The People of the Plains

1. The People of the Plains By: Nathalia Lee, Joanna Khammountry & Mark Batin

2. Interior Plains Tipis Earth Lodges Grassy prairies and Rocky Mountains. - cold winters and hot summers. Buffalo hide sewed together to make tipi coverings. - it was light and easy for dogs to carry materials. Permanent communities lived in shelters called earth lodges made of poles covered in earth to form a dome. Homes/Habitat

3. A village that uses earth lodges as shelters. http://daphne.palomar.edu/scrout/AIS120/cat02.jpg Tipi made from buffalo hide where Plains people lived in. http://www.firstpeople.us/tipi/pt/blackfoot-tipis.jpg A map of where several plains tribes are located in Canada. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com

4. Clothing • Tanned buffalo hide – Used to make robes, moccasins (shoes) and snowshoes. • Men’s clothing – Breech clothes, aprons, leggings, fur robes and ponchos. - showed society status and accomplishments. • Women’s clothing – Simple, leather dresses, capes and long sleeves. • Both men and women wore their hair long and often in braids. These two are wearing traditional Sioux clothing http://whitewolve.com/native_americans/culture.sioux.traditionalclothing.jpg

5. A simple woman’s dress made from animal hide. http://www.minnehahacounty.org/museums/exhibits/l_c_gifts_mandan /teachers/photo-a-rdy/a26-dress/a26-dress-p0018020.JPG Moccasins were shoes also made of animal skin, most likely buffalo hide. http://www.icollector.com/images/104/17195/17195_0364_1_lg.jpg

6. Subsistence • Food – Buffalo, antelope, deer, elk - meat was made into pemmican, roasted, smoked or boiled - soups and stews • Nomads – Plains people traveled long distances to hunt buffalo for food. • Hunters and Gatherers – Men hunted the buffalos - women gathered fruits, vegetables and prepared the meats and meals • Before horses arrived, dogs were needed to carry supplies. • canoes were also used for transportation

7. Hunters disguised as wolves when hunting buffalos. A woman pounding meat to make Pemmican. http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_plains3.html http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_plains3.html Meat being hanged to dry. http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/images/firstnations/teachers_guide /plains/dryingmeat.jpg

8. Tools and Weapons • Hunting knives - Usually made from copper and sharpened rocks. • Sacks/bags - Used to store foods and water and even to carry babies. - made from animal hides • Dishes and spoons were made from wood. A moss bag used to carry babies in. http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_ groups/fp_plains6.html Shields of buffalo skin and blades made from stones were used during hunting. http://www.artamp.com/free-clipart/775-vintage-indian-designs/

9. Society • There were many nations of the Plains – For example, Blackfoot, Assiniboine, Cree, Sioux, Crow and Comanche. • Bands – People were divided into bands and lived, worked and traveled together. • Warrior societies – Men belonged to warrior societies. These societies helped make decisions with elders. • Women took care of the family and household.

10. An example of what a plains community looks like. Men were out hunting while women stayed to take care of the home. http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/forts/images/main-apachecamp.jpg

11. Leadership & Government • Leadership – They were men with hunting ability, experience and wealth. • Counsels – Counsels were elders and made the decisions in the band. • Chiefs – Each band had a chief. Chiefs were usually prophets, elders, valiant warriors or a wealthy person. Elders told stories to pass down knowledge to younger generations http://www.ilhawaii.net/~stony/datadown/art/stortell.gif

12. Religious/Spiritual Customs • Spirits – The plains people believed in great spirits. They believed that the spirits would come into their dreams and give them advice also called “Spiritual Guidance” • Hunters had connections with animals. • Sun dance – An important ritual where dancers fast and put themselves through pain A young man performing the sun dance. His chest is pierced as he pulls away from the pole. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/images/hist_ sun_dance.jpg

13. Cultural Artifacts • Snowshoes made of caribou hide laced through frames • Baskets, containers, robes, cradleboards, moccasins decorated with beads and quills. • Toboggans made from buffalo ribs. • Shields made with buffalo rawhide. A light bag used to store pemmican http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009070

14. http://dreamcatcher.com/images/DreamCatcher-Legend.jpg Dream catchers were believed to trap bad dreams and let good dreams flow through. A leather drawstring pouch decorated with beads. http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/forts/images/bag.html

15. Bibliography • Johnson, Michael. Native Tribes of the Plains and Prairie. Milwaukee. World Almanac Library, 2004. • The Brown Reference Group. Native North American. Connecticut. Brown Bear Books Limited, 2009 • Kalman, Bobbie. Life in a Plains Camp. New York. Crabtree Publishing Company, 2001 • Kalman, Bobbie. Nations of the Plains. New York. Crabtree Publishing Company, 2001 • Stout, Mary. Native American Peoples: Cree. Milwaukee. Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2004 • Banting, Erinn. The Cree. Calgary. Weigl Education Publishers Limited, 2008 • Gianetta, J. For The Hunt. http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/firstnations/tools.html. April 2009 • The Plains People. http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_plains2.html. 2007 • Cranny, Michael. Crossroads. Toronto. Pearson Education Canada Inc., 1998