Native Americans:
The Plains
Native Americans:The Plains |
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The Native Americans who lived on the Plains were nomadic. This means that they were hunters and gatherers who moved very often. You may be thinking that they were one tribe, but they weren't.They were many tribes put in a group because of the way they lived. Some of the tribes that were in the Plains group were the Sioux, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Comanche, Crow, Mandan, Omaha, and the Osage.
If they did not have the buffalo it would probably be hard for them to survive. Buffalo are also called bison. Before they had horses, they had to use clever techniques for hunting. What would happen is the men would dress up as a baby buffalo and act like it's lost. When one of the men is acting out the baby buffalo the other men would make a V around the buffalo herd. This would attract the buffalo to thinking that is his/her baby. When the herd is going toward the fake baby buffalo, the other men would go into the V and kill the buffalo with arrows and spears.
No part of the buffalo was wasted. They ate or used every part of the buffalo.The meat from the buffalo were eaten right away. They preserved some of the meat by drying it. They used the buffalo for many different things such as utencils, tools, containers, and thread. The utencils and tools were made out of the bones. The containers were made out of horns. The thead was made out of sinews.They also used the skin from the buffalo with fur left on it for robes. The skin with the fur removed was used for tepee covers.
Native Americans who lived on the Plains lived in large tepees. Women would take a large pole and stick them in the ground to make them stay. The tepees were large tents that were made out of buffalo hides sewed together.
The day the child was born was the day when they started school. On the first day the child would be taught not to cry.Throughout the child's life they would learn how to do some of the adult things. The girls usually cooked, made clothes, and cleaned. The little girls would stay and learn what to do. Little girls would have a doll as a toy. The little boys didn't have a toy, but they didn't care because they would be learning how to hunt. The little boys would also watch the men and learn to make the arrows and tools.
The Native Americans of the Plains had no written language.They used hand sign language. They also used pictographs. Pictographs are picture writing. If you meant day you might draw a picture of a sun. If you meant battle, you might draw arrows.
An important ceremony was the Sun Gaze Dance. This dance was dedicated to the Buffalo Spirit.The men would do it for everyone. The men would get up really early and go into the woods and find a tall tree.When they found a tree they would take it back to the village.They would cut the branches off the tree. Then they would put the tree into the ground.
They took rope made from hair or leather thongs (strips of hide).The rope would be fastened to the top of the pole. At the other end the rope will be fastened to a sticks. The sticks will be stuck through the flesh of their chest or back. The men will dance and dance until they fall down.
They believe that if the men had a vision it would make the Buffalo Spirit let them have a successful hunt.This dance that the man performed for the tribe was very painful, but the tribe gave them great respect.