Maggie was a Gros Ventre woman from the Ft. Belknap Reservation

“Tribal Territories in Montana - Indian Education for All | Montana State University.” Montana.edu, 2019, www.montana.edu/iefa/introductiontomttribalnations/tribalterritories.html?fbclid=IwAR2g27M192tqcZXIfQLjSbGmCdrXEoU5pqx0gsvC9P64SsO99vxhlT_jl2s. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.

Reservation then...

Curtis, Edward S, photographer. Moving camp--Atsina. November 19, 1908. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2002722337/> (edited).

Pronounced “Grow Vaunt,” the word means “big belly” in French. No one knows exactly why the French called them this. They were also known as the Ahe, A’aninin, Ahahnelin, A’ane, Haaninin, and Atsina.

The Gros Ventre and the Arapaho were once part of the same large tribe who lived in the western Great Lakes region 3000 years ago, where they lived an agricultural lifestyle, cultivating maize. These, with the Cheyenne, migrated into Montana under pressure from the Ojibwe. After they migrated, the Arapaho moved southwards to the Wyoming and Colorado area, while the Cheyenne migrated south into South Dakota and Colorado.

All young girls were given in marriage before puberty to older men, but the marriage was usually delayed until the girls were about 20 years old. Polygamy was common, as was divorce, which the husband usually initiated. Most women married three or four times during their lifetime. Children belonged to the band of their father.

Lewis and Clark reported the Gros Ventre were living in two groups when they came through. They called the northern group, who were living on the Upper Saskatchewan River in Canada, the Fall Indians. They said they numbered about 2,500 people living in 260 tipis who traded with the North West Company. They called the southern group the Staetan tribe and described them as roaming between the Missouri and Bow Rivers, a population of about 400 people living in 40 tipis, and having close contact with bands of Northern Arapaho.

Somewhere along the line, the Gros Ventre joined the Blackfeet Confederacy. After allying with the Blackfeet, the Gros Ventre moved to north-central Montana and southern Canada. In 1861, the Gros Ventres left the Blackfeet Confederacy. Allying with the Crow, the Gros Ventre fought the Blackfeet, but in 1867, they were defeated.

In 1868, the United States government established a trading post called Fort Browning near the mouth of Peoples Creek on the Milk River. This trading post was built for the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine, but because it was on a favorite hunting ground of the Sioux, it was abandoned in 1871. The government then built Fort Belknap, which served as a trading post and an issue building, where the tribe received their rations and annuity goods. It was located about one mile southwest of the present town of Harlem, Montana. In 1876, the fort was discontinued, and the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine people who were receiving annuities at the post were instructed to go to the agency at Fort Peck and Wolf Point. The Gros Ventre refused to go. If they did, they would come into contact with the Sioux, with whom they didn’t get along. They forfeited their annuities rather than move to Fort Peck. In 1878, the Fort Belknap Agency was re-established, and the Gros Ventre and remaining Assiniboine were again allowed to receive supplies at Fort Belknap. By an act of Congress, the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation was established on May 1, 1888, for the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribes.
Source: Alexander, Kathy. “Gros Ventre Tribe of Montana – Legends of America.” Legendsofamerica.com, 2018, www.legendsofamerica.com/gros-ventre-tribe/.

Reservation now...

Biography:
Also known by her maiden name Maggie Owl Head, Maggie Nicholson was born c. 1884 in Montana to unknown parents. She was married to Murray Nicholson, and had four children by him, but was divorced c. 1923. A fifth child, David Nicholson Cochran was born in 1916 and adopted by George Cochran. There is a Girl Nicholson born in 1911 for which there is no information. Family Search does NOT attribute either of these children to Maggie as a parent, although the "Girl" could have easily been named after her grandmother "The Girl".

In her book Vanished in Hiawatha, Carla Joinson states that was Gros Ventre, admitted to the Canton Asylum on August 4, 1917, and was diagnosed with dementia praecox. (Dementia praecox, meaning "premature dementia" or "precocious madness", is a disused psychiatric diagnosis that originally designated a chronic, deteriorating psychotic disorder characterized by rapid cognitive disintegration, usually beginning in the late teens or early adulthood.)

Maggie was transferred to St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington D.C. on December 22, 1933, then 49 years old. The last Indian census of Fort Belknkap on January 1, 1939, shows her at St. Elizabeths Hospital, and the April 10, 1940 census of the hospital shows her still there. After that, there do not seem to be records yet known of her death.

Her profile is part of the The Canton Asylum One Place Study.

Research Notes:
-Recognized as "Insane" by 6.30.1920
-Divorced before June 30, 1923

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Sources:

1910 Apr 27 - "United States Census, 1910", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLC3-TB2 : Sun Mar 10 03:59:48 UTC 2024), Entry for Murray Nicholson and Maggie Nicholson, 1910, pg. 1293/1338, line 40 (age 24), census of the Indian Reservation Fort Belknap, Chouteau County, Montana

1913 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPQD-67SV : Sun Mar 10 11:34:38 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Owls Head Nichelson, pg. 212/749, line 392 (b=1884), census of the Gros Ventre Indians, Fort Belknap Agency, Mont. (Note: Girl born 1911?)

1914 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7ZMW-H1T2 : Sun Mar 10 19:42:57 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Owl's Head Nicholson, pg. 355/749, line 375 (b=1884), census of the Gros Ventre Indians, Fort Belknap Agency, Mont.

1916 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7ZMW-68N2 : Fri Mar 08 18:20:05 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Owl's Head Nicholson, pg. 460/749, line 378 (b=1884 as Maggie Owl's Head), census of the Assiniboine Indians, Ft. Belknap Agency, Mont.

1917 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGRS-TWWH : Thu Mar 07 21:23:17 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Owl's Head Nicholson, 1917, pg. 492/749, line 378 (b=1884 as maggie Owl's Head), census of the Gros Ventre Indians, Fort Belknap Agency

1918 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7ZMW-V3N2 : Sun Jul 21 14:03:05 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Owl's Head Nicholson, 1918, pg. 560/749, line 377 (b=1884), census of the Gros Ventre Indians, Fort Belknap Agency

1918 Sep 12 - "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W6M9-5YMM : 1 July 2024), Maggie Nicholson, 1917-1918, pg. 85/1737, card #1006-1606 for Murray Mathew Nicholson, Maggie listed as the nearest relative

1920 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGRN-Y6GJ : Sun Mar 10 13:56:06 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Nicholson, pg. 737/749, line 390 (b=1884, Insane), census of the Gros Ventre Indians, Fort Belknap Agency, Mont.

1920 Jan 30 - "United States Census, 1920", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6J7-KMQ : Wed Jul 24 22:22:26 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Nicholson, 1920, pg. 652/1130, line 37 (age 34), census of the Asylum for Indians, Canton Township, Lincoln County, South Dakota

1921 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6NG2-9CV5 : Fri Mar 08 14:39:02 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Owl Head Nicholson, pg. 72/707, line 391 (b=1884), census of the Gros Ventre Indians, Fort Belknap Agency

1921 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68Z4-CZ7Z : Sat Mar 09 21:31:13 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Nicholson, 1921, pg. 509/522, line 25, Canton Asylum female census

1922 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6NLC-41GR : Sat Mar 09 18:50:14 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Owl Head, 1922, pg. 143/707, line 400 (b=1884), census of the Gros Ventre Indians, Fort Belknap Agency, Montana

1923 Jun 30 - Canton Insane Asylum: 1923-33; Cantonment School, pg. 370/1140: 1910-27, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports 1910 – 1935, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155855298?objectPage=32, line 28, Canton Asylum female census

1924 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68Z4-F71Z : Wed Jul 10 17:34:03 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Nicholson, 1924, pg. 516/522, line 32, Canton Asylum female census

1924 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6NG2-HR1K : Sat Mar 09 16:51:37 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Owl Head, 1924, pg. 288/707, line 399 (b=1884 Insane, in Canton S.D., divorced wife of Murray Nicholson), census of the Gros Ventre Indians, Fort Belknap Agency

1925 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6NGL-C3J7 : Fri Mar 08 23:23:40 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Owl Head, 1925, pg. 361/707, line 412 (b=1884 Insane, divorced wife of Murray Nicholson), census of the Gros Ventre Indians, Fort Belknap Agency

1925 Jun 30 - Canton Insane Asylum: 1923-33; Cantonment School, pg. 370/1140: 1910-27, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports 1910 – 1935, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155855298?objectPage=117, line 31, Canton Asylum female census

1925 Oct 3 - "United States Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1800-c. 1955", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6JKB-YQJR : Fri Mar 08 19:48:20 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Nicholson, 3 Oct 1925, pg. 737/786, registry page 205, allotment of 414.80 acres in township 22N range 22E (See: EarthPointFlyTo_202346, copy and paste into browser bar, you must have Google Earth installed)

1925 - "South Dakota State Census, 1925", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MM44-V76 : Thu Mar 07 22:42:03 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Nicholson, 1925, pg. 3187/3383, card #648 (age 38), South Dakota state census

1926 Apr 14 - "Montana, County Marriages, 1865-1950", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F33R-SDS : Fri Mar 08 21:02:37 UTC 2024), Entry for George Nicholson and Murray Nicholson, 14 Apr 1926, pg. 151/325, license #933 page 295, State of Montana, County of Blaine, mentioned as the mother of the groom

1927 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6NGL-SDN7 : Sat Mar 09 08:47:36 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Nicholson, 1927, pg. 507/707, line 428 (b=1884, @ Insane Canton S.D.), census of the Gros Ventre Indians, Fort Belknap Agency

1927 Jun 30 - Canton Insane Asylum: 1923-33; Cantonment School, pg. 370/1140: 1910-27, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports 1910 – 1935, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155855298?objectPage=186, line 32, Canton Asylum female census

1928 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6N5G-G45K : Thu Mar 07 04:10:11 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Nicholson, 1928, pg. 581/707, line 428 (b=1884 Insane: Canton S.D.) census of the Gros Ventre Indians, Fort Belknap Agency

1928 Jun 30 - Canton Insane Asylum: 1923-33; Cantonment School, pg. 370/1140: 1910-27, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports 1910 – 1935, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155855298?objectPage=211, line 30, Canton Asylum female census

1929 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6NGY-QV2W : Thu Jul 11 05:18:45 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Owl Head Nicholson, 1929, pg. 688/707, line 428 (b=1884, Widow Insane @ Canton S.D.), census of the Gros Ventre tribe, Fort Belknap Agency

1929 Jun 30 - Canton Insane Asylum: 1923-33; Cantonment School, pg. 370/1140: 1910-27, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports 1910 – 1935, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155855298?objectPage=329, line 29, Canton Asylum female census

1930 Apr 1 "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPSF-GRGV : Thu Mar 07 22:56:58 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Owl Nicholson, 1930, pg. 72/681, line 875 (age 46, widow @ Canton, Lincoln, S.D.), census of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, Montana jurisdiction

1930 Jun 30 - "United States Census, 1930", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XQVC-B9L : Wed Jul 17 20:17:11 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Nicholson, 1930, pg. 611/1062, line 70 (age 43, Inmate), census of the Asylum for Insane Indians, Canton Township, Lincoln County, South Dakota

1930 Jun 30 - Canton Insane Asylum: 1923-33; Cantonment School, pg. 370/1140: 1910-27, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports 1910 – 1935, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155855298?objectPage=351, line 30, Canton Asylum female census

1931 Apr 1 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGV4-YNSV : Sat Mar 09 13:56:06 UTC 2024), Entry for Head Owl, 1931, pg. 172/681, line 907 (age 47 @ Canton City, Lincoln, South Dakota), census of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, Montana jurisdiction

1931 Jun 30 - Canton Insane Asylum: 1923-33; Cantonment School, pg. 370/1140: 1910-27, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports 1910 – 1935, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155855298?objectPage=371, line 28, Canton Asylum female census

1932 Apr 1 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLYW-D3HW : Fri Mar 08 17:33:25 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Owl Head Nicholson, 1932, pg. 337/681, line 933 (b=1884 age divorced and alone @ Canton City, Lincoln County, S.D.), census of the Fort Belknap Reservation, Fort Belknap jurisdiction

1932 Jun 30 - Canton Insane Asylum: 1923-33; Cantonment School, pg. 370/1140: 1910-27, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports 1910 – 1935, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155855298?objectPage=391, line 26, Canton Asylum female census

1933 Apr 1 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP2Z-LRH7 : Fri Mar 08 12:01:21 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Owl Head Nicholson, 1933, pg. 475/681, line 940 (age 49, b=1884, divorced @ Canton, Lincoln, S.D.), census of the Fort Belknap Reservation, Fort Belknap jurisdiction

1933 Jun 30 - Canton Insane Asylum: 1923-33; Cantonment School, pg. 370/1140: 1910-27, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports 1910 – 1935, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155855298?objectPage=428, line 28, Canton Asylum female census

1934 Apr 1 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP2Z-5DLZ : Sat Jul 20 20:40:06 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Nicholson, 1934, pg. 604/681, line 956 (age 50 @ St. Elizabeths Hospital, Washington D.C.), census of the Fort Belknap Reservation, Fort Belknap jurisdiction

1936 Jan 1 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPLV-WWYN : Thu Mar 07 14:24:55 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie (Owl Head) Nicholson, 1936, pg. 89/571, line 991 (age 52 b=1884, @ St. Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, D.C.), census of the Fort Belknap Montana Reservation, Fort Belknap jurisdiction

1937 Jan 1 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGYV-F41G : Sat Mar 09 21:12:11 UTC 2024), Entry for Owl Head, 1937, pg. 223/571, line 1031 (age 53, divorced alone @ St. Elizabeths Hospital, Washington D.C.), census of the Fort Belknap Montana Reservation, Fort Belknap jurisdiction

1938 Jan 1 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG5W-6GFB : Sun Mar 10 01:21:33 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Owl Head Micholson, 1938, pg. 371/571, line 1031 (age 54 as Maggie Micholson (Owl Head @ St. Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, D.C.), census of the Fort Belknap Reservation, Fort Belknap jurisdiction

1939 Jan 1 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPLJ-T9MM : Mon Jul 08 09:46:55 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Owl Head Nicholson, 1939, pg. 512/571, line 1086 (age 55 @ St. Elizabeths Hospital, Washington D.C.), census of the Fort Belknap Reservation, Fort Belknap jurisdiction

1940 Apr 10 - "United States Census, 1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K733-J53 : Sat Mar 09 05:11:16 UTC 2024), Entry for Maggie Nicholson, 1940. pg. 177/987, line 3 (age 56), census of Police Precinct 11 (Tract 96), District of Columbia, St. Elizabeth's Hospital