Native American Cultures: The GreatPlains

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

By Encyclopedia Britannica, adapted by Newsela staff on 06.15.17

Word Count 874

Level 700L

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Plains

Native Americans once lived all across the Great Plains. The Great Plains is a huge grassland

at the center of North America. It stretches all the way from Canada to Texas.

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Many Tribes And Languages

The Plains Native Americans were not one tribe. 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.

Horses Change Way Of Life

Before 1700, most Plains peoples lived in villages. Some of these villages had populations of

several thousand people. Most of their food came from farming.

However, life changed once horses reached the Great Plains. Horses were brought to North

America by the Spanish.

Many tribes gave up farming once they had horses. They turned to hunting instead.

They also took on a nomadic, or wandering way of life. They left village life behind and spent

most of the year following herds of buffalo.

Family Life: Jobs

Plains men and women had different jobs.

Women gathered plant food, cleaned, cooked and made clothing. Men hunted and made

weapons. They also protected the community.

Food: Buffalo Hunting

Buffalo meat was the main food of the Plains tribes. At first most buffalo hunters used bows

and arrows. Later they used guns. They were able to get guns by trading with Europeans.

After the hunt, the women skinned the buffalo and cut up the meat. Most of the meat was cut

into thin strips and dried. Once it was dried, it lasted for a long time.

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Dwellings: From Lodges To Tepees

Before they had horses, tribes lived in villages. The villages were along 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.

Dwellings in the villages were mostly dome-shaped earth lodges. These were roofed and

walled with earth and entered through a covered passage. Many Plains tribes gave up

permanent villages after they got horses. They became more reliant on hunting bison by

horseback. As a result, they adjusted their way of life to match the habits of the animals.

Plains people lived in tents called tepees. These were shaped like a cone. Tepees were made

by stretching sewn buffalo skins over wooden poles. They could be taken apart quickly and

easily. Usually, they were large enough to house an entire family.

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Clothing: Animal Hides, Beads, 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.

These were 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.

Making Tools And Weapons

Plains tribes used different parts of the buffalo to make all kinds of items. Bedding and bags

were made from buffalo hides. The horns were carved into spoons. The hooves were cooked

to make glue.

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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: Small Raids

Warfare was common among Plains tribes.

Fighting rarely involved large forces, though. Usually it was carried out by small raiding

parties.

Raids were staged 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 were honored more for touching an enemy in

battle. Brave warriors won the right to wear eagle feathers. These were worn as part of a

headdress.

Religion: Spirits, The Sun Dance

Plains peoples believed that spirits lived in animals, plants, the Sun, the Moon and the stars.

People often asked these spirits for help.

The Sun Dance was the most important event for Plains people. It was held once a year in

summer. People danced for several days and prayed for power.

Today: Reconnecting With The Past

Over time, Plains people lost much of their traditional way of life. Today, many Plains tribes

are trying to reconnect with their past. For example, tribal schools now teach tribal languages.

Many of these languages were almost completely forgotten.

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Quiz

1 Read the paragraph from the section "Religion: Spirits, The Sun Dance."

Plains peoples believed that spirits lived in animals, plants, the Sun,the Moon and the stars. People often asked these spirits for help.

Based on this selection, which of the following is TRUE?

(A) Plains peoples were able to communicate with animals and nonliving things.

(B) Plains peoples believed the things around them could help them.

(C) Plains peoples knew more about animals and nature than people know today.

(D) Plains peoples were afraid that there might be spirits living around them in

nature.

2 Read the section "Dwellings: From Lodges To Tepees."

Which paragraph describes what Plains tribes did during different parts of the year?

3 Based on the article, what do we know about the green area shown on the map?

(A) It is an area where Plains peoples live today and attend traditional tribal

schools.

(B) It is the land that was taken from Plains peoples during warfare and raids.

(C) It is the path Plains tribes followed as they wandered from Canada to Texas.

(D) It is a huge grassland where Plains tribes lived and hunted buffalo.

4 Use the illustration of the buffalo and information from the article to select the TRUE statement.

(A) The buffalo provided much more than food to the Plains Native Americans.

(B) The Plains Native Americans struggled to use and store the buffalo before it

went bad.

(C) The buffalo were no longer useful after the Plains Native Americans got horses.

(D) The Plains Native Americans had to make special tools to hunt the dangerous

buffalo.

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