The People of the

Plains

By: Nathalia Lee, Joanna Khammountry & Mark

Batin

Homes/Habitat• Interior Plains

• Tipis

• Earth Lodges

Grassy prairies and Rocky Mountains.- cold winters and hot summers.

Buffalo hide sewed together to make tipi coverings.- it was light and easy for dogs to carry materials.

Permanent communities lived in shelters called earth lodges made of poles covered in earth to form a dome.

Tipi made from buffalo hide where Plains people lived in.

A village that uses earth lodges as shelters.

http://www.firstpeople.us/tipi/pt/blackfoot-tipis.jpg

http://daphne.palomar.edu/scrout/AIS120/cat02.jpg

A map of where several plains tribes are located in Canada.

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com

Clothing• Tanned buffalo hide – Used to make robes,

moccasins (shoes) and snowshoes.• Men’s clothing – Breech clothes, aprons, leggings,

fur robes and ponchos. - showed society status and accomplishments.

• Women’s clothing – Simple, leather dresses, capes and long sleeves.

• Both men and women wore their hair long and often in braids.

These two are wearing traditional Sioux clothinghttp://whitewolve.com/native_americans/culture.sioux.traditionalclothing.jpg

http://www.minnehahacounty.org/museums/exhibits/l_c_gifts_mandan/teachers/photo-a-rdy/a26-dress/a26-dress-p0018020.JPG

A simple woman’s dress made from animal hide.

http://www.icollector.com/images/104/17195/17195_0364_1_lg.jpg

Moccasins were shoes also made of animal skin, most likely buffalo hide.

Subsistence• Food – Buffalo, antelope, deer, elk

- meat was made into pemmican, roasted, smoked or boiled- soups and stews

• Nomads – Plains people traveled long distances to hunt buffalo for food.

• Hunters and Gatherers – Men hunted the buffalos - women gathered fruits, vegetables and prepared the

meats and meals• Before horses arrived, dogs were needed to carry

supplies.– canoes were also used for transportation

http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_plains3.html

Hunters disguised as wolves when hunting buffalos.

Meat being hanged to dry.

http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/images/firstnations/teachers_guide/plains/dryingmeat.jpg

A woman pounding meat to make Pemmican.

http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_plains3.html

Tools and Weapons• Hunting knives - Usually made from copper

and sharpened rocks.• Sacks/bags - Used to store foods and water

and even to carry babies.- made from animal hides

• Dishes and spoons were made from wood.

Shields of buffalo skin and blades made from stones were used during hunting.http://www.artamp.com/free-clipart/775-vintage-indian-designs/

A moss bag used to carry babies in.

http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_plains6.html

Society• There were many nations of the Plains – For

example, Blackfoot, Assiniboine, Cree, Sioux, Crow and Comanche.

• Bands – People were divided into bands and lived, worked and traveled together.

• Warrior societies – Men belonged to warrior societies. These societies helped make decisions with elders.

• Women took care of the family and household.

http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/forts/images/main-apachecamp.jpg

An example of what a plains community looks like. Men were out hunting while women stayed to take care of the home.

Leadership & Government

• Leadership – They were men with hunting ability, experience and wealth.

• Counsels – Counsels were elders and made the decisions in the band.

• Chiefs – Each band had a chief. Chiefs were usually prophets, elders, valiant warriors or a wealthy person.

Elders told stories to pass down knowledge to younger generations

http://www.ilhawaii.net/~stony/datadown/art/stortell.gif

Religious/Spiritual Customs

• Spirits – The plains people believed in great spirits. They believed that the spirits would come into their dreams and give them advice also called “Spiritual Guidance”

• Hunters had connections with animals.• Sun dance – An important ritual where

dancers fast and put themselves through pain

A young man performing the sun dance. His chest is pierced as he pulls away from the pole.http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/images/hist_sun_dance.jpg

Cultural Artifacts• Snowshoes made of caribou hide laced

through frames• Baskets, containers, robes,

cradleboards, moccasins decorated with beads and quills.

• Toboggans made from buffalo ribs.• Shields made with buffalo rawhide.

A light bag used to store pemmicanhttp://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009070

http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/forts/images/bag.html

A leather drawstring pouch decorated with beads.

http://dreamcatcher.com/images/DreamCatcher-Legend.jpg

Dream catchers were believed to trap bad dreams and let good dreams flow through.

Bibliography• Johnson, Michael. Native Tribes of the Plains and Prairie.

Milwaukee. World Almanac Library, 2004.• The Brown Reference Group. Native North American.

Connecticut. Brown Bear Books Limited, 2009• Kalman, Bobbie. Life in a Plains Camp. New York. Crabtree

Publishing Company, 2001• Kalman, Bobbie. Nations of the Plains. New York. Crabtree

Publishing Company, 2001• Stout, Mary. Native American Peoples: Cree. Milwaukee.

Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2004• Banting, Erinn. The Cree. Calgary. Weigl Education Publishers

Limited, 2008• Gianetta, J. For The Hunt. http://

www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/firstnations/tools.html. April 2009• The Plains People. http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_plains2.html.

2007• Cranny, Michael. Crossroads. Toronto. Pearson Education Canada Inc., 1998