Hiraaca

The Hiraaca, or Hidatsa, were a Missouri River people whose villages stood near the Knife River in present-day North Dakota. Three related village groups came together along the Missouri; Hidatsa was originally the name of one group.

Big Hidatsa village was founded around 1600. Alongside their Mandan allies, the Hiraaca grew corn, beans and squash and traded produce across a wide network. Around 1790 the villagers repelled a Sioux siege of Big Hidatsa. In 1837 smallpox struck the Knife River villages, causing heavy losses among their inhabitants.