Dictionary

A'aninin en · NOUN

Meanings

1. (plural, plural-only) Synonym of Gros Ventre
   • Horse Capture, 75, died April 16 of kidney failure at his home in Great Falls, Mont., a family spokesman said. He was buried at Fort Belknap Agency Cemetery, on the reservation where he spent his early years. His tribe was the A’aninin, more commonly known as the Gros Ventre. 2013 May 4, Steve Chawkins, “George P. Horse Capture dies at 75; Native American curator”, in The Los Angeles Times:
   • The name Gros Ventre ("Big Belly" in French) is a misnomer that originated from a mistranslation of the gesture for the A'aninin in the Plains sign language. The Crees referred to the Gros Ventres as the Water Falls People, Falls Indians, or Rapid Indians because the tribe occupied territory inclusive of the southern branch of the Saskatchewan River, where rapids are frequent. The sign for them was the passing of the hands over the body like water falling. This was mistranslated as a sign representing a large stomach, and hence they became known as the Big Bellies, or Gros Ventres. 2011, David J. Wishart, “Gros Ventres”, in Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, University of Nebraska–Lincoln:
   • Fort Belknap — a 980-square-mile reservation established in 1869 for two formerly nomadic tribes, the A’aninin and the Nakoda — was the first of Montana’s seven reservations to obtain ultra-cold freezers needed to store the vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech. 2021 August 6, Richard Read (Los Angeles Times), “Despite obstacles, Native Americans have the nation’s highest COVID-19 vaccination rate”, in The Chicago Tribune, archived from the original on 19 Jun 2025:

Synonyms

Gros Ventre