American West - 1

the Great Plains
1. the 50 states today have been acquired by war, money and circumstance
2. between western rocky mountains and mississippi river,
3. to early travellers, the great plains were seen as the Great American Desert. it would be many years before outsiders (non-indians) began to see farming potential on the Great Plains
4. in the 1830's, they could only see problems - harsh weather/lack of trees/harsh wind and absence of water
  1. the plains indians had a different view - not farmers but hunters and the Plains were perfect for a hunter's way of life
5. Plains Indians
  1. used to cover many different nations of the Native Americans
    1. Sioux/Cheyenne
  2. Plians indians - given to Native Americans by foreign explorers and not what they would describe themsleves as today
  3. Columbus thought he reached India but it was America. he discovered America but called the people Indians anyway
6. what was it like?
  1. Climate
    1. Extreme Climate - stong winds all year around. in winter, blizzards and freezing cold; in summer very hot winds and dried up land and rivers
  2. Plains Indians
    1. well adapted for living in this region - hunters who followed the herds of buffalo as they moved across the Plains - nomadic. in summer, they moved northwards away from the heat and in winter they camped in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where they were sheltered from the blizzards
  3. Wildlife
    1. a variety of animals and birds - well afapted to living on the Plains. Deer, rabbits and buffalo were a few examples
  4. Vegetation
    1. in the west near the Rockies, the grass was short - towards the east, it grew taller - prairie grass. in some river valleys and near the river, there was woodland. the land was much drier in the south and grass replaced by semi-desert plants
Surviving on the Great Plains
1. TIPI
  1. home of each indian family
    1. made from buffalo skin sewn together, supported by a circular frame of wooden poles
  2. could be taken down and packed for transport in 10 minutes - suitable for plains indians who were nomadic
  3. adjusted with the seasons. in summer, tipi bottom - rolled up to let air in and in winter - banked with earth to keep warm
  4. conical shape made it strong and suitable for wind
    1. responsibility of the women. made it owned it and put it up/down so it could be moved
2. BUFFALO
  1. provided the necesseties for life:
    1. hooves for making glue, sinews for bowstrinsga and thread, fur for decoration on clothes, dung for fuel, skins for fuel, bones for jewelry and knives, fat for cooking/soap and hair grease. eating meat
3. HORSES
  1. brought by European invaders.
    1. made it easier to hunt buffalo. easier to move from place to place and the tribe could be defended more easily
4. POLITICS
  1. to survive, members of an indian band had to co-operate and closely work together
    1. throughout the year, they would move across the Plains. from time to time, banks would meet up to camp and hunt tigether,
      1. onece a year, bands would meet together as a nation. the political organisation of them refelcted the need for co-operation
        generosity was expected by chiefs in the tribe, adding to their prestige and power. ungenerous chiefs lost influence
Their Beliefs
1. Dances/ceremonies
  1. used when the whole tribe needed to contact the spirits. the buffalo dance was used to call the spirit world to call buffalo before hunting. the most famous ceremony was teh sun dance - used to get guidance from spirit world
    1. religious:
      1. spirits - wakan tanka - great spirit who created world and everything in it. they also believed that all things had spirits and could influence their lives
2. Land
  1. they came from it and would return. land couldnt be owned/bought by an individual. hhigh places were sacred - closer to spirit world. the black hills were especially sacred as their nation began from here
3. circles
  1. circle of nature, and they were surrounded by circles. circle of life and villages/tipis were sacred
4. medicine men
  1. cures illness by using the spirits. all spirit power was considered as medicine. people belived that they became ill if they possessed an evil spirit. they tried to drive out evil spirits
5. visions
  1. way of contacting the spirit world. names were given as a result of visions. women could easily contact the spirit world to give them status. menses began at the start of this process and young girls received training about contacting the spiriy world
familiy life
1. elders - gave advice and helped bring up children. when old and weak, exposure - left behind. the survival of the tribe was important - not individual
2. women - tipi/food/water and making clothes/other. judged by skills at crafts and valued as barers of children
3. men - responsible for hunting/look after horses and protect band.. judged by their skills as hunters,wariors and horseman
4. children - highly valued - futue of band. learned skills from parents. girls - maintain a home; boys - hunt
warfare
1. men were warriors to show off bravery/gain a wife
2. counting coop - warrior got close to enemy and touched him with a specal stick rather than kill him. it was considered braver as he got close without killing
3. Scalping - a warrior cut off enemy's scalp and this was put on the tipi as a trophy. it was fone so they could not go to happyy hunting ground - dont have to face them in afterlife. it was considered unheroic to die in battle
4. went to war because:
  1. steal horses/captives
    1. revenge for a previous attack
      1. destroy a troublesome enemy
        rivalry for huning grounds
        protect way of life from white settlers
        NOT TO CONQUER TRIBES OR LAND - NOMADIC

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American West - 1

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