The Great Plains Indians JT Martin, Matthew King,

*Tribes and the Environment* The most known tribes that are involved in the group of the Great Plains Indians would be Blackfoot, Cheyenne, and the Apache. Environment: The U.S. Great Plains is a broad expanse of flat land mostly cover in prairie, steppe, and grassland. Lies west of the Mississippi River and East of the Rockies. This area includes- Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. This area also includes the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. The Great Plains suffers from very cold winters as well as very hot summers. Wind speed is usually relatively high. The eastern and southern regions fall into the humid subtropical climate, while the northern and central fall into the humid continental climate.

*Clothing* For choice of clothing it was mainly animal skins, preferably bison. Bison skins were the main choice for winter. Buffalo sinew was used for thread. They tanned the skins by scraping the hair off then putting it in raw hide in a mixture of brains and liver or they left it as raw hide.

*Adaption* To adapt to the Plains, the Indian tribes hunted the animals that were provided to them. They built homes in the format of tepees made out of buffalo skins and dyes. They settled near rivers for fresh water supply. They also constructed weapons out of bones or other resources.

*Beliefs/Religion* The Great Plains inhabitants followed no one religion. However, Animist religion was the most predominant. It was an important part of their lives because they believe things possessed spirits. Their worship was centered around one God, Wakan Tanka, or Great Spirit. Earth was important also, and was worshipped daily. A group ceremony called the Sun dance was preformed. People would dance around a sacred object for four days while inflicting purposeful damage to themselves as a sacrifice. Staring at the Sun was done in order to gain defense from powerful spirits.

*Housing* The housing was made out of animal skins, mainly bison. Dyes were used to color and personalize these homes. Tepees were the main type of houses they were known to build.

*Food* The great Plains is rich with food sources in which they took advantage of. Such as: Blackfoot Indians hunted buffalo, deer, horse, moose, mountain sheep, fish, and duck. They planted pumpkins, sunflowers, corn, squash, sweet seed, cranberries, blueberries, Saskatoon berries, and pinon nut. Cheyenne Indians’ women harvested corn, squash, and beans. Men hunted deer and buffalo. Apache Indians’ men hunted buffalo, deer and antelope, while women gathered nuts, seeds, and fruit. Buffalo was a widely used food resource.

*Transportation* Travel by foot and by raft was mainly how the Indians were able to get along through their small villages. Dog pulling travois were also used. After the Europeans came along, they were able to use horses for transportation, currency, and warfare.