Life on the Plains PDF

Life on the Plains Buffalo were the main source of food for all the Native American groups The Plains people lived on the Interior who lived on the Plains. The meat could Plains between...

Life on the Plains Buffalo were the main source of food for all the Native American groups The Plains people lived on the Interior who lived on the Plains. The meat could Plains between the Mississippi River and be eaten raw or cooked. It could also the Rocky Mountains. On fields of grass , be mixed with fat and berries to make they hunted buffalo, or American bison. pemmican, a dried meat that could be After water, buffalo were the Plains' most stored. i.Olportant natural resource. Millions of The buffalo gave Plains groups what these animals once roamed this large they needed to make clothing, tools, region of dry prairie land in North utensils, and shelters. The people used America. almost every part of the buffalo. They made clothing and moccasins from the Hunting the Buffalo skins. They carried water in bags made Imagine hunters coming upon a herd from the stomachs. They twisted the hair of buffalo. Wearing animal skins, they into cord, and they made tools from the sneak up on the buffalo. A signal is given, bones and horns. Even the hooves of the all the hunters yell, and the frightened buffalo were used to make glue. Nothing buffalo begin to run. The hunters drive was wasted. the herd toward a steep cliff. Unable to stop, the animals fall over the side and 1;lt-j,jjm1ij:jjijj 6COMPARE AND CONTRAST are killed. What different ways was buffalo meat prepared? - -- DIAGRAM This chart shows only a few of the many Native American Uses r -- uses the Plains people had for the buffalo. How did Plains people use the buffalo to become better of the Buffalo hunters? Horns Skin clothing, shelter, cups, spoons shields, drums Ch~pter,2 , 1 71 \.. M,t':;~~7f4R ~ \i ~ Cs  These Central Plains people lived in l Farmers and Hunters villages made up of large round earthen While they all needed the buffalo and houses called lodges. Each lodge was shared many customs, there were dif- home to several families. One lodge ferences among the Plains people. Their usually held 20 to 40 people. ways of life depende d in part on where Each lodge was built of earth over a they lived. small pit. In the center was a fireplace under a hole in the roof for letting out People of the Central Plains smoke. On the northern prairies, the Some Plains groups lived in the eastern lodges were covered by sod, a layer part of the Plains, or the Central Plains. of soil held together by the roots of The Iowa and the Missouri lived there, grasses. as did smaller groups of the Sioux (500), About twice a year, Central Plains such as the Nakota. These groups were tribes took part in a great buffalo hunt. To both hunters and gatherers and farmers. reach the distant plains where the buffalo They gathered plants and hunted deer, lived, the people had to walk from their elk, and buffalo. They farmed in the fer- villages in the river valleys. tile valleys of the Missouri River and the Platte River. They grew beans, corn, and READING CHECK 6COMPARE AND CONTRAST sunflowers. At times, groups traded some How were the Central Plains Indians both farmers of their crops for other goods. and hunters? ~~"~ ·- Great Plains Life k.'..~-.·..., ' ILLUSTRATION The people of the Great r' I Plains used their environment to get food and to make clothing and shelter. What activities '... do you see in this illustration?. ' Tepee poles were valuable because wood was scarce. ""~;... /..... J -. _'. E ,~~~ It~ ·.- ~:'jal..... ,-. "',; '.. 1, tf,.. ;::'°Y'~'t "" f.i "'A _,- l.....,,. 't,41)t.c ~ )i,. -1 ~.. r 1 y'  A Nomadic Society The Great Plains people built shelters that were easy to move. One such shelter smoke rises from an early morning fire was a cone-shaped tent called a tepee as a Cheyenne (shy AN) woman makes (TEE pee). To build a tepee, wooden poles food. Wood is scarce, or in short sup- were set in a circle and tied together at ply. Toe scarcity of wood means other the top. Then the poles were covered sources of fuel must be used. So the with buffalo skins. A hole at the top of the woman burns dried buffalo droppings, tep...ee let out the smoke from fiies. called chips. The people also used their wooden People of the Great Plains poles to make a carrier caJJed a travois Toe Cheyenne lived in the western part (truh VOY). A travois was made of two of the Interior Plains, called the Great poles tied together at one end and then Plains. They and other groups fastened to a harness on a dog. Goods who lived there, such as were carried on a buffalo skin tied the Kiowa (ky uh wah) between the poles. and the Crow, moved ;jzj11jt1(tjirn:jA: CAUSE AND EFFECT from place to place follow- Why did people on the Great Plains have a ing herds of buffalo. They nomadic way of life? did not farm the dry grass- lands where they lived. Their digging sticks could not break up the soil. j  Among the Plains people, every person Plains Cultures in the group was equal. No one person Like all Native Americans, the Plains was born more important than anyone people had different customs and kinds of else. Any man could become chief if he government. was a good warrior and a good leader. Government Traditions and Religious Beliefs The Lakota people, another branch Even though they had different ways of the Sioux, were made up of seven of governing, many of the Plains groups nomadic groups. Each group made its shared certain traditions and religious own choices. However, belonging to the beliefs. Each group had a story that told larger Lakota group required the smaller how they came to be. The Blackfoot, for groups to respect each other's hunting example, believed that they were made areas and live in peace. by a spirit called Old Man. The Cheyenne governed differently. Among the Plains groups who farmed, They were ten groups that were inde- corn was very important. Every year, they pendent of each other in many ways. held ceremonies to celebrate and give However, each group sent its leaders thanks for the com harvest. A ceremony to meet in a council of chiefs. All the is a celebration to honor a cultural or Cheyenne groups had to follow the religious event. Other ceremonies marked council's decisions. the beginning and end of buffalo hunts, ~\.(ta.Je.n"da r~Ro b.eJ Background Many Plains people kept the history of their group on what is now called a calendar robe. Each year, leaders met to decide what event should be recorded on the robe. Buffalo meat was plentiful [8il Document-Based Question What does this robe tell you about the importance of hunting to the Plains people? the naming of a child, or the beg·.. UUUng of a rnarnage. The Sioux held a ceremony called the sun Dance. They believed that it helped } A MAKAH WHALE HUNT The chief harpooner showed his respect for the whale by singing a special song. promising to give the whale gifts if it allowed itself to be killed. Coast met their needs b y fishing and A Region of Plenty hunting and by gathering plants and The Northwest Coast, also known as nuts. The coastal waters were an impor- the Pacific Northwest, stretched between tant resource, and salmon was a staple the Pacific Ocean and the mountains to food for most groups. the east. It included parts of what are Whales were an important resource, now Oregon, Washington, and western too. Whales supplied not only food but Canada. Cool ocean winds brought heavy also fat, which could be melted into oil rains to the region, so forests grew tall to burn in lamps. Most groups, includ- and thick. These fores ts and the rivers ing the Kwakiutl, captured only whales that ran through them were filled with that had become stranded on the shore. fish and other animals. In contrast, the Makah hunted whales at sea in large dugout canoes. These boats- People of the Northwest Coast each made from a large, hollowed-out Many Native American groups, such log-carried up to 60 people. as the Kwakiutl (kwah kee YOO tuhl), the Makah (mah KAW), and the Chinook READING CHECK l'.SCOMPARE ANO CONTRAST (shuh NUK), lived in this region. Instead How were the whale-hunting methods of the of farming, the people of the Northwest Makah different from those of the Kwakiutl? Chapter 2 83  Wood was so useful to the people of Resources and Trade the Northwest Coast that they made The giant trees that grow in the forests almost everything from it. Dishes, of the Northwest Coast provided many spoons, and other utensils were made groups with wood for houses, tools, and of wood. They also carved totem poles boats. Makah villages stood near the made of wood. These tall posts usually Pacific Ocean, a common location for showed one or more characters that were many Native American homes in the used to tell a story or to welcome visitors Pacific Northwest. or traders. People traveled long distances on the Family Shelters region's waterways in order to trade. The shelters of the Makah were like Trading was a large part of the region's those of the Iroquois, but larger. Makah economy. An economy is the way the longhouses had a frame made of wooden people of a state, region, or country use poles, which could reach 60 feet in length. their resources to meet their needs. The walls and floors were covered with wide boards. The Dalles All the members of a clan, or extended The best-known traders among the family, lived in the same longhouse. Northwest Coast Indians were the Grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, Chinook. The Chinook lived at the mouth and children lived together. Each person of the Columbia River, which they con- in the clan held a specific rank. Clans trolled from the coast all the way to The made important decisions about village Dalles-about 200 miles upriver. life. Clans also taught younger members The Dalles was a center of the trade songs, stories, and woodcarving skills. network because many groups gathered  ------------~--- there, but the different languages they One way they expressed thetr · g ood for - spoke made communicati~n difficult. The · tune was through a celebration kn wn ° Chinook were able to profit from trading as a potlatch. A potlatch was meant to at The Dalles because they developed a show wealth and divide property among unique language for trade. It was made the people. Potlatch means "to give." up of Chinook words as well as words Historians think that the Kwakiutl, who borrowed from other Indian languages. lived along the coast of what is now This language allowed them to barter, or Canada, helped develop the potlatch cu s- exchange goods, on behalf of two groups tom. A Kwakjutl potlatch was a celebra- who spoke very different languages. tion, with dancing, food, and speeches. A Potlatch i;lzj@ffUt:l(;;e GENERALIZE Trade and natural resources made Why was wood important to people of the many Northwest Coast groups rich. Northwest Coast? --- - --- - - - A Northwest Coast Village ILLUSTRATION It is thought that there were hundreds of people living in the many villages along the Northwest Coast. What important resources of the Northwest Coast are pictured below? f otem poles stood in rant of many horn es. ome clothing was made of cedar bark. S~lmon were dried for food. as ets were m · long th·. ade with , in strips of wood  Resources were limited, so nothing Wqs Lands of the North wasted. The people caught seals not On} for their meat but also for their skins y The Arctic is the region near the North ' which were made into clothes and tents Pole. This land is mostly a flat plain Oil was used to light and heat houses. · where the earth stays frozen year-round. Even the bones were used to make too1s One Arctic group known as the Aleut The Aleut lived together in large · (a lee OOT) lived along the coast of houses with beams made of whalebone the Aleutian (uh LOO shuhn) Islands. and walls made of sod. During the win. One group closely related to the Aleut ter, some Inuit lived in homes made of were the Inuit (IH nu wuht). These ice, called igloos. Other Inuit families people lived in what is now Alaska and lived year-round in tents of animal skin northernmost Canada. or in sod houses. Life in the Arctic The extended family was an impor- Because of the climate, few plants tant part of Inuit and Aleut society. Inuit could grow in this region. The Inuit and groups, for example, were usually loosely the Aleut hunted foxes, caribou, and formed bands of 60 to 300 people, made polar bears. They also used harpoons and up of several families. These families kayaks (KY aks) to hunt seals, walruses, came together to make important choices and whales. A kayak is a one-person for the good of the group. The people canoe made of waterproof skins stretched hunted and traveled together, often over wood or bone. sharing seal meat in order to survive. ) AN INUIT FAMILY The Inuit people worked together and learned the skills they needed to survive in an icy land. Ii' ) AN INUIT FAMILY The Inuit made carvings f h. (. hl bone. The art,1act ng t shows an Inuit whalerom w ale hunt. Life in the Sub-Arctic people had an area to hunt as their own. South of the Arctic is the sub-Arctic Other groups roamed freely. region of North America. It stretches from what is now eastern Canada to what is READING CHECK 6COMPARE AND CONTRAST now Alaska. People of the sub-Arctic How did the shelters of the Aleut differ from those region, such as the Cree, relied on hunt- of the Inuit? ing and gathering to meet their needs. The Cree lived over a wide area across what is now Canada. Trees provided lili11i11f\ha________ the Cree with wood to meet their needs. The rich natural resources of the Since the long winters kept them from Northwest helped form a society based on being able to get food by farming, they hunting , gathering, and trade. The Arctic used bows and arrows to hunt for game. and sub-Arctic peoples adapted to life in a Some Cree groups divided the land so the land with limited resources. -REVIEW 1. WHAT TO KNOW How did the geography 5. ~ WRITE APOEM Write a poem about and climate of the Pacific Northwest and ~ the life of a Native American family the Arctic affect the Native Americans living in the Northwest or the Arctic. there? 6. Focus COMPARE AND CONTRAST 2. VOCABULARY Write a sentence explaining skm On a separate sheet of paper, copy why trade was importan t to the economy and complete the graphic organizer of the Northwest Coast. below. 3. CULTURE Why do you think Inuit groups had to share food to survive? 4. CRITICAL THINKING How might limited resources affect the ways in which people live? Chapter 2 87