Contents:
(Click on the appropriate link)
Origins of the Amerindians
Variations in Indian languages
Games and entertainment
Social and political organization
American Indian Culture areas
Spirituality
Conclusion
Bibliography
2. The Plains
The North American Plains are formed by the grassy land lying between central Canada and Mexico and bounded by the Midwest westward and the Rocky Mountains. The Indians who lived in the Plains had a vast rolling plain at their disposal. There was enough rain for grass to grow but too little for many trees which grew only beside the rivers.
"This culture group of Indians is well-known for the importance of the buffalo, their religious ceremonies, the use of the tepee, and their war-path customs"1. As a result, Plains Indians have become the stereotyped Indians with long feather headdresses, tepees, ceremonial pipes, costumes, and dancing because European Americans conquered them during the 19th century, when newspapers, magazines, and photography popularized the frontier. Among early Plains peoples were the Blackfoot.
As European colonists invaded the Eastern Woodlands, many peoples, among which the Sioux, the Cheyenne and earlier, some Comanche, left the Midwest and settled in the Plains.
a) Economy
Game was plentiful on the Plains. Thus, hunting was the principal source of food of the Indians of the Plains. There were herds of buffalo and antelopes on the grasslands as well as deer and elk, grizzly bears, mountain sheep and mountain goats in the nearby hills and mountains. The buffalo, or bison, were the most important game animal. This animal gave the Indians almost everything they needed. The flesh supplied food and they made tents, called tepees, boats, utensils, baggage and some of their clothing from the skin. Hunting was usually a tribal activity. But the big herds moved about constantly seeking pasture, so most of the Plains peoples lived in small nomadic bands that moved about the plains following the herds. Before horses were brought from Europe, the Indians had a hard time catching them on foot and the vast hunting area contained but few Indian tribes. Over the centuries, the hunters had worked out effective methods to kill enough game to feed the tribe. "The summer hunt often found warriors "disguised" as animals in hides and fur so the buffalo could not detect their human scent"2. If the herd was scattered, a few hunters might move softly among the animals and shoot several without scaring the others. In snowy weather, Indians would encircle a herd and kill many of the animals before they could flounder away. Other methods involved driving large numbers of buffalo off a cliff or into some type of encirclement and driving them into corrals for slaughter. After Spanish settlers brought horses first in the Southwest, the Plains tribes became successful mounted hunters and spent their lives following the herds.
b) Housing
At buffalo-hunting time, a tribe moved after the feeding herds on foot. They had invented a dwelling they could carry : the tipi. Their dogs, sometimes their women, hauled the tipi that’s why the tents were small because the dogs could not pull heavy loads. After following a herd until they had a good supply of meat and hides, the hunters would return to their permanent village.
Many Plains tribes gave up permanent villages after they got horses. Each tribe knew where the buffalo should be from month to month and moved as necessary. On a big hunt, the many bands in a tribe gathered in a huge camp.
Their tepees were much larger after the Indians had horses to haul the heavy covers on the travois.
c) Work of men and women
After the hunt, the work of the women began. They skinned the buffalo carcasses and cut up the meat. Most of the meat was cut into thin strips and jerked. Jerking meant hanging the strips on a rack in the dry wind that swept the plains. This dried meat would keep for a long while. Or it could be boiled by dropping hot rocks into the cooking pot. From the hides of the buffalo they made all sorts of things (robes, rawhide utensils, carrying cases etc.). However, the women used the softer, finer skins of deer and antelope for most garments. The practice of using animal grease or fish oil on the skin to clean and soften it was common among Indians. The horns were carved into spoons and ladles, the hooves cooked to make glue.
When it was time to make a new tipi cover, a woman invited friends to help her sew the big hides together. They used buffalo sinews for thread. Moving camp was also the work of the women. There was, however, a good reason for that. The men had to be armed and ready to fight. The women became so expert that they could set up the tepees or take them down in a few minutes.
The Plains Indian was a splendid hunter and mounted warrior who took pride in defending his hunting grounds against the invasion of White settlers. Some of the tribesmen guarded the camp. Others were scouts who rode ahead and signaled the appearance of game or the enemy. Signals included riding in a certain pattern, waving a buffalo robe, sending up puffs of smoke by day, and using fire by night. The chief skill of the men laid in making weapons. Plains warriors loved ornaments. They decked themselves with trophies of war and the hunt. The braves painted their bodies for dances and for battle. The designs might be special "medicine" or magic, to protect their lives, or they might be drawn to make the men look more ferocious.
d) Celebrations
Almost as exciting as the hunt itself was the feast that followed. No Indians honored bravery and other warlike qualities more than did the Plains hunters. It was an event the whole tribe took part in. Their hungers satisfied, the Indians would sing and dance and recite war chants. The braves would usually get up and tell how strong and courageous they were. The tribe rewarded warriors for bravery. For a courageous deed an Indian was given the right to wear one or more feathers in a headdress. Each brave kept track of his heroic deeds by counting coup. They held huge religious ceremonials to win the help of the gods. Each tribe had its secret societies in which young men passed from rank to rank to win high honors. The men withdrew from the camp for fasting and for purification to evoke a guardian spirit which would give them magic powers. They painted their visions of the spirits on shields and tepees.
Love of ornament encouraged trade between the Indians and, later, the White men. Many artistic and utilitarian items were passed from tribe to tribe, long before Columbus discovered America. The culture of Plains Indians of historic times thus included elements from adjacent culture areas. To get horses, the Indians were willing to trade their most valuable goods. The Plains tribes had buffalo hides and fur pelts to trade.
The Indians there used glass beads, needles, steel knives, copper kettles, and other manufactured wares. A brave, skillful, and lucky hunter might kill four or five animals during a run. The number increased after the Indians got guns from traders.
-
1 Plains Indian Culture http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/plains.html
2 Society - Blackfoot http://www.thewildwest.org/native_american/society/Blackfoot.html
