The History and Culture of the Spirit Lake Dakota
Tribal Flag Songs are the American Indian version of the National Anthem, their Star Spangled Banner, in which they pledge their support to the United States of America, or up north: the Dominion of Canada. All flag songs originated in a pan-Indian fashion right after World War Two. Without going into detail, most everyone knows the Flag Song opens up most cultural activities in Indian communities. As the Flag of the United States of America is paraded into the assembly all participants stand, men remove their hats and some place their right hand over their hearts. However few realize that the most prolific of all the tribal flag songs comes from the Arikara Nation living on the Fort Berthold Reservation. The Arikara are one of the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara), headquartered at New Town, North Dakota. No matter where you go you will probably hear the tune of the Arikara Flag Song used in diverse communities across Indian country.
The Arikara Flag Song
The first half of the song consists of vocables. The second half of the song contains the words:
Nataraakani e hee, u naawun{i}saawi, uu çiinaseeu nuuweenaanuuhaku
Our Friends e hee, u the Flag Ours now it waves over there.
Paatuh niineeninuhnunaanawaana hee ree, o
The enemy where it is waving over their land. Hee ree, o
Our people, Our Flag is now waving over there, waving over the enemy’s land.
{The written double vowels are pronounced as long vowels (Parks 1981, 2010)
During World War Two, Nick (Knight) Fox was standing guard near a fox hole. The sound of the wind brought the melody of the flag song to him. Davis Painte had a similar experience. When they returned home after the war in 1946 the Arikara singers at Nishu added the words to the melody. (FBCC).
The Arikara Nation which is one of the Three Tribes is located at Whiteshield, a small town on the eastern border of the reservation south of Roseglen, North Dakota. A group of young Arikara people broke away from the strict Grass Dance Society at Beaver Creek and went south across the Missouri River to the town of Armstrong, later named Nishu. They formed The Dead Grass Society. The main singers for the society were Dan Howling Wolf, Wallace Hand, Billy Lockwood, Vincent Malnourie, Alfred Morsette, Senior, and Ralph Wells, Senior. The Female back-up singers were Hanna Fox, Daisy Ross, Mary Lockwood and Ella Waters (Parks 1991:15, 35, 37, 41).
Ralph Wells Senior, one of the original Arikara singers who helped compose the song translated the words into the Hidatsa language. It was the Hidatsa who brought the melody to the world’s attention, so today most call it the Hidatsa Flag Song.
The Hidatsa Flag Song
Awa hido mada wadagabihaaha
Land here our flag
Ihsagihda awagua maiha idaawagua nakabaraguts
Alone strong enemy his land waving
Our Flag of the land here is waving all alone and strongly over the enemy land.(FBCC).
The Hidatsa first introduced their words to the Arikara Flag Song at the Santee Dance Hall in the Lucky Mound District on the Fort Berthold Reservation.
The singers of the Spirit Lake Dakota added their own words to the Arikara melody.
The Dakota Flag Song
Tunkaŝnayapi waopeye kiyena ca
President I join near so
Dakota Hokŝina akicizapi ohiyapi Tawiokihena ca heyapi.
Dakota Boys they battle they win His Flag so they say that
(I join near with the President; the Indian Boys they win the battle with his the Presidents flag so they say (Father Dan’s Tape, 1954).
A drum group from Ft. Berthold (un-named) while visiting the Red Lake, Minnesota Ojibwe transferred the right to use their Flag Song (Childs 2014: 129). However the Ojibwe seem to use the tune employing only vocables, singing the song without inserting Ojibwe words.
Bibliography
Child, Brenda J. My Grandfather’s Knocking Sticks: Ojibwe Family Life and Labor on the Reservation.
St: Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press 2014.
FBCC Fort Berthold Community College, New Town, ND.
Cultural material located in the library. There has been a recent name change to the Nuita, Hidatsa, and Sanish Community College.
Garcia, Louis Papers #789 Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grandforks.
Hartle, Donald D. “The Dance Hall of the Santee Bottoms on the Fort Berthold Reservation, Garrison Reservoir, North Dakota”
River Survey Papers # 28 1963,
Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin.
Hidatsa Flag Song http://www.powwows.com/pow-wow-singing
Madlon, Daniel O.S.B. Catholic Priest, 1907 – 1998. St. Michael, ND
Tape recording of traditional songs: 1954.
Oneroad, Amos and Being Dakota: Tales and Traditions of the Sisseton and Alanson B. Skinner Wahpeton.
Laura L. Anderson, editor St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press 2003.
Parks, Douglas R. Traditional Narratives of the Arikara Indians
Volume 3 Stories of Alfred Morsette: English Translations.
Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.1991.
Parks, Douglas R. University of Indiana, Bloomington
Personal communication March 31, 1981.
Email October 13, 2010.
Wick, Douglas A. North Dakota Place Names
Fargo, ND: Prairie House, Inc.1988.
Glossary
Arikara “Horns” named for their hair style, A.K.A. Ree, an abbreviation of their name.
Armstrong McLean Country, North Dakota, founded in 1894.
Renamed Nishu (Arrow) circa 1920, now inundated by Lake Sakakawea (Wick 1988:7).
Beaver Creek Mercer County, North Dakota. The Arikara moved from
Like-A-Fish-Hook Village south across the Missouri River to take up allotments along this creek.
Grass Dance A warrior society which originated among the Pawnee, Ponca, and Omaha Indians. The society spread from tribe to tribe circa 1870.
The name comes from the custom of carrying grass to start smoke signals when the enemy was detected. They carried braided grass on their belts (Oneroad and Skinner 2003: 79)
Knight, Nicolas were brother-in-laws, they married each others sisters.
Painte, Davis (www.powwows.com)
Like-A-Fish-Hook-Village McLean County, North Dakota. The last earth lodge village, located on the north side of the Missouri River
at a hooked bend, it was abandoned in 1885.
Lucky Mound Americanization of L’eau Qui Monte (water that rises). A creek on the east bank of the Missouri River where a community was established, McLean County., North Dakota (Wick 1988:117).
Nishu Arikara Indian community named for Floyd Bear whose
Indian name was Arrow. He was the traditional Chief of the Arikara (The Sahnish Cultural Society 1993; Wick 1988:139).
Roseglen McLean County, North Dakota, Founded 1904 (Wick 1988:166).
Sanish The traditional name for the Arikara.
Santee Dance Hall In June of 1870 the Santee, Dakota from Spirit Lake came and taught the Arikara the Grass Dance. Subsequently they built a dance hall to perpetuate the organization (Garcia Papers: Message 49; Hartle 1963).
Vocables are words with no meaning. The voice is replacing the playing of musical instruments with the drum keeping time.
Whiteshield McLean County, North Dakota, located six miles south of Roseglen, founded in 1954. Named for an Arikara Chief.
NAhTAsuutaaka, Harry Gillette Circa 1926. He was the grandson of Chief Son-of-the-Star A.K.A. Rushing Bear (Sahnish Cultural Society 1993: Wick1988:208).
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