This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
History of the Gros Ventres or Big Bellies Indians
The Gros Ventres of the Prairie, called Big Bellies by others and White Clay People by themselves, are traced from Algonquin roots with Arapahoe ties to a sedentary agricultural phase then nomadic buffalo hunts. Their conflicts with white traders began around 1806 after Lewis and his party clashed with a Gros Ventre band, fueling deep mistrust and deadly violence. They were mistaken for Blackfeet in reports, endured costly battles such as Pierre’s Hole in 1832, and disrupted fur trade routes through the Missouri region, impacting posts at Three Forks and prompting fierce rivalries among fur companies. They are described as industrious with skilled dress and tools, yet repeatedly hostile to whites along northern trails.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Assiniboines
Falls
Saskatchewan
Gros Ventres
Arapahoes
Buffalo Country
Atgina
Missouri
Great Falls
Judith Basin
Upper
Mandans
Prairie
Lewis
Lewie
Montana
Gros Entres
Blackfeet
Father DeSmet
St. Louis
Crow Country
Black Hills
Snake River
Colorado Mountains
Pierre’s Hole
Three Forks
Pierre's Holes
Rocky Mountain Fur Companies
South Pass
Platte
Sweetwater
Ashley
Gres Ventres
Snake
Green
Hudson Bay
Wyeth
Sublette
Bridger
Bonneville
Fitzpatrick
Chittenden
Vanderbaugh
American Fur Company
Vanderburgh
Peter Skene Ogden
Pierre's Hole
Alexander Henry
Northwest Company
Old Fort Brule
Hudson Bay Company
North West Company
Henry
Gros Ventre