American west Flashcards
Who were the plain Indians
The Native American Indians lived on the great planes, they lived on the “great American desert”
how were the plains Indians organised?
many diff Indian communities were known as tribes.These tribes were known as the plain Indians
what was the role of the chiefs?
they were leaders of the tribes they were chosen because if their skills as a warrior or spiritual knowledge
what was the job of the elders?
they helped chiefs make important decisions
why did the plains have warrior brotherhood?
they were young, brave and skilful hunters and fighters. these men trained and taught traditional beliefs of the plain Indians
what was the role of the women?
did most of the work in villages, women owned the tipi, fed and used buffalo to produce good for the tribes.
what were the Great Plains like
they were dry with few streams or rivers
- thunderstorms would cause fires from the lightening
-strong dry winds
- cold in winter and very hot in the summer
how the plain Indians survived on the great plain?
they hunted buffalo on horseback. they followed buffalo living a normandic life
- had amazing archery skills and horse riding skills to shoot the baffle
- normandic life helped living in tipis. They had travois which carried the family belongings
-Deep respect
- moved into warmer lodges during the winter
why was the horse important to the plain Indians?
needed to hunt buffalo across the plains
significant in warfare and gave them status
what did the plains believe about nature and land?
- believed everything in nature had a spirit
- beloved humans were a part of nature and should work with spirits and obey them
- believed humans could contact spirits through vision quests guided by spirit animals. They would dance the sun dance to enter the spirit world
what did the plains believe about land and poverty
land was a sacred but farmed as the land was so dry
- very few plains believed in owning land for their own property. land should be bought or sold.
- hunting lands were shared
- farming and mining were seen as disrespectful to the lsnf
plains attitudes towards war
Indian tribes sometimes raided each other for food, horses and women
- young men were valuable and so tribes didn’t like fighting or losing them
- a counting coup was a special type of fighting where warriors hit instead of murder
What were the US laws and policies towards the plains Indian and land between 1830-1851
-white settlers believed they had a religious right to take over as they were superior and knew how to farm the land
- white settlers aimed to make plains more like themselves but didn”t like the 2 cultures to mix
what was the Indian removal act?1830
president Jackson pressured 46,000 plains living in the east to move west of the Mississippi into land called the Indian territory. Jackson promised they wouldn’t need to move form here. the route was called “the trail of tears”
