Native American Cultures: The Great Plains By Encyclopedia Britannica, adapted by Newsela staff on 06.15.17 Word Count 1,163 Level 890L 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, 2003. 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 https://newsela.com. 1
Plains Native Americans traditionally lived on the Great Plains. 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 down to the Rio Grande in Texas. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2
Different Tribes, Languages The Plains Native Americans were not one tribe. Rather, they were many different tribes who spoke 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. From Farming To Hunting On Horseback The Native Americans Plains cultural area is known for its mobile culture. However, this culture developed only after contact with Europeans. Before 1700, 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 stopped farming. Instead, they took on a nomadic or wandering way of life. They spent most of the year following herds of buffalo. Family Life: Division Of Labor Men and women had different jobs in traditional Plains tribal societies. Women were responsible for gathering plant food, building and cleaning the home, cooking and making clothing. Men hunted, made weapons and protected the community. Food: Buffalo Meat Buffalo meat was the main food of the Plains tribes. At first most buffalo hunters used bows and arrows. Later they used guns that they got through trade with Europeans. After the hunt, the women skinned the dead buffalo and cut up the meat. Most of the meat was cut into thin strips and dried. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3
Settlements: From Lodges To Tepees Before 1700, the 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, which provided shelter from winter storms. They returned to their villages in the spring to begin the cycle again. 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. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4
Tepees were 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. Tepees were usually 12 to 20 feet high and 15 to 30 feet in diameter. They could be taken apart quickly and easily. Usually, they were large enough to house an entire family. Clothing: Animal Hides, Beads And Feathers Plains women made clothes out of animal hides. They decorated them with porcupine quills and beads. Men wore a shirt, leggings and moccasins. In cold weather they wore buffalo-skin robes painted with scenes of battles they had fought. Warriors sometimes wore warbonnets, or headdresses made with eagle feathers. Women wore a long dress, leggings and moccasins. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5
Making Tools And Weapons Plains people used different parts of the buffalo and other animals to make all kinds of items. Bedding and bags were made from buffalo hides. The horns were carved into spoons, and the hooves were cooked to make glue. Bows for hunting were made out of wood. 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: Bands, Clans, Tribes Most Plains tribes were divided into bands. These were 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. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 6
Each band had its own territory. Some bands were fairly independent of each other, while others were tightly connected. A tribe's different bands gathered together at least once a year. Plains peoples were also divided into groups called clans. The clan was larger than a band, but smaller than a tribe. People from different bands could be in the same clan. 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. Warfare: Small Fights The bands and clans within a tribe did not fight one another. However, fighting did take place between different tribes. Fighting 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. Brave warriors won the right to wear eagle feathers in a headdress. A warrior received more honor from touching an enemy in battle than from killing him. Religion: Spirits, The Sun Dance Plains peoples believed that spirit-beings lived in animals, plants, the Sun, the Moon, the stars and all other natural things. To gain the help of a spirit, a person would go off on their own. They would fast and beg for aid. The Sun Dance was an most important ceremony. It was held once a year in summer, when the whole tribe could gather. People fasted and danced for several days, praying for power. 21st Century: Rebuilding Culture Over time, Plains people lost much of their traditional way of life. Today in the 21st century many Plains tribes are trying to reconnect with their past. For example, tribal schools now teach native languages. Many of these languages were once almost completely forgotten. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 7
Quiz 1 Read the section "Different Tribes, Languages." Which paragraph BEST supports the idea that Plains tribes interacted with other communities? 2 Which sentence from the article MOST suggests that Plains peoples avoided unnecessary violence? (A) (B) (C) (D) Men hunted, made weapons and protected the community. However, fighting did take place between different tribes. These raids were carried out to avenge a death, to steal horses and especially to gain glory. A warrior received more honor from touching an enemy in battle than from killing him. 3 Which sentence from the article is BEST illustrated by the map near the top of the article? (A) (B) (C) (D) The Plains Native Americans were not one tribe. The Native Americans Plains cultural area is known for its mobile culture. They spent most of the year following herds of buffalo. Buffalo meat was the main food of the Plains tribes. 4 How does the photograph near the section "Settlements: From Lodges To Tepees" relate to the central idea of the article? (A) (B) (C) (D) It portrays Plains peoples using multiple parts of a recently hunted buffalo in their daily lives. It portrays members of different Plains tribes working together to avoid warfare over buffalo. It portrays dwellings used by nomadic Plains peoples when they were hunting for buffalo. It portrays the land available to Plains tribes in river villages for agriculture. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 8