Aanin

Aanin is a term with multiple uses in Indigenous North American contexts.

A'aninin (often anglicized as Gros Ventre) refers to a Native American people historically resident on the Northern Plains. The name Gros Ventre was applied by early French-speaking traders; many members use the autonym A'aninin or Aaniiih. Traditionally a Plains people, they have lived in areas that are now part of the United States and Canada. Today A'aninin communities are associated with reservations and tribal governments in the Northern Plains, where efforts continue to maintain cultural practices, governance, and language.

Aaniin (also spelled aaniin, aanii or similar) is a greeting in Anishinaabemowin and related Algonquian languages, commonly rendered as “hello” or used to mean “how are you?” It is widely used among Ojibwe, Odawa, and related Anishinaabe communities, and appears frequently in language revitalization, educational contexts, and everyday speech. Variant spellings reflect different orthographies and dialectal pronunciations.

Beyond these primary senses, aanin or similar letterings may appear as transliterations, personal names, or in local usage. Context typically indicates whether the reference is to the Plains people, the Anishinaabe greeting, or another, more specific local meaning.