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Summary of Chapter 1 (The Plains Indians - ways and means of survival on…
Summary of Chapter 1
The Plains Indians - ways and means of survival on the Plains
Originally no horses in America
Spanish invaders in 16th century brought first horses to continent
1640, Pueblo Indians of Mexico revolted and captured horses
The Indians moved onto the great plains to live
Horses meant they could hunt buffalo
Gave up farming - became nomadic
Band - basic unit of Plains Indian society
No ownership of land
Horse changed nature of warefare
Raid over long distances
Wealth by number of horses
Importance of the Buffalo
Horns - arrow straighteners, cups, headdresses, ornamets
Fat - cooking
Fur - decoration
Tanned hide - bags, bedding, tipi covers
Tail - fly swats, whips
Bladder - food bags
Bones - arrowheads, dice, jewelry, knives
Skull - religious ceremonies
How was Plains Indian society organised?
Men
Hunted
Looked after horses
Protected band
Judged by skill as hunters, warriors and horsmen
Women
Tipi
Food and water
Clothing
Judged by skill at crafts and as homemakers
Children
Didn't go to school
Taught life skill from parents and relatives
Old people
Gave advice in council and passed on history
When too old to travel, left behind
Marriage
Usually love - sometimes arranged marriages
Young man impress young woman
Man give presents to women's parents - proof of love
Some rich men - polygamy
Made sure all women cared for
Either partner could divorce
Indian society and political organisation
Sometimes bands would meet up and hunt together
At least once a year they would meet up as a nation
Council
Important decisions made here
Advice of medicine man, chiefs and elders listened to but they didn't tell them what to do
Would talk till everyone agreed
When bands met together, the council of the Nation would meet with representatives - but band not bound by council's decision
Attitudes to War
Reasons
Steal horses
Revenge
Destroy enemies
Rivalry for hunting/living space
Individual reasons
Prove bravery
Capture horses
Leaders
Test spiritual power
Increase standing
Wasn't heroic to die
Seen as cowardly by americans
Scalps
Evidence of success - trophy
Couldn't fight them in afterlife
Counting coup bravery than killing
Low casualties
Indian Homes - the tipi
Tipi - home of each family - 10/20 buffalo skins supported by wooden poles
Responsibility of women
Fire for heat/cooking
Floor covered in furs
Space small - strict rules - couldn't pass between fire and person
Background - the great american desert
Vegetation
West - short grass
East - long grass
In south, land much drier - grass replaced by semi-desert plants
Climate
Extreme temperatures all year round
Winter - snow storms
Summer - drought
Wildlife
Wild variety of animals and birds
Landscape
North - black hills, wooded hills surrounded by 'Badlands', soft rock eroded into shapes
Grasslands and slow rivers
US Government Policy and Permanent Indian Frontier
Acts
Indian Removal Act 1830
Permanent Indian Frontier
Removal of SE Indians
'Trail of Tears'
Thousands died
1838
Indian Appropriations Act 1851
US policy tried to 'civilise' Indians by confining to reservations and setting up schools
Set up reservations
Intended to protect Indians from westward expansion
Indians barrier to 'manifest destiny'
1824 - Bureau of Indian Affairs set up in US War Department
Westward movement encouraged by US government
Hunting the buffalo
Before the hunt
Ceremonial buffalo dance
Dress as buffalo and copy movements
To call on spirit to help in hunts and bring herds closer
During the hunt
Organised by warrior societies
Made sure not all animals killed
Didn't scare them away
2 or 3 hunts a year
Surrounded the buffalo and fired arrows
Arrows marked to claim kill
After the hunt
Women and children butchered it
Some bits eaten as delicacies
Boiled/roasted or cut into strips and smoked/dried in the sun
Rawhide made by women
Some hides tanned using the brains and made into clothing/tipi covers
Beliefs about Land and Nature
Spirits
Everything contained spirits
Influence their lives
Wakan Tanka - 'God'
Contact spirits though visions
Visions
Young boys
Sweat lodge to clean bodies
Pray and fast
Receive vision
Interpreted by medicine man and given name
Women
Made contact easily from puberty
Received training from medicine woman
Land
Came from earth and returned to it when dead
Earth - 'mother'
Ploughing like ripping mother's breast
Some land sacred
Sioux - black hills, buried dead