In the Land of the Assiniboine

Film chronicles Plains Indian tribe

By Lorna ThackeryExplorers Lewis and Clark heard tales of a fierce people to the west when they holed up with the Mandan and Hidatsa during the brutal winter of 1804-05.

They must have awaited spring with some trepidation knowing their journey up the Missouri would take them into the heart of Assiniboine Country. President Thomas Jefferson’s ambassadors to the newly acquired lands in the West probably felt fortunate on their passage through what became northeastern Montana that they did not see a single warrior.

But the Assiniboine saw them.

The non-encounter is one of the many stories packed into a video produced by Glasgow resident Mary Helland chronicling the history of the Assiniboine, who now reside on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

The video “In the Land of the Assiniboine” was made by Camera One of Seattle with the cooperation of the Valley County Historical Society and Assiniboine Nation, and with the support of the National Park Service Challenge Cost Share Program.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Native Documentaries and News.