The Indigenous People of the Plains (OCR GCSE History B (Schools History Project)): Revision Note

Summary

The Indigenous tribes differed in their traditions and cultures.

One significant difference among the tribes of the Great Plains was their way of living. Some tribes, such as the Sioux and Cheyenne, were nomadic hunter-gatherers. They followed the seasonal migration patterns of bison herds. In contrast, other tribes like the Mandan and Hidatsa were more settled farmers. They lived in permanent earth lodges along the riverbanks. They grew crops like corn, beans and squash.

Another difference was the leadership structure within each tribe. Some tribes, like the Sioux, had a political system with multiple chiefs and councils. Others, like the Pawnee, had a more centralised leadership with a single chief or council of elders.

Cultural practices and traditions also varied among the tribes. Each tribe had its own unique ceremonies, rituals and spiritual beliefs. Indigenous people passed down these customs through generations. For example, the Lakota Sioux performed the Sun Dance to renew the connection between humans and the natural world. The Cheyenne practised the ceremonial smoking of the sacred pipe as a symbol of peace and unity.

European settlers ignored or misunderstood these differences. They attempted to apply Western concepts of government to the Indigenous tribes. This caused the European settlers to wrongly view the Indigenous people as "savages" or "uncivilised".

Indigenous (Native) Americans of the Plains

• Hundreds of tribes lived on the Great Plains

  • The Sioux Nation was the largest tribe on the Great Plains

    • The Sioux were split up into different groups, like the Santee Sioux

  • Some tribes were fierce enemies, like the Pawnee and the Sioux

  • Tribes made alliances with each other

    • They would often break their alliances due to the interference of European settlers

Tribal Structures

• Each tribe had a slightly different way of structuring its society, depending on:

  • The size of the tribe

  • The tribal leader

  • The tribe’s unique set of values and beliefs

Tribal Structure of the Sioux

Chiefs in the Great Plains

• The leaders of the Indigenous people in America were called chiefs

• Chiefs were:

  • Always men

  • Spiritual leaders

  • Negotiated with other tribes and Europeans 

• Each band had a band chief

  • They were chosen to protect the band from danger

Tribal councils

• Band chiefs and elders formed tribal councils

• Councils could have a range of responsibilities, for example:

  • Declaring war

  • Negotiating peace treaties

  • Listening to the advice of the spiritual chief

• Every member of the council had equal power

  • Every decision made had to have the agreement of all members

Warrior brotherhoods

• Each tribe had several warrior brotherhoods

  • Young men created armed groups to fight and protect their community from other tribes

  • Warrior brotherhoods had a strong belief in their tribe’s values and customs

• Warrior brotherhoods fought with other tribes to prove their bravery and skills

• Tribal chiefs chose key members from each warrior brotherhood to:

  • Form a guard unit for the whole tribe

  • Organise the yearly bison hunt

  • Hunt for food to feed elderly and ill tribal members

Why did the tribal system cause issues with Euro-American colonists?

• Tribes having multiple chiefs confused people from European backgrounds

  • They were used to dealing with one leader, such as a president or a king, and were unsure who to negotiate with

• Chiefs also frequently changed and were rarely made chiefs for life

  • This meant the next chief could ignore any agreements made by the previous chief

• Chiefs rarely had the authority to speak for every member of their tribe

  • Many bands and warrior brotherhoods saw themselves as completely independent and would not obey the orders of chiefs

The culture of the Indigenous people

Wakan Tanka

• The Sioux people believed in ‘Wakan Tanka'

  • This translates to the ‘Great Spirit’

• They believed that Wakan Tanka:

  • Existed within every creature and plant

  • Guided the Sioux people on ‘vision quests’ through spirit animals

  • Communicated with Sioux people through ritual dances

  • Gave them luck through spiritual objects

• The Wakan Tanka impacted the Sioux people's belief in the land

  • The Sioux worked with nature and did not try to control it

  • As a result, they believed that they did not own the land

    • Wakan Tanka gifted the land and all its resources to protect the Sioux people

  • Certain areas of land were sacred to tribes

    • For example, the Black Hills of Dakota were sacred to the Sioux

    • Holy men went to the Black Hills to seek guidance

    • Sioux dead were buried here

The Role of Women

• Indigenous women were not seen as equal to Indigenous men

  • An example of this is that women could not become chiefs

• Men could have more than one wife

• Women did have a valued role in tribal society

  • They fed and clothed their families

  • They made products with buffalo hide and meat to trade with other tribes

The importance of the bison in the Plains

• When Europeans first arrived in North America, they incorrectly identified the millions of bison that lived there as buffalo

  • In much the same way as the incorrect label of "indian" was applied to Indigenous people, the term continued to be used

• Bison were vital for the lives of Indigenous people because:

  • Every part of the bison was used by them

  • The Indigenous people deeply respected animals due to their beliefs in spirits

• Some tribes were nomadic, following the migration of the buffalo

  • Many Indigenous people would live in tipis, which could be dismantled quickly and moved with them

• The arrival of horses and guns onto the plains made the nomadic lifestyle possible

  • Horses had been brought to South America by the Spanish in the 1500s

  • Horses meant tribes could keep up with the bison herds as they migrated enormous distances

  • Later, the arrival of guns meant they could kill large numbers of them much more easily

• Indigenous people developed skills in horse-riding to catch the bison

The Lakota Sioux

• Horses and guns changed the lives and culture of the Lakota Sioux

• Before horses were introduced to the plains, the Lakota Sioux had settled in the north of the Plains in the woodlands near the Great Lakes

  • They grew crops, foraged for food in the woods and hunted single bison on foot

• When the Lakota Sioux first obtained horses, they continued to farm but would go on hunts mounted on horseback in the summer months

  • When they obtained guns from Euro-American traders, they gradually abandoned farming altogether and moved further south onto the plains

• By the 1830s, the Lakota Sioux lived fully nomadic lives and depended entirely on hunting the bison herds with horses and guns

  • They became extremely skilled riders and fought with other tribes, such as the Mandan and the Crow, frequently stealing horses from each other