The Plains Indians are the Indians who lived on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. Edward Sheriff Curtis ( February 16, 1868 &ndash October 19, 1952) was a photographer of the American West and of Native Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States The Great Plains are the broad expanse of Prairie and Steppe which lie east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada Their greatest dominance lasted from approximately 1750 to 1890.
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Classification
Plains Indians are usually divided into two broad classifications which overlap to some degree. The first group were fully nomadic, following the vast herds of bison. This is an article about an animal For other uses see Bison (disambiguation. They are said to have been part of the Buffalo Culture (sometimes called somewhat misleadingly, the Great Plains Culture). Some tribes occasionally engaged in agriculture—growing tobacco and corn primarily. These included the Blackfoot, Arapaho, Assiniboine, Cheyenne, Comanche, Crow, Gros Ventre, Kiowa, Lakota, Lipan, Plains Apache (or Kiowa Apache), Plains Cree, Sarsi, Shoshone, and Tonkawa. The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi (meaning "original people" c The Arapaho (in French: Gens de Vache) tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming The Assiniboine, also known by the Ojibwe name Asiniibwaan "Stone Sioux" and the Cree as Asinîpwât are a Siouan Cheyenne are a Native American nation of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taa'e (more commonly The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose range (the Comancheria) consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado The Crow, also called the Absaroka or Apsáalooke, are a tribe of Native Americans who historically lived in the Yellowstone The Kiowa (ˈkaɪoʊwə are a nation of American Indians who migrated from what is now Canada to their present location in Southwestern Oklahoma. The Lakota (laˈkˣota (also Teton, Tetonwan) are a Native American tribe Lipan Apache are Southern Athabascan ( Apachean people who are aboriginal to present-day Texas, New Mexico Colorado and the northern Mexican states The Plains Apache (also Kiowa-Apache, Naʼisha, Naisha) are a Southern Athabaskan group that lived primarily on the plains of North America Plains Cree is an Algonquian language, often considered a dialect of Cree, spoken by about 34000 people in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta The Tsuu T'ina Nation (also Sarcee, Sarsi, Tsu T’ina, Tsuut’ina) is a First Nation in Canada. The Shoshone ( or) are a Native American tribe with three large divisions the Northern the Western and the Eastern The Tonkawa are a people native to central Texas, speaking the Tonkawa language.
The second group of Plains Indians (sometimes referred to as Prairie Indians) were the semi-sedentary tribes who, in addition to hunting bison, lived in villages and raised crops. These included the Arikara, Hidatsa, Iowa, Kaw (or Kansa), Mandan, Omaha, Osage, Otoe, Pawnee, Ponca, and Wichita. Arikara (also Sahnish Arikaree Ree refers to a group of Native Americans that speak a Caddoan language. The Hidatsa (called Minnetaree by their allies the Mandan) are a Siouan people a part of the Three Affiliated Tribes. The Iowa (also spelled Ioway) also known as the Báxoje, are a Native American Siouan people The Kaw (or Kanza) are an American Indians people of the central Midwestern United States. The Mandan are a Native American tribe that historically lived along the banks of the Missouri River and two of its tributaries—the Heart and The Omaha tribe is a Native American tribe that currently resides in northeastern Nebraska and western Iowa, United States. The Osage Nation is a tribe in the United States, which is mainly based in Osage County Oklahoma, but can be found throughout America The Otoe or Oto are a Native American people The Otoe language Chiwere, is closely related to that of the Iowa and Missouri The Pawnee (also Paneassa, Pari, Pariki) are a Native American tribe that historically lived along the Platte, Loup and The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka ˈpːãŋkːa are a Native American Tribe. The Wichita are a Tribe of Native Americans, indigenous inhabitants of North America, who speak Wichita, a Caddoan language.
The tribes of the Great Plains have been found to be the tallest people in the world during the late 1800s, based on 21st century analysis of data collected by Franz Boas for the World Columbian Exposition. Franz Boas ( July 9, 1858 &ndash December 21, 1942) was a German - American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern The World's Columbian Exposition (also called The Chicago World's Fair) a World's Fair, was held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary [1] This information is significant to anthropometric historians, who usually equate the height of populations with their overall health and standard of living. Anthropometry ( Greek άνθρωπος man and μέτρον measure literally meaning "measurement of humans" in Physical anthropology, refers to the Height is the measurement of vertical Distance, but has two meanings in common use The standard of living refers to the quality and quantity of goods and services available to people and the way these goods and services are distributed within a population
Culture
The nomadic tribes survived on hunting, and the bison was their main food source. A tipi' (also teepee, tepee) is a conical Tent originally made of animal skins or birch bark and popularized by the Native Americans Hunting is the practice of pursuing Animals for Food, Recreation, or Trade. The American bison ( Bison bison) is a Bovine Mammal, also commonly known as the American buffalo. American buffalo, or simply buffalo, is the commonly used (but inaccurate) name for the American Bison. The American bison ( Bison bison) is a Bovine Mammal, also commonly known as the American buffalo. These animals were the largest source of items such as food, cups, decorations, crafting tools, knives, and clothing. Not a single part of the animal was thrown away.
The tribes kept moving following the migration of the bison. The Plains Indians lived in tipis because they are easily disassembled and so allow a lifestyle of following game. A tipi' (also teepee, tepee) is a conical Tent originally made of animal skins or birch bark and popularized by the Native Americans The Plains tribes adopted a horse culture beginning in the 17th century when escaped Spanish horses were obtained. The term " Horse culture " is used to define a tribal group or Community whose day to day life revolves around the herding and breeding of Horses Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae.
Hunting in the Plains
Although they hunted other animals, like elk or antelope, bison was by far the most plentiful food source throughout their area. Paul Kane (September 3 1810 &ndash February 20 1871 was an Irish - Canadian painter famous for his paintings of First Nations peoples in the Canadian The elk, or wapiti ( Cervus canadensis) is one of the largest Species of Deer in the world and one of the largest Mammals in The pronghorn ( Antilocapra americana) also pronghorn antelope or prong buck, is a species of Ungulate Mammal native to interior Before horses were introduced, hunting was a complicated process. The Native Americans would surround the bison, and then they would try to herd them off cliffs or into places where they would be more easily killed. A commonly used technique was the Piskin method. The tribesmen would build a corral and have people to herd the buffalo into it where they could be killed. This would be achieved by constructing a v-shaped funnel, about a mile long, constructed of fallen trees, rocks etc. . The buffalo would be lured into the trap with one of the tribe dressing up in a buffalo skin and imitating the call of a buffalo.
The weapons of the Plains Indians were spears, bows and various forms of club. This is an article about a particle accelerator For uses of spear, see Spear or Spear (disambiguation. A bow is a Weapon that projects arrows powered by the elasticity of the bow A club (also known as cudgel, baton, truncheon, night stick, and bludgeon) is among the simplest of all weapons When horses were introduced to the Indians when white settlers came to America, it made hunting much easier. With horses, the Indians could simply stampede and overtake the bison with their speed, and many bison were slaughtered at point-blank range from horseback. The bows were then changed in design, reduced to only three feet in length, to make them easier to shoot from horseback. Bows were still used when guns were introduced, as guns took too long to reload and were too heavy. In the summer, many tribes would gather in one place to hunt. The main hunting seasons were fall, summer, and spring, as in winter, harsh snow and mighty blizzards made it almost impossible to kill the bison.
Over years of surviving off the hunt, Plains Indians developed an ability to survive longer on less food through metabolism. In long intervals between hunts, Native Americans survived by this adaptation. An adaptation is a characteristic of an Organism that has been favored by Natural selection and And in times of plentiful food, Plains Indians took on a lot of extra weight to prepare for a time without food. This adaptation saved tribes from starvation in their old way, but when reservations were introduced the adaptation became a threat. Because they were confined to reservations, Natives were generally no longer able to hunt for food, so they took up other means of subsistence.
Great Plains religion
The Plains Indians followed no single religion. Animist religion was an important part of a Great Plains Indians' life, as they believed that all things possessed spirits. Animism (from Latin anima ( Soul, Life) commonly refers to a religious belief that Souls or Spirits exist in Animals Their worship was centered on one main god, in the Sioux language Wakan Tanka (the Great Spirit). In the Sioux tradition Wakan Tanka (correct Siouan spelling Wakaŋ Tȟaŋka also known as Wakan or Wakanda by the Omaha Tribe) is The Great Spirit had power over everything that had ever existed, and the Indians believed that by worshipping him they would become stronger. Earth was also quite important, as she was the mother of all spirits. Spirits were worshipped daily. People sometimes prayed alone, while other times there were group gatherings. The most important group ceremony was the Sun Dance. In the Sun Dance, participants danced for four days around a sacred object, and some would inflict harm upon themselves on purpose, all while staring at the sun. The Sun Dance is a Ceremony practiced by a number of Native Americans They believed this self-sacrifice would encourage powerful spirits to support and defend them.
There were also people that were wakan, or blessed, who were also called shaman. To become wakan, your prayers must be answered by The Great Spirit, or you must see a sign from him. Wakan were thought to possess great power, and one of their jobs was to heal people, which is why they are also sometimes called the medicine man. The shamans were considered so important that they decided when to hunt. Plains Indians also thought that some objects possessed spiritual power. One such item was the medicine bundle, which was a sack that carried items that were thought to be important to the owner. Items in the sack might include rocks, feathers, and more. Another thing that was very spiritual was the shield. A shield is a protective device meant to intercept attacks The term often refers to a device that is held in the hand as opposed to Armour or a Bullet proof vest The shield was the most prized possession of any warrior, and he decorated it with many paintings and feathers. The animals that were drawn onto the shield were thought to protect the owner.
References
- ^ "Standing Tall: Plains Indians Enjoyed Height, Health Advantage", Jeff Grabmeier, Ohio State
Further reading
- "American Indian Contributions To Science and Technology", Chris R. Landon, Portland Public Schools, 1993
- "Buffalo and the Plains Indians", South Dakota State Historical Society Education Kit
- Carlson, Paul H. The Plains Indians. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-89096-828-4
- Taylor, Colin E. The Plains Indians: A Cultural and Historical View of the North American Plains Tribes of the Pre-Reservation Period. New York: Crescent Books, 1994. ISBN 0517142503
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