Assiniboin

As·sin·i·boin

noun \ə-ˈsi-nə-ˌbȯin\

plural As·sin·i·boin or As·sin·i·boins or As·sin·i·boine or As·sin·i·boines

Definition of ASSINIBOIN

: a member of an American Indian people originally of the area between the upper Missouri and middle Saskatchewan rivers

Variants of ASSINIBOIN

As·sin·i·boin or As·sin·i·boine \ə-ˈsi-nə-ˌbȯin\

Origin of ASSINIBOIN

Ojibwa dialect assini·pwa·n, literally, stone Sioux

First Known Use: 1794

Assiniboin

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Assiniboin placating the spirit of a slain eagle, photograph by Edward S. Curtis, 1908; from The …—Courtesy of the Newberry Library, Chicago, Ayer Collection

North American Plains Indian people living mostly on reservations in Montana, U.S., and Saskatchewan and Alberta, Can. They speak a Siouan language. Their name is derived from an Ojibwa word meaning “one who roasts using stones.” They were divided into bands, each with its own chief and council, and were generally friendly with American and Canadian settlers. The bands moved their camps frequently in pursuit of migrating buffalo. Prowess in war consisted of taking horses and of touching the enemy (“counting coup”) during battle. Their numbers were severely reduced by smallpox in the 1820s and '30s, after which most were placed on reservations. Assiniboin descendants numbered some 7,000 in the early 21st century.

Variants of ASSINIBOIN

Assiniboin or Stonies