Assiniboine Indians
A tribe of the Siouan family; first mentioned in
the Jesuit Relation of 1640. They separated from the parent stock
early in the seventeenth century, and moved north and north-west to the
region about Lake Winnipeg. Later they spread over the country west of
Lake Winnipeg, to the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains. Their
population was estimated at 8000 in 1829. One-half this number perished
in the smallpox epidemic of 1836. They are now settled on reservations
in Alberta, and in Montana. =Bib.=: Hodge, Handbook of American
Indians.