English
beaver
Arapaho
Related words
beaver lodge: hebesokoy = ‘beaver dwelling’
beaver dam: ??? (hook-ouni’ = ‘dammed’ in general)
Technical Information
Castor canadensis
Beavers and theArapaho
Beavers were the most sought-after animal by trappers in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and the activities of these trappers had a major impact on Arapaho life in some ways. These trappers brought many types of trade goods into the Arapaho area, for example, and efforts by the major nations and fur companies in Canada to form alliances with certain tribes and secure the best trapping areas led to major inter-tribal conflicts and movements of tribes. The shift of the Arapahos southward during this time period is likely at least partly explained by these pressures.
Around 1810, a French beaver trapper named La Ramie was killed by the Arapaho in southeastern Wyoming. The Laramie Mountains and River were later named in his honor, as well as the town of Laramie, so the Arapaho are indirectly responsible for these place names.
Beaver scent glands (castor oil) were used medicinally by the Arapaho, and also ritually, as a form of ceremonial incense.
