Plains Native Americans

Plains Native Americans By:Serena Virani

TIME ERA

Food,Clothing,and Lifestyles

Culture,Government,and Jobs

Food:Buffalo was the main source of food.Buffalo meat was dried or cooked and made into soups and Pemmican.Women collected berries that were eaten dried and fresh.The Plains Cree and Plains Ojibwa fished.Deer, moose and elk, along with wolves, coyotes, lynx, rabbits, gophers, and prairie chickens were hunted for food.Bannock was a bread cooked over the fire.The Indian Turnip was a common vegetable and diet staple.

Clothing:During the hot summer days on the plains they seldom wore much clothing. But in the cold season a very important piece of clothing was a warm buffalo robe. It was made of a large piece of skin with the fur left on. The side without fur was usually decorated with designs that were painted or decorated with porcupine quills sewn in place. The painting often recorded the family history, or war or hunting exploits.Moccasins, shoes made of animal hides and often decorated with quills or beads, came in different patterns depending on the region.

Lifestyles:Women of the Great Plains played a very important role in society. You might think that men did all the hard work and women had the easy jobs. However that is incorrect. Each woman would own a tipi; one significant and time-consuming job that women had to do was to pitch the tipi.

Culture Lying immediately east of the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains consist of sprawling expanses of grassland up to 400 miles wide. Although the region is essentially grassland, copses of willow and cottonwood grow near water sources such as streams

GovermentThe history of politics in the Great Plains has to do with the formal structures of governmental authority and the process of political decision making, as well as the policies of external political agencies that have affected the region.

JobsWomen played a very important role in the life of the Native American. They were more than just mothers of the tribes’ children. They were builders.