The Caddo (Toniibeenenno' or Toniibeeneseino' – "pierced nose people") called them Detseka'yaa, the Wichita (Hinosouno')[5] Nia'rhari's-kûrikiwa'ahûski, and the Comanche Saria Tʉhka / Säretika (Sata Teichas), all names signifying "dog-eaters".

[7] The Arapaho recognize five main divisions among their people, each speaking a different dialect and apparently representing as many originally distinct but cognate tribes.

In his classic ethnographic study, Alfred Kroeber identified these five nations from south to north: Before their historic geo-political ethnogenesis, each tribal-nation had a principal headman.

There is a small number who have begun online courses conducted via video in an attempt to revitalize a desire to learn it, and popularity has increased over the past few years.

[10] Around 3,000 years ago, the ancestral Arapaho-speaking people (Heeteinono'eino') lived in the western Great Lakes region along the Red River Valley in what is classified as present-day Manitoba, Canada and Minnesota, United States.

A large group of Arapaho split from the main tribe and became an independent people, commonly known as the Gros Ventre (as named by the French) or Atsina.

Each of the eight Arapaho military societies had their own unique initiation rites, pre- and post- battle ceremonies and songs, regalia, and style of combat.

North of Arapaho territory they fought with the Crow (Houunenno'), Blackfoot Confederacy (Woo'teenixteet or Woo'teenixtee3i' – ″people wearing black-feet″), Gros Ventre (Hitouunenno', Gros Ventre tribe: Hitouuteen), Flathead (Kookee'ei3i'), Arikara (Koonoonii3i' – ″people whose jaws break in pieces″), Iron Confederacy (Nehiyaw-Pwat) (Assiniboine (Nihooneihteenootineihino' - "yellow-footed Sioux"), Plains/Woods Cree (Nooku(h)nenno'; Plains Cree tribe: Nookuho' - "rabbit people"), Saulteaux (Plains Ojibwa) and Nakoda (Stoney)).

[19] Several skirmishes had ignited hatred from white settlers that lived in the area, and left Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes in constant fear of being attacked by American troops.

The local cavalry was stretched thin by the demands of the Civil War while Indian warriors, acting independently of Chief Left Hand, raided their supply lines.

A group of Arapaho and Cheyenne elders with women and children had been denied their traditional wintering grounds in Boulder by the cavalry and were ordered to come to Fort Lyon for food and protection or be considered hostile.

The Battle of Julesburg resulted from a force of about 1,000 allied Northern Arapaho, Cheyenne (mostly from the Dog Soldiers warrior society), and Lakota from the Brulé and Oglala sub-tribes.

Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, and Plains Apaches seeking peace were offered to sign the Medicine Lodge Treaty in October 1867.

After the Sand Creek Massacre and a number of other skirmishes, the Northern Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Lakota moved many of their bands to the remote Powder River country in Wyoming and southern Montana.

Along the way, they participated in the Battle of Mud Springs, a minor incident in the Nebraska Panhandle involving a force of between 500 and 1,000 Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Lakota warriors and 230 US soldiers.

Once in the area of the Powder River, the Arapaho noticed an increase in travelers moving along the established Bozeman trail, which led to the Montana goldfields.

Indian warriors acting as scouts for the US Army came from the Pawnee, Omaha, and Winnebago tribes who were traditional enemies of the Arapaho and their Cheyenne and Lakota allies.

The few warriors present at the camp put up a strong defense and covered the women and children as most escaped beyond the reach of the soldiers and Indian scouts.

The Bozeman Trail passed right through the Powder River Country which was near the center of Arapaho, Cheyenne, Lakota, and Dakota territory in Wyoming and southern Montana.

Warriors from both sides of the trail charged Fetterman and forced them into nearby rocks where the battle soon became hand-to-hand combat, giving the Indians the upper hand due to their skill in fighting with handheld weapons such as tomahawks and war clubs.

The war was started after miners and settlers traveled into the Black Hills area and found gold, resulting in increased numbers of non-Indians illegally entering designated Indian lands.

[35] The Black Hills in particular are viewed as sacred to the Lakota and Dakota peoples, and the presence of settlers illegally occupying the area caused great unrest within the tribes.

[36] Black Coal guaranteed to the Americans that he and his people would remain peaceful during the tense times when the settlers were illegally entering Indian land in hopes of securing recognized territory of their own in Wyoming.

Despite their unwillingness to take up the warpath, the Arapaho were unwilling to cede their territory, particularly the Black Hills area to which they have a strong spiritual attachment similar to the Lakota.

And I am here to take care of the country, and therefore, not only the Dakota [Sioux] Indians, but my people have an interest in the Black Hills that we have come to speak about today.During this time of great unrest, the tribe found itself deteriorating in leadership with many chiefs holding little sway among their bands.

In order to regain strength as leaders and further negotiations for land in Wyoming, many chiefs and their warriors enlisted as army scouts for the United States and campaigned against their allies.

The Sioux thought that the Arapaho were United States Army Indian Scouts and invited them back to their camp along the Little Bighorn River, where they were captured and had their guns taken from them.

Water Man wore a large eagle feather headdress, a white shirt, beaded leggings, a breechcloth, and painted his face red and yellow during the battle.

[46] Women (and haxu'xan (Two Spirits))[47] are traditionally in charge of food preparation and dressing hides to make clothing and bedding, saddles, and housing materials.

[47] On the Plains, women (and haxu'xan)[47] historically wore moccasins, leggings, and ankle-length buckskin-fringed dresses, ornamented with porcupine quills, paint, elk teeth, and beads.