Bears Belly
The story of Bears Belly, an iconic figure with an untold story. Explore the Arikara fight for survival.
Bears Belly is an American folk hero just as much as he is an Indian one and is equal to George Armstrong Custer. His life tells the story of the Indian struggle for survival in a time and place where disease, war, and nature constantly challenged that same life within its boundaries. His is just one story in the archives of Indian history, which conveys a wide array of narratives and accounts of Indian life in the days of American settler encroachment.
Over the course of several posts, we will walk together through Bears Belly’s story of survival and fight for Arikara independence. We’ll see triumphs and failures, contradictions and double-dealing, and hope and life. Most of all, we’ll understand the time and people involved in the forming of this nation. And hopefully, we’ll gain a better picture of ourselves in the process.
Chapter One
1.0 Introduction
Bears Belly: The War Drums Are Stilled
Bears Belly’s story of his fight for the Arikara is just as important to American history as George Armstrong Custer’s story because it tells the Indian version of the tale that Custer’s life told for the settler side.
Steve Dragswolf
1.1 To Wipe Away Their Tears
To Wipe Away Their Tears: Bears Belly
Bears Belly and Libbie Custer died around the same time. Their deaths celebrated and marked different things for different people in America.
Steve Dragswolf
1.2 Arikara Creation Story Part One
Arikara Origins - Bears Belly
Understanding the Arikara story of creation will help us to understand Bears Belly and the Arikara in their time.
Steve Dragswolf
1.3 Sickness and Death
Sickness and Death: Bears Belly
This is a continuation of the Arikara creation story told at Bears Belly’s funeral, revealing the formation of life as well as sickness & death.
Steve Dragswolf
1.4 We Are All Related
We Are All Related: Bears Belly
💡This is the continuation of the series on Bears Belly. Read the previous entry here. Find the table of contents here. Silence blanketed the ceremony until one woman began to wail loudly inside the lodge once the Kúnúh medicine man told the creation story, ending with Sickness and Death’s
Steve Dragswolf
Chapter 2
2.1 A Different World
A Different World: Bears Belly
💡This article is a continuation of Bears Belly’s story. You can read the previous entry here. Much had changed over the centuries since life sprung from Mother’s womb to when Bears Belly sprung from his mother’s womb. People were divided and largely disrespected life. Nearly everyone was fighting
Steve Dragswolf
2.2 A Young Apprentice
A Young Apprentice: Bears Belly
As Bears Belly matured, he likely acquired hunting and fishing skills to contribute to the tribe’s sustenance. He would have accompanied the hunters, serving as their assistant by carrying their weapons and supplies. Additionally, he would have prepared meals for the hunters during their breaks. This experience allowed Bears Belly
Steve Dragswolf
2.3 Boyhood and the Arikara Lifestyle
Boyhood and The Arikara Lifestyle: Bears Belly
While growing up in the tumultuous era of disease that the Arikara faced, Bears Belly lived the life of an average Arikara child. Bears Belly, as a baby, would have been suspended in the rafters of the earth lodge, wrapped in buffalo and calfskin, observing his family below. Arikara babies
Steve Dragswolf
2.4 Enlisting As A Scout
Enlisting As A Scout: Bears Belly
“This young man sits in front of you and will endure great suffering. Look upon him with favor, you and Neshanu, and give him a long and prosperous life.” The old Indian who spoke these words turned away from a buffalo skull and towards a teenaged Bears Belly sitting naked
Steve Dragswolf
Chapter 3
3.1 A Brewing Unrest
A Brewing Unrest: Bears Belly
The Sahnish (Arikara), Nueta (Mandan), and Hiraacá (Hidatsa) – recognized federally today as The Three Affiliated Tribes – had plenty of run-ins with the Lakota before these representatives came along. Two large groups of Indians living in the same land were the making for many skirmishes as they fought for control or
Steve Dragswolf
3.2 A Familial War
A Familial War: Bears Belly
Bull Head was valuable not only because the Arikara Chief White Shield trusted him but because he knew the Chief of the Lakota Sioux and had been a part of New Dog, the same secret warrior society as Sitting Bull. With their proximities so close to one another, it wasn’
Steve Dragswolf
3.3 The 1874 Black Hills Expedition
The 1874 Black Hills Expedition Begins: Bears Belly
On July 2nd, 1874, a young and celebrated Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, who was just 34 years old at the time, was chosen as the lead by Lieutenant General Philip Sheridan and General Alfred Terry to investigate further these claims of gold in the Black Hills on behalf of
Steve Dragswolf
3.4 Unceded Indian Territory
Unceded Indian Territory: Bears Belly
In 1867, Congress approved a contingent of four civilians and three army officers to make peace with the Indian tribes of the plains and partition land specific to each tribe. These treaties were meant to ensure that American settlers and the Indigenous residents of the land could live peaceably and
Steve Dragswolf
Chapter 4
4.1 Custer’s Callousness and Misdirection
Custer’s Callousness and Misdirection: Bears Belly
More days progressed, and Custer grew fond of the land and wrote reports to his superiors about the beauty that the land contained. “In no private or public park have I ever seen such a profuse display of flowers,” Custer wrote, further describing how his men carried the most beautiful
Steve Dragswolf
4.2 A Different Version of the Sioux Camp Invasion
A Different Version of the Sioux Camp Invasion: Bears Belly
Bear’s Belly and Strikes Two tell a quite different version of this story . As the white soldiers left to tell Custer of their findings, the Indian scouts traveled closer and investigated further. There were no sightings of any Dakota, but a campfire remained lit and what looked like evidence of
Steve Dragswolf
4.3 Gold is Found
Gold is Found: Bears Belly
The expedition then moved on and eventually found evidence of the gold they were secretly sent to find. Red Angry Bear, one of the Arikara scouts, found gold deposits floating in a spring where he sought to refill his water canteen. He placed his hands in the water, collected the
Steve Dragswolf
4.4 The Seventh Calvary and War With the Sioux
The Seventh Calvary and War With The Sioux: Bears Belly
In 1874, Son-of-the-Star visited Washington where he conversed with an Indian agent representing the United States government. Son-of-the-Star was chief of police for White Shield and the Arikara and was granted higher recognition from the U.S. and its representatives. The Arikara police force was formed some years earlier to
Steve Dragswolf