Assiniboine

Assiniboine , river, 590 mi (950 km) long, rising in S Sask., Canada, and flowing SE into Man. then E to the Red River at Winnipeg; named for the local Native Americans, the Assiniboine. The Qu'Appelle and Souris rivers are its chief tributaries. The Assiniboine valley is one of Canada's leading wheat-growing areas. The river was explored by the Vérendrye family in 1736, and forts were built at its mouth and near the site of Portage la Prairie. Settlement spread westward along the river from the Red River valley to the plains.

Assiniboine Nomadic tribe of Native North Americans. Their language is Siouan, and they are related to the Dakotas, although they migrated w from Minnesota to Saskatchewan and the Lake Winnipeg area. Their culture is that of the Plains Indians. They were trading partners of the English Hudson's Bay Company, and their trade helped to destroy the French monopoly among tribes of the region. Today they number c.5000; 4000 on reservations in Montana and 1000 in Canada.

Mount Assiniboine 11,870 ft (3,618 m) high, on the British Columbia-Alta. line, Canada, on the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mts. It is the focal point of Mt. Assiniboine Provincial Park (20 sq mi/52 sq km; est. 1922).