Location: The Mandan tribe frequented along the Missouri, and Knife Rivers, and settled down in present day North Dakota.
Daily Life: In the summer, a Mandan lodge could contain anywhere from 10 to 30 people per lodge, and there were usually 120 lodges to a community. The Mandans would place their communities in a defensive type of a position, so as to be protected by a natural boundary, such as a river or bluff. When winter arrived the tribe would retreat to a place that had trees, so that the trees would block the cold prairie winds, and to have firewood for the long winter. The most important place in a Mandan village was the ceremonial lodge. They also had a buffalo dance for good luck in the hunt, and a rain dance too. When a family member would die, one would slash himself and mourn for one year. If a Mandan warrior came out of a battle a hero, he would be referred to as a "Good Furred Robe." In the village the people would develop clans, which were forbidden to intermarry. These clans had set roles for the sexes to perform. The men would partake in seeking spiritual knowledge, hunting game, and participating in other dangerous activities. The women performed the household type of work like the maintenance of the lodges, food preparation and gardening.
Best Known Feature: The Mandan are known for being the first tribe to inhabit North Dakota, only to be followed by the Hidatsa, and Arikara. They are also known for being one of the main agricultural tribes. The Mandan are most widely known for their housing, which were referred to as earth lodges.
Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on the Mandan.
Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the URL.
If you are Mandan, your feedback is much appreciated.
Website of the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara): http://www.mhanation.com/main/main.html