Great Plains and Plain Indians Flashcards
What were the three main reasons it was difficult to survive on the Great Plains?
Climate, food, resources
What was the difficulty with climate?
The Plains were very hot in the summer (up to 40) and very cold in the winter (below 0)
What was the difficulty with food?
There were little resources on the Plains
What was the difficulty with resources?
No trees to provide shelter or wood for cooking, very little water
What did Indians respect?
Nature
Why did the Indians respect nature?
Because they believed the land was sacred and spirits lived in everything (even the trees)
What did Indians do with resources?
They did not waste them and only took what they needed
What did Indians think about the land?
They respected it and lived in harmony with nature. The land was seen as a living thing so nobody owned it. It was like a mother to them
What did Indians say ploughing the land would be like?
Ripping open their mothers breast
Where was the most holy part of the land for the Indians?
The black hills
What did Indians think about the Spirit world?
They believed in the Great Spirit called Wakan Tanka who created the world. All things had spirits like plants, rocks, rivers, animals
What did the Indians say about visions?
The spirit world could be contacted through visions. Young men were given their adult name when they had a vision
What did the Indians say about circles?
Life was a circle from birth to death, everything revolved around circles e.g. the sun, moon, built their tipis in a circle
What did the Indians say about dances?
They danced to celebrate success and to ask the great spirit for help. They did the Buffalo Dance for hope, and the Sun Dance for inspiration, and the Scalp Dance for celebration
What happened in 1876
Sitting Bull did a sundance before the Battle of Little BigHorn because he had a vision of victory