Daily Life
Lived in towns along rivers, farmed corn, beans, and squash.
What are the farming Plains peoples?
Cone-shaped, portable homes made from animal skins used by nomadic Plains peoples
What are tepees?
The large animal that provided meat, hides, bones, hair, and dung for Plains peoples.
What is the bison (buffalo)?
A religious leader who could speak with spirits and led ceremonies like the sweat lodge.
Who is a shaman?
A pipe shared during trade to signal a temporary agreement to set aside arguments.
What is a calumet (peace pipe)?
eople who regularly moved from place to place rather than staying in one town.
What is being nomadic
Large, partially underground homes with wood frames and earth walls used by farming villages.
What are earthen lodges?
Bison lived in these large groups that made hunting them difficult before horses.
What are herds?
A purification structure filled with steam by pouring water over heated stones.
What is a sweat lodge?
A sharp, pointed tool made from bone used for sewing and making holes.
What is an awl?
Young boys learned hunting and warrior skills and joined these groups as they prepared for adulthood.
What are war parties?
Flat-soled leather slippers worn by both men and women.
What are moccasins?
Material burned as fuel and also used by Plains peoples, sometimes called buffalo chips.
What is bison dung?
A rite involving fasting and dancing for several days to gain spiritual power or give thanks.
What is the Sun Dance?
The practice of tracing family descent through the mother’s line.
What is matrilineal descent?
(accept: tracing descent from mother)
Groups that worked together for a shared goal like hunting; these groups could change membership.
What are bands?
Headwear decorated with eagle feathers earned for brave deeds and worn for special occasions.
What is a war bonnet?
Nomadic hunters often trapped bison by herding them into a place that was hard to escape from because they didn't have these yet.
What are horses?
A solitary ritual into the wilderness where a person seeks a spirit guide, often a rite of passage.
What is a vision quest?
The object or artwork that symbolizes the four directions and brings health and good fortune.
What is a medicine wheel?
People used this to communicate across different nations when spoken languages differed.
What is sign language?
Women did this to prepare hides and make tepees, robes, and clothing.
What is tanning or preparing hides?
(accept: sewing and beadwork)
Items made from bison bones included awls and these hand tools used for work or fighting.
What are knives and war clubs?
The belief that objects, places, animals, and natural events have spirits.
What is animism?
The practice of touching an enemy or stealing from them to gain honor without killing them.
What is counting coup?