AtsinaArticle Free Pass Atsina, also called Gros Ventres of the
Prairie, self-name A’aninin , North American Indian tribe
related to the Algonquian-speaking Arapaho, from which they may
have separated as early as 1700. The variant name Gros Ventres
(French: “Big Bellies”) was a misinterpretation by French
trappers of Plains Indian sign language. The Blackfoot called
the Atsina the “Belly People,” and the sign for that name was
similar to one referring to the chest tattooing practiced by a
neighbouring subgroup of unrelated Hidatsa, also known as the
Gros Ventres de la Riviere (“of the River”). The Atsina were
thereafter distinguished from the Hidatsa with the addition of
“des Plaines” (“of the Prairie”) to their misnomer. Their self-
name means “White Clay People.” The Atsina were living in what
is now northern Montana and adjacent regions of Canada in late
prehistoric times and were culturally similar to other Plains
Indians. They spoke an Algonquian language unusual in having
different pronunciations for men