The Plains Indians - Historical Enquiry

Introduction In this Enquiry you must find out about the life of the Plains Indians. You will be tested on what you know during the Year 8 exams, so it is important that you keep your draft work for revision. You are encouraged to word process your Enquiry if you wish.NW’02 

First look through thisPowerPoint

Click on your Mouse or press the space bar

What do youwant to find out about ?

You will get some ideas fromthe PowerPoint but you will get

others….

How to use this Slide Show

•Sources of Evidence. Your textbooks have copies of primary sources that you ought to include in your topic. We will mostly use secondary sources, such as your textbooks, the Heinemann CDROM, web sites and library books.  •Your teacher will take you into a computer room. You may use a computer room again with your teacher, but you should aim to use the internet as part of your homework research after 3.15. This PowerPoint presentation is on the Learning Environment.

 

•Use the KBSHistory Links for web sites suitable for year 8. you can also use a search engine, such as Jeeves, but some of the sites you will come across are very difficult !

Carrying out your investigation

This scene shows a Plains Indian village. Usually, the tipis would be arranged in a circle, with a large council tipi in the centre. There would be one or more tipis where the tribe’s societies met, and the ‘man of mystery’ would have a tipi where he might perform rituals and healing.

Plains Indian Village

1.  Design a front cover with your name on it. Decide which programme to do it on -Publisher is recommended. Do the rest of your Enquiry on Word.

2. Look out for interesting pictures and designs from this Powerpoint and web sites, your teacher will give some suggestions.

3. Do a contents page with the different chapters listed.

4.   Build up a glossary at the back of your Enquiry with important words and their meanings.

5.  Write down all the words books and web sites you use in your bibliography at the back

Plan

Click on the blue hyperlinks to get to the

CDROM or web sites such as

http://collections.ic.gc.ca/luxton –

Then scroll down to further blue hyperlinks.Then begin your research – find out about the Plains Indians!

Be sure to save any good pictures for your Enquiry. Note down usefulinformation, but you need to use your own words – avoid merely cutting and pasting.

Using links

The Great Plains click here

• Why are the Plains Indians so well known?

• How did the ‘Indians’ first get to America?

• Write about the Great Plains

• Tribes and bands – click here

• Find out more – click here.

Nomadic Life click here

• Nomadic means wandering around and not living in permanent homes.

• Name some tribes that lived like this.

• Find out about the travois and the tipi – click here

• Find out more on the web –click here.

To find out why the coming of the horse was so important click here

The Buffalo click here

• Find out different ways how the buffalo was hunted.

• Find out what it was used for.

• Click here to go to Canada!

• Find out about head smashed in. Click here.

…are sometimes known as holy or medicine men. The term medicine man is a ‘white man’s’ term referring usually to a person who healed using spiritual means and herbal medicines. This photograph shows a Sioux Indian medicine man's bag and its contents.

‘Men of Mystery’…

Customs and Beliefs click here

• Why did they treat nature with respect?

• Who was Wakan Tanka?

• What were visions?

• Find out about music and dances here.

• Death and burial?

• Find out more click here.

…was a popular and important activity, particularly during winter when the evenings were long and cold. They were often told by a storyteller, a special person who was looked on as an artist, a creator and a 'man of mystery'.Find out more – click here

Storytelling …

The Family click here

• What jobs did men, women, and children do?

• What age did they get married at?

• Why was the family so important?

• Find out about names, education etc.

• Find out more from Canada

Both men and women smoked pipes. Some were used for pleasure, others for ceremony. All pipes were said to contain spiritual power so the Indians treated them with much reverence.

Pipes

Art and Craft click here

• Why did it have to be portable?

• What were tribal patterns?• What materials were used?• Which colours were used

before the white man came?• Find out about body

painting and more here.• Find out about clothing here• Find out more click here.

– what was it ?Counting coup

Warfare

• What reasons were there for warfare?

• What was counting coup?

• What else can you find out about war?

• Go to Canada to find out more.

Acknowledgements – thanks to the following

http://www.plainsindianhistory.com/http://collections.ic.gc.ca/luxton/ http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8020/lakota.html www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/plains.htmlhttp://www.head-smashed-in.com http://inkido.Indiana.edu/w310work/romac/plains.html Heinemann Explore CDROM ‘The World before 1900’

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