THE PLAINS INDIANS
WHERE DID THEY LIVE???
The Plains Indians lived in the middle region of
the United States.
 This is roughly west of the Mississippi River and
east of the Rocky Mountains
 This land is made up of miles of treeless
grasslands….which is perfect grazing fields for
buffalo!

In between the
Mississippi
River and the
Rocky Mountains
THE PLAINS TRIBES
Some well known tribes in the Plains region are
the….
 Crow
 Sioux
 Cheyenne
 Apache


Since they moved around a lot you will find
variations in the tribes, ex: the dakota-sioux,
teton-sioux
EVERYDAY LIFE MEN
The best hunters had the highest rank in their
tribe.
 A man was also judged by how many horses he
was able to obtain and if he shared them.
 Men hunted deer, rabbit and elk.
 Dogs would pull their catch back to camp.

EVERYDAY LIFE WOMEN
The Plains women excelled at quillwork.
 These quills were sewn in clothing and used for
artwork on tipis.
 Women chores were fetching water, sweeping,
hoeing the fields, cooking and sewing.
 The land far from rivers were tough to garden, but
near rivers they would grow corn, squash and
sunflowers
 They mostly picked berries and nuts
 They were seen as inferior, not to speak unless
spoken to

EVERYDAY LIFE KIDS
Babies were taught at a very young age not to
cry because it might scare off the food.
 At four years old the girls would accompany
their mother with her chores and the boys
would listen to war stories and practice their
bow and arrows.
 Boys and girls never played together, they knew
they had separate roles in life.
 At the age of 13, men went on Vision Quests
 They played a game like stick ball (hockey)

WHAT DO THEY LIVE IN?
The tipi (teepee) is a portable house, great for
the nomadic life of a Plains Indian.
 It is made up of 3-4 poles and up to 12 buffalo
skins sewn together.
 The opening always faced the morning sun
 It takes about one hour for a women to
assemble the families tipi

WHAT ABOUT TRAVEL?
The Plains Indians lives changed when they got
horses. They traded or stole them from the
Spanish settlers.
 The horses helped with hunting, intertribal
trading and wars.
 Warriors would paint their horses to show their
history of battles.

PLAINS FASHION
Summer wardrobe of deerskin and a winter
wardrobe of buffalo.
 Every Indian wore a belt to hang tools, knives or
cups off of, since there were no pockets.
 Each tribe made a different moccasin, some were
made from deerskin, quills, and beads.
 Hairpipes, long thin beads made from bones, were
woven into the hair and kept for life.
 If a man has been a great warrior he would wear a
war bonnet made of eagle feathers. The greater
the warrior, the more feathers.

These shirts are made from human scalps…you
don’t want to be a Plains Indian’s enemy!
THE BUFFALO
Before each hunt they performed a buffalo
dance
 On foot it took a whole tribe to catch a buffalo,
they are very dangerous.
 The buffalo heart was left on the plains as an
offering
 Men and women would record their lives on
buffalo hides using pictographs.

WHEN THE WHITE MAN CAME
The Plains Indians were the tribes to hold onto
their culture the longest out of all of the
American Indians.
 This is because the plains were the last to be
settled and the hardest to live off of.
 When the white man came, it changed where
they lived, the tools they used, and what they
ate.
 Four of the largest Indian Reservations are
located in the Great Plains today. (South
Dakota and Oklahoma)

Sitting
Bull
Crazy
Horse
Where Indian Reservations are today