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Creado por Tuscany Daley
hace más de 9 años
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Pregunta | Respuesta |
The Plains considered a desert because; -difficult to cultivate -very hot and dry -impossible to live on/uninhabitable (great plains=grasslands of north american continent lying between the Mississippi river and rocky mountains. | American explorer Major Stephen Long: "I do not hesitate in giving the opinion that it is almost wholly unfit for cultivation, and of course uninhabitable." |
Characteristics of the Great Plains: -enormous size. -lack of trees. -semi-arid: little water available. -unpredictable weather, including extremely cold and violent winters. -ferocious winds: the winter 'Northers' and the scorching summer winds. -many areas flat and featureless. -inhabited by locusts and grasshoppers. -inhabited by wolves. | -Native American society seemed to lack order and regulation to the new settlers of the Great Plains, but they were looking for the wrong things. There was plenty of community spirit among the first people on the land, fostered by a range of customs and rituals. |
The Native Americans were not one people, but many tribes. The most famous tribes were the Apache, Sioux, Blackfeet and Cheyenne, each one led by its own Council of Elders. | the hunt was the only occasion when everybody had to obey. The Native American tribes did not need strict laws, because the harsh environment forced them to work together. Consequently, most tribes had few laws, and the worst punishment was banishment (which meant death, given the harsh Plains environment). The only duty that members of the tribe had was to pray. |
Because there was a need to take care of the women and children of the tribe, marriage was easy. At 17 a youth paid a dowry of horses and took his bride (aged 12-15). The Native Americans practiced polygamy (they had more than one wife), because many men died in the struggle to survive, so there was an excess of women to be cared for. | Community spirit on the Plains: -The whole tribe had to join together for the buffalo hunt. -The young braves thought it was an honour to feed the old and the weak. -Old people voluntarily committed exposure (wandered off to die), as the tribe couldn't afford hangers-on. -They considered the worst crimes to be not looking after one's parents, hurting people who were sick, or harming the religion. -Horse stealing (from other tribes) was admired. |
Native American view of war: -War was based on ambush and skill (e.g. stealing a tied horse). -No one was forced to go to war - individual warriors chose to follow the chief to war or not, as they felt best. -The aim of war was to capture horses and to show bravery. -The bravest act of war was to score a coup (where a warrior tapped his enemy with a stick and escaped). -Native Americans scalped their enemy to stop him going to an afterworld they called the Happy Hunting Ground. -The main aim in war was to stay alive, in order to care for the family (community spirit). | The way of life of Native Americans is highly fascinating. It was based on the crucial importance of the buffalo for human survival, and on the need to ensure that people cooperated to keep their society together, in the dangerous conditions of the Great Plains. |
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