The Plains Indians were the Native American tribes who lived in the Great Plains region of North America. The major tribes considered Plains Indians were the Arapaho, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Sioux, Kiowa and Comanche.

Culture

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These tribes survived on hunting, and the American Buffalo (or Bison) was the primary prey. These tribes kept moving following the migration of the bison. Bison were used for all the basic needs: food, clothing and shelter. The Plains Indians lived in tipis because they are easily disassembled and so allow a lifestyle of following game. The Plains tribes adopted a horse culture beginning in the 17th century when escaped Spanish horses were obtained.

Religion

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Great Plains Religion

Animist religion was an important part of a Great Plains Indians' life, as they believed that all things possessed spirits. Their worship was centred on one main god, in the Sioux language Wakan Tanka (the Great Spirit). The Great Spirit had power over everything that had ever existed, and the Indians believed that by worshipping him they would become stronger. Earth was also quite important, as she was the mother of all spirits. Spirits were worshipped daily. People sometimes prayed alone, while other times there were group gatherings. The most important group ceremony was the Sun Dance. In the Sun Dance, participants danced for four days around a sacred object, and some would inflict harm upon themselves on purpose, all while staring at the sun. They thought this self-sacrifice would encourage powerful spirits to support and defend them.

There were also people that were wakan, or blessed, who were also called shaman. To become wakan, your prayers must be answered by The Great Spirit, or you must see a sign from him. Wakan were thought to possess great power, and one of their jobs was to heal people, which is why they are also sometimes called the medicine man. They healed by trying to convince a person that they weren’t sick, or they used drugs, like an old-day version of aspirin and skunk-cabbage to cure asthma. The shamans were considered so important that they decided when to hunt! Plains Indians also thought that some objects possessed spiritual power. One such item was the medicine bundle, which was a sack that carried items that were thought to be important to the owner. Items in the sack might include rocks, feathers, and more. Another thing that was very spiritual was the shield. The shield was the most prized possession of any warrior, and he decorated it with many paintings and feathers. The animals that were drawn onto the shield were thought to protect the owner.

Legends

Great Plains legends featured Buffalo Spirits and the Earth Mother. Men belonged to ritual societies that offered camaraderie, a focus for public duties, and a forum to organize war and hunting parties. Powerful beings communicated through dreams and vision, and the individual vision quest was an important part of life. This involved seeking a spirit guide or seeing an intended purpose to the future and required the performance of certain rituals, such as fasting, or the construction of a sacred space. In some tribes, from northern Mexico, the vision quest was achieved with the use of entheogens. The Sun Dance was the most spectacular and important religious ceremony of the Plains Indians of 19th-century North America, ordinarily held by each tribe once a year usually at the time of the Summer Solstice.

The Sun Dance last from four to eight days starting at the sunset of the final day of preparation and ending at sunset. It showed a continuity between life and death - a regeneration. It shows that there is no true end to life, but a cycle of symbolic and true deaths and rebirths. All of nature is intertwined and dependent on one another. This gives an equal ground to everything on the Earth.

The Native American tribes who practiced sun dance were:

The Arapaho, Arikara, Asbinboine, Cheyenne, Crow, Gros, Ventre, Hidutsa, Sioux, Plains Cree, Plains Ojibway, Sarasi, Omaha, Ponca, Ute, Shoshone, Kiowa, and Blackfoot tribes. Their rituals varied from tribe to tribe.

Hunting

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Hunting in the Plains

Great Plains Indians had one main food source, bison. Although they hunted other animals, like elk or antelope, bison was by far the most plentiful food source throughout their area. Before horses were introduced, hunting was a complicated process. The Native Americans would surround the bison, and then they would try to herd them off of cliffs or into places where they would be more easily killed. The weapons of the Plains Indians were spears and bows. When horses were introduced to the Indians when white settlers came to America, it made hunting much easier. With horses, the Indians could simply stampede and overtake the bison with their speed, and many bison were slaughtered at point-blank range from horseback. The bows were then changed in design, reduced to only three feet in length, to make them easier to shoot from horseback. Bows were still used when guns were introduced, as guns took too long to reload and were too heavy. In the summer, many tribes would gather in one place to hunt. The chief organized the hunt at that time, and many bison were killed. Hunting was not an easy task, though, only the bravest men were allowed to hunt and they had to follow strict rules. They could not go forward alone, nor could they make even the slightest noise. If they didn’t follow these rules, they would be beaten and their possessions would be burned. The main hunting seasons were fall, summer, and spring, as in winter, harsh snow and mighty blizzards made it almost impossible to kill the bison.

Over years of surviving off of the hunt, Plains Indians developed through natural selection, an ability to survive longer off of less food through metabolism. In long intervals between hunts, Native Americans were kept alive by this adaptation. And in times of plentiful food, Plains Indians took on a lot of extra weight to prepare for a time without food. This adaptation saved tribes from starvation in their old way, but when reservations were introduced the adaptation became a threat. Because they were confined to reservations, Natives were generally no longer able to hunt for food, so they took up other means of subsistence. Nowadays, diabetes and obesity are major problems in Native plains communities because now Natives are eating modern food, and because of widespread Indian poverty they can only afford unhealthy food.

The Buffalo

The buffalo were the largest source of items such as food, decorations, and crafting tools to the Plain indians. Not a single part of the buffalo was thrown away, even the brains and the eyes of the buffalo were used. Below are some of the uses of the different parts of the buffalo.

Stomach-used as a container for water

Hides-moccasins, leggings & other clothing, (tipi) covers & linings, shields, maul covers, cups & kettles, parfleches (carrying cases)

Robes (with bison hair on)-winter clothing, gloves, bedding, costumes (ceremonial and decoy)

Hair-ropes, stuffing, yarn

Sinew-thread, bowstrings, snowshoe webbing

Horns-arrow points, bow parts, ladles & spoons cups, containers (for tobacco & medicine)

Hoofs-Rattles-glue

Tibia and other bones-brushes, awls, fleshers, other tools

Ribs-arrow straighteners

Brains-used to soften skin or Fat-Paint base and soap

Dung-fuel to polish stone

Teeth-ornaments

Native American tribes