Leaders - Traditional Leaders of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Sahnish - Traditional Sahnish (Arikara) Chiefs - Part 1

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Traditional Sahnish (Arikara) Chiefs - Part 1

In the mid 1600s, ethnographers believed the Sahnish and their over 40 associated bands numbered well over 30,000 people. During the 1700s, there were 12 bands of Sahnish with four leaders or head bands. Each had a chief and three sub-chiefs. The four head bands were the hukawirat (eastern band), tuhkatakux (Village Against a Hill), tuhkasthanu (Buffalo Sod Village), and Awahu (Left Behind). The head chief of the Awahu was chief over the four bands.

When any Sahnish chief died, all of the men of the tribe assembled at an honoring feast. The first chief of each band had the right to make a speech to nominate a candidate for the vacant position. No votes were cast, the chief was chosen by consensus. A special shirt was given to the chief when they were selected and was worn to indicate that chief’s status. The duties of the chiefs were to extend hospitality to strangers, preserve peace within the tribe, and order hunts and tribal movements. Strangers and needy members within the village were always welcomed in the house of the chief. The chief’s house was well supplied with food and goods by the hunters. It was also the role of the chief to decide when to leave an area and where the new villages were to settle. (47)

* denotes Head Chief. (Head chiefs came from the leading village of the “wáhu” meaning “Left Behind.” Listing of chiefs printed with the permission of the Sahnish Culture Society, 1993)

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