Native American Cultures: The Great Plains By Encyclopedia Britannica, adapted by Newsela staff on 06.15.17 Word Count 738 Level 640L 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 once lived across the Great Plains. The Great Plains is a huge grassland. It is at the center of North America. It stretches all the way from Canada to Texas. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2
Many Different Tribes The Plains people were not one tribe. They were many different tribes. The best known include the Blackfoot, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Crow, Kiowa, Lakota and Plains Cree. These tribes spoke different languages. Some of their languages are similar to languages spoken as far north as Alaska. Others, such as the Comache, spoke languages similar to those spoken by the Aztecs. These are some of the oldest languages in the Americas. Plains peoples also invented a type of sign language as well. It represented common objects and ideas like "buffalo" or "trade." This let people communicate. They could speak to each other even if they spoke different languages. Horses Changed Way Of Life Before 1700, most Plains peoples lived in villages. Most of their food came from farming. Dwellings in the villages were mostly dome-shaped earth lodges. These were roofed and walled with earth and entered through a covered passage. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3
Life changed once horses reached the Great Plains. Horses were brought to North America by the Spanish. Many Plains tribes gave up permanent villages after they got horses. They stopped farming. They became more reliant on hunting buffalo by horseback. As a result, they adjusted their way of life to match the habits of the animals. The Plains tribes also took on a wandering way of life. They spent most of the year following herds of buffalo. To do this, they gave up their lodges. Plains people started living in tents called tepees. Tepees are shaped like a cone. They are made by stretching sewn buffalo skins over wooden poles. They can be taken apart quickly and easily. Usually, they were large enough to house an entire family. 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. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4
After the hunt, the women skinned the dead buffalo. Most of the meat was cut into thin strips and dried. Once it was dried, it lasted for a long time. Clothing: Animal Hides Plains women made clothes out of animal hides. They decorated them with beads. Men wore a shirt, leggings and moccasins. A moccasin is a soft shoe made out of animal skin. In cold weather, men wore buffalo-skin robes. Women wore a long dress, leggings and moccasins. Making Tools And Weapons Plains people made their tools by hand. They made their weapons too. they used antlers to make a rake. They used buffalo horns to make spoons. Bows for hunting were made out of wood. Arrows were first made with a sharp stone head. Later on, they were made with metal points. Feathers were tied to the end of the arrow to make it fly straight. Warfare: Winning Eagle Feathers Warfare was common among Plains Indian tribes. Big battles were rare, though. Usually a small group of warriors raided the camp or village of another tribe. Raids happened for different reasons. Sometimes one tribe wanted to punish another for killing one of its members. Other times the purpose was to steal horses. Warriors did not always kill each other. They would try to touch their enemy while they were fighting. This was considered braver than killing someone. Brave warriors won the right to wear eagle feathers. Religion: Spirits And The Sun Dance Plains peoples believed that spirits lived in animals, plants and even the Sun. People often asked these spirits for help. Once a year the whole tribe gathered for a Sun Dance. People danced for several days. As they danced, they prayed for power. Today: Rediscovering The Past Over time, Plains people lost much of their old way of life. Today, many Plains tribes are trying to rediscover their past. For example, tribal schools now teach Native American languages. Many of these languages were once almost completely forgotten. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 6
Quiz 1 Read the paragraph from the section "Warfare: Winning Eagle Feathers." Raids happened for different reasons. Sometimes one tribe wanted to punish another for killing one of its members. Other times the purpose was to steal horses. Which question is answered in this paragraph? Which tribe was the best at fighting? Why did tribes fight with each other? How did the horses react to the raids? Who took care of people who got hurt in raids? 2 Read the section "Horses Changed Way Of Life." Which sentence from the section explains WHY Plains peoples gave up permanent villages? Most of their food came from farming. Dwellings in the villages were mostly dome-shaped earth lodges. They spent most of the year following herds of buffalo. Plains people started living in tents called tepees. 3 Look at the map near the top of the article. What is the focus of the map? the names of different Plains Native American tribes the names of different states where Plains Native Americans lived the land that Plains Native Americans used for farming the land where Plains Native Americans hunted for buffalo 4 Look at the picture of the buffalo. What do the items all around the buffalo in the picture show? things that Plains Native Americans traded in exchange for buffalo things that were used to prepare buffalo meat things that could be made from different parts of the buffalo things that were needed to hunt the buffalo This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 7