The Sacred Wheel and Flat Pipe remain central to tribal identity. Wind River faces complex issues of shared governance; Southern Arapaho navigate joint administration with Cheyenne. How Arapaho preserve their unique language and spiritual traditions while addressing poverty and division shapes these Sky People's future on their widely separated reservations.
References
- Fowler, L. (1982). Arapahoe Politics, 1851-1978: Symbols in Crises of Authority
- Kroeber, A. L. (1902). The Arapaho
- Anderson, J. D. (2001). The Four Hills of Life: Northern Arapaho Knowledge and Life Movement