Most Plains Indians lived in a huge area between the Mississippi and Rocky Mountains.  A few well-known tribes are the following: Sioux, Cheyenne, Comanche, and Blackfoot all lived in this area.  One custom of the Plains Indians was that their tribes often traded among each other for supplies and food.  Males usually wore animal skin leggings, a loin cloth, and a belt.  Women and girls wore dresses made of deerskin.  An important dance to the Plains Indians was the Ghost Dance that took place at night.  Here they talked to the Gods and their ancestors that had past away.  Southeastern tribes lived in states such as Louisiana, Georgia, and Alabama. Some of the Southeastern tribes were the following:  Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole.  The Green Corn Festival was one of the most important ceremonies to the Plains Indians.  It took place in the fall and Shamans and men went in a circle around a fire that was cooking corn.  After the corn was cooked it was given as a sacred offering to the Great Spirit.  People danced and more corn was cooked over the fire for everyone.  The Southeastern tribes were also famous for intermarriage.  A Shawnee Chief, Blue Jacket, was an adopted Caucasian.  There was also an African American, John Horse, who was a Seminole warrior.  The Southeastern tribes contained a mix of races and tribes, but nobody seemed to mind, as long as the culture was the same everyone was happy.

                                                                Native Americans ~~ participating in  the traditional Powwow  
          Plains Indians has many customs.  Their customs related to food are as follows:  The Plains Indians hunted buffalo and other game for example they hunted elk and antelope, as well.  To capture them they'd surround the herd or sometimes try to stamped a herd off of a cliff or into an area where they could kill them more easily.  But after horses the lives of the Plains Indians was much easier.  They would hunt animals using bows and arrows while riding horses.  They never stopped hunting, they hunted all year long, because buffalo weren't in short supply, then.  Buffalo, after being roasted over a fire and dried in the sun, was then made into jerky, and made into pemmican, which was made by pounding dried meat into powder and mixing it with melted fat and berries.  The Plains Indians didn't eat only meat, they ate berries, cherries, wild greens, camas roots, and wild prairie turnips with the meat, as well.   They made about every single part of the dead buffalos useful to them. Which are only a few of the very many customs the Plains Indians had to stay alive and get food.
An Indian Arrow ~~ Plains Indians sometimes used these in battle and for hunting.
  Most importantly to the Plains Indians customs were those dealing with their beliefs.  They believed in the Great Spirit.  They believed the Great Spirit had power over all things, including animals, trees, clouds, humans, and rocks.  Plains Indians also believed that the earth was the mother of all spirits.  The sun was believed to give the earth light and warmth, so it was powerful in their beliefs, also.  They prayed both alone and in groups together.  They had many customs to worship the Great Spirit, and they believed in visions that came from the spirits.  A medicine man or known as shaman was their guide to healing the sick and interpreting signs and dreams.  One very important custom was the Sun Dance, a very important ceremony among them that lasted for many days.  First, they would fast, not eating for several days at a time.  They wouldn't sleep either, and then they would set up camp, a circle of tepees.  A tree was set in the center for the ritual.  Ropes made of hair and leather were then tied to the top of the tree.  Next, they tied the ropes to sticks, which they stuck through the  flesh of their chests and backs.  Then, they continued to dance, worshipping the sun, playing pipes, and all the while the sticks tore at their flesh more and more, but they believed this would make the Great Spirit proud and they would be rewarded.  
      The Plains Indians that were artist used buffalo hides to draw on, which were made into clothing, houses, beds, shields, shoes (moccasins), envelopes, and other useful objects for the Plains Indians.  The objects were painted or beaded into beautiful patterns, such as stripes, diamonds, arrows, hunting scenes, and other things that represented their lives and customs.  Medicine bundles were also customary to be carried by the Indians.  They carried pipes, dried herbs, and other animal related things in the medicine bundles because they believed they represented powerful objects.  The medicine bags were supposed to help heal the Plains Indians, spiritually and physically.  Another custom was the Powwow, which was another ceremony often held from June until September.  Powwows had religious importance and opportunities to hold a naming.  Dakota and Lakota traditions in the powwows were to pray and celebrate the Great Spirit, or to them known as Wakantanka.   The Indians stood in a circle, which was also very important to them.  They danced in the center while others beat on  on drums.  This is was another custom to bring them closer to family, friends, and the comfort of their culture.  The Native Americans Shaman or medicine man was the holy person who had a lot of knowledge and power.  He healed the sick, told them that their dreams meant, and led some dances and ceremonies,  He lead the prayers to the Great Spirit, decided many of the Indians live decisions, and told the future.

  Sitting Bull  ~~ A warrior and leader of Native American groups.
   A vision quest was when the Plains Indians would stop eating and go to a quiet place for one to four days.  They did this because they believed that this would help them see visions, which would guide them or tell of their future.  The visions would come from the Spirit or ancestors.  When back at the village a Shaman would tell the man what his vision meant, and he may name the man because of what his vision was.  It was also a tradition to carry a mendella, sometimes.  A mendella was similar to a shield and was made of bison hides, bird feathers, or wool of animals.  It was thought to bring good luck to the person that carried it.  
   Before the white man came to America, the Indians lived there,  There were probably about ten million Native Americans in America when the Europeans arrived.  The name "Indian" was given to them when Christopher Columbus first arrived and mistakenly thought  the mainland and islands of America were part of the Indies, in Asia.  By 1877 for every Indian in the West there were now nearly forty whites.  Indian wars began.  Indians were expected to forget their old ways and make themselves act just as the whites did.
     Chief Joseph quoted the following: " My father was the first to see through the schemes of the white men.... He said "My son....when I am gone...you are the chief of these people.... Always remember that your father never sold his country....  This country holds your father's body.  Never sell the bones of your father and mother."  "I pressed my father's hand and told him I would protect his grave with my life..... A man who would not love his father's grave is worse than an wild animal."             ---------------------------Chief  Joseph  1874   
        To most Plains Indians, including the Dakota, the feather of an eagle was very sacred.  In a powwow , if one had fallen from a dancer's outfit it was very customary to stop the powwow and perform a ceremony to restore the feather.  Four dancers would dance around the feather, because most Indians found four as an important and sacred number, as well.
Native Americans today are still practicing the traditions of their ancestors.       

                   

 

                                                                                                                                                        Powwow Ceremonies !!!

 

Performing the Powwow  Ceremony this year.------------------------

                                                                                                                                                                                                     Woman performing a ceremony, that is tradition to the Native American people----------------                       

 

 

Powwow!!! 
    Some of the most colorful natives anywhere were the Plains Indians.  The Arapaho migrated to the Great Plains near the end of the 17th century.  They were also called "Our People."  They were brave in war, traders, but the Cheyenne tribe over powered the Arapaho tribe.  The Arapaho split into three nations.  They were at war with the Crow, Shoshone, Navajo, Pawnee, and the Utes and Sioux.  The crow tribe were Siouan Speakers.  They were well-known from the Mountain Men Days.  They were excellent horse thieves and warriors.  They were deadly enemies of the Sioux and Blackfoot.  They also held their Powder River hunting grounds against both of these tribes, until the 19th century.  The crow also fought the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Gros Ventre,  Shoshone, Nez Perce, and Flathead tribes.  They were friendly with Kiowas.  The Crows never fought against the Untied States.  Some times they would steal each others' wives to get back at one another within the tribe.
    The traditional Native American shelter was the tepee.  It was the most well-known shelter to the Plains Indians.  The tepee was a good shelter in both summer months and cold weather in the winter.  It was made of layers of animal skins, which were painted in different ways to show their way of life.  Many tepees were in a circular way, but the tepee was not the only type of shelter for the Native Americans, mostly in the Eastern Plains the Indians made earth homes which were made of sod and timbers.  Most earth home villages were usually near a river or stream, although earth homes couldn't be moved like a tepee could.  They grew food near their earth home villages and stored food in the pits.
   Spiritual Traditions for the Indians were some of the following:  When game was killed by the Plains Indians there was a prayer and an offering to the Spirit of the animal that they had just killed.  The Great Spirit, Sun, and Earth all held spiritual meanings to them and they worshiped these by performing dances and rituals to show what they believed in.
  A dream catcher was made from a hoop of bent willow  with a webbing inside made of sinew.  Plains Indians kept it near where they slept to keep away the bad spirits and bad dreams.
    Standing Bull quoted:  "Do you know who I am?  I want to tell you that if the Great Spirit, chosen anyone to be the chief of this country, it is myself."--------------------Sitting Bull

He quoted this when the U.S. Senators tried to come up with a plan to open part of the reservation that the Lakota owned.  But his objections to the U.S. were not heard.  From his cabin Sitting Bull could see the place where he had been born more over fifty years ago, be gone.  "A warrior I have been," he sang. "Now it is all over.  A time I have," sang Sitting Bull.
 
   Charlotte Black Elk quoted:   "The idea was that if we couldn't pray, if we couldn't behave the way we do, have our social customs, and we couldn't speak, we'd very quickly become white people and we could no longer be a military problem.  So the idea was to corrupt them from the inside, you know, make them give up who they are." ------------------------quoted by Charlotte Black Elk, when his daughter and many who had fought with him at Little Bighorn were reduced to living on rations, and not permitted on rations, and not permitted to speak their own native language, and denied to practice their religious customs.
  Customs of the Men's' Dance were the following: the men's dance would begin when war parties would get back to their camp and dance to describe the battle to the others at the camp or village.  They often carry items which represent their meanings as warriors.  The movements in the men's dance would also represent the lives of the birds, hawks, and other animals, because they were important to the Indians, as well.
   Plains Indians followed the migration, or movement, of the buffalo.  The women would set up the tepees while the men began hunting buffalo.  After the warriors caught the buffalo, the women and children would join them to cut up the buffalo and eat the heart, liver, kidneys, and brain.  The skin of the buffalo was used for clothing.  The hide was used to cover the tepee.  The horns were used as spoons, cups, and toys.  Bones were used as tools and weapons.  Tails were used as brushes or whips.  The Plains Indians only killed what was necessary for them to survive, this was a custom that they respected.
     "Counting Coup" was the expression by the Plains Indians that meant the Indian had gotten close enough to his enemy to touch him with a feather, his hand, or a specially decorated stick.  This was a customary, high honor to the Plains Indians.  

    A war bonnet, or headpiece, was worn by the Indians that were very brave.
   Standing Bear quoted the following:  "  Son, I never want to see you die an old man.  Die young on the battlefield."  

This quote by Standing Bear was said because it was a custom for brave warriors to die young in battle, it was a shame if they were to die of old age.  It was also customary for the Plains Indian warrior to win the respect of others and elders by fighting.  When a warrior killed an enemy he would usually bring home his scalp to prove that he had killed the enemy himself.
    Plains Indians had many customs to represent their way of live and heritage and and what they believed in.  The white men tried to take all of that away from them, at one time, but the Plains Indians customs still live today, and always will. 

 

Plains Indians Tepees

Megan French

8th American History

Rossville Jr. High

Plains History Project

2004

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