Native American Cultures: The Great Plains

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1 Native American Cultures: The Great Plains By Encyclopedia Britannica, adapted by Newsela staff on Word Count 1,498 Level 990L Bobby Morris, 4, of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, joins hundreds of other dancers for the Grand Entry of the Prairie Island Dakota Wacipi Celebration Pow Wow hosted by the Prairie Island Indian Community near Red Wing, Minnesota, on July 11, Nestled along the Mississippi River on 600 sandy acres - about half of it habitable - the Prairie Island Indian Community is a Mdewakanton Sioux reservation in Goodhue County, Minnesota, along the Mississippi River. The pow wow is a way for children of Prairie Island to meet other Native Americans as well as learn Native American history. Photo by: AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt This article is available at 5 reading levels at 1

2 The Plains Native Americans traditionally lived on the Great Plains of the United States and Canada. The Great Plains is a vast grassland at the center of North America. It stretches from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River, and from southern Canada to the Rio Grande river in Texas. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 2

3 Tribes And Languages The Plains Native Americans consist of many different tribes speaking many different languages. The best known of these tribes include the Blackfoot, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Crow, Kiowa, Lakota and Plains Cree. Some of their languages are similar to languages spoken as far north as Alaska. Others, such as the Comache, spoke languages from the Uto-Aztecan language family. These are some of the oldest languages in the Americas. Plains peoples invented a type of sign language as well. It represented common objects and ideas like "buffalo" or "exchange." This allowed people who spoke different languages to communicate with each other. Horses Changed Culture The Plains cultural area is known for its mobile culture. However, this culture developed only after contact with Europeans. Before contact, most Plains peoples lived in villages, some of which had populations of several thousand people. They got their food from farming, hunting and fishing. However, after Spanish settlers brought horses to North America, many tribes on the Plains abandoned farming and adopted a nomadic way of life. They spent most of the year following herds of buffalo as they roamed in search of grass. Hunting Buffalo Plains villagers grew corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers. They also collected wild produce, like turnips and berries. Once horses were introduced, buffalo became the main food source for Plains tribes. At first most hunters used bows and arrows while hunting on horseback. Later they used guns acquired through trade with Europeans. After the hunt, the women skinned the carcasses and cut up the meat. Most of the meat was cut into thin strips and preserved. Housing: From Lodges To Tepees Before 1700 most Plains tribes lived in villages along the Missouri and other rivers. Some villages had populations of up to a few thousand people. Typical village tribes planted crops in the spring, spent the summer as nomadic hunters, and returned to their villages in the autumn for the harvest. In the late autumn they hunted for a short time. Then they moved to hamlets of a few homes each in the wooded bottomlands, which provided shelter from winter storms. They returned to their villages in the spring to begin the cycle again. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 3

4 Dwellings in the villages were mostly dome-shaped earth lodges. These were roofed and walled with earth and entered through a covered passage. Earth lodges averaged 40 to 60 feet in diameter and generally housed three-generation families. Earth lodge villages were usually protected by a defensive ditch and palisade, or fence.many Plains tribes gave up permanent villages after they got horses. As they became more reliant on bison hunting on horseback, they adjusted their way of life to match the habits of the animals. The nomadic buffalo-hunting tribes lived in portable, cone-shaped tents called tepees. A tepee was made by stretching a cover of sewn buffalo skins over a framework of wooden poles. The cover was usually decorated with colorful paintings of animals and the hunt. A flap of the cover served as a door, and a flap at the top was left open to allow smoke from the central fire to escape. A tepee was usually 12 to 20 feet high and 15 to 30 feet in diameter. Tepees could be taken apart quickly and easily. Usually, they were large enough to house an entire family. The Osage and the Wichita built houses that were similar to the wickiup of the Northeast culture area. The dwellings of the Osage were composed of upright poles arched over on top, interlaced with flexible branches, and covered with mats or skins. Wichita houses were more cone-shaped and thatched with grass. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 4

5 Clothes: Buffalo, Deer And Antelope Hides Plains women made clothes out of the hides of buffalo, deer and antelope. They decorated them with porcupine quills and, in later times, glass and ceramic beads. On the northern Plains, in cold weather, men wore buffalo-skin robes painted with scenes of battles they had fought. Warriors sometimes wore warbonnets, or headdresses made with eagle feathers on special occasions. Women s clothing typically consisted of a long dress, leggings and moccasins. Making Tools And Weapons By Hand Plains Native Americans used different parts of the buffalo and other animals to make all kinds of items. Bedding, utensils and bags were made from buffalo hides. The horns were carved into spoons, and the hooves were cooked to make glue. Plains villagers cultivated their crops using antler rakes, wooden digging sticks, and hoes made from the shoulder blades of elk or bison. Some cooking pots also came from the bison. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 5

6 One of the chief skills of the men was making weapons. They whittled wooden bows and shaped them in a double curve. Arrows were made with a sharp stone head until European traders provided metal points. Feathers were tied to the end of the arrow to make it fly straight. Society: Tribes, Bands, Fighting And Trade Most Plains tribes were divided into bands, made up of a few dozen to a few hundred people who lived, worked and traveled together. The leaders of bands were chosen based on their courage and wisdom. Each band had its own territory. Some bands were fairly independent of each other, while others were tightly connected. The bands within a tribe did not fight one another. Fighting between tribes rarely involved large forces. Usually it was carried out by raiding parties of a few warriors. These raids were carried out to avenge a death, to steal horses and especially to gain glory. Tribes rewarded courageous war deeds by giving warriors the right to wear eagle feathers. Trade between Plains tribes was common. It often involved trade between nomads and villagers, as in the trade of buffalo robes for corn. Family: Dividing The Work Plains peoples organized themselves into large family-based groups called clans. The members of a clan shared a common ancestor. Depending on the tribe, a child became a member of either the father s or mother s clan. Because clan members came from different bands within a tribe, this system was a way to unify the tribe as a whole. Plains tribes typically had a clear division of labor. Women were responsible for farming, gathering plant foods, building and maintaining the home, cooking and making clothing. Men hunted for the household and provided defense for the community. Religion: Spirits, Shamans, Sun Dance Plains peoples believed that spirit-beings lived in animals, plants, the Sun, the Moon, the stars and all other natural things. Success in life was thought to depend on the help of these spiritbeings. To gain the help of a spirit, a person would go to an isolated spot to fast and beg for aid. All Plains tribes had people who communicated with the spirit world. Such people are known as shamans. They were called on to treat serious illnesses, locate enemies and game animals and find lost objects. Some Plains peoples, including the Cheyenne, the Atsina, and the Pawnee, believed in a supreme spirit. The Cheyenne, for example, held that the Wise One above knew better than all other creatures; further, he had long ago left Earth and retired to This article is available at 5 reading levels at 6

7 the sky. In smoking ceremonies the first offering of the pipe was always made to him. Some other tribes, such as the Crow, believed instead in many gods, each of whom possessed about equal power. The most important religious ceremony on the Plains was the Sun Dance. It was held once a year in summer, when the whole tribe could gather. Participants fasted and danced for several days, praying for power. Modern Day: Sovereignty, Growth, Development Assimilationist policies were challenges to tribal sovereignty, or the right to self-government. Regaining sovereignty became the defining goal of the Plains tribes in the 20th and 21st centuries. As with other rural communities, many Plains tribes had instituted formal plans for economic growth by the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Many of these plans were designed to resolve common rural development issues, such as underemployment and lack of services. The plans also included programs for cultural revitalization. Over time, the Plains people lost much of their traditional way of life. Today in the 21st century, many Native Americans are trying to reconnect with their past. For example, tribal schools now offer instruction in native languages, many of which were almost lost. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 7