The Plains Indians (The Sioux)

The Plains Indians (The Sioux)

1. Lifestyle

   • Nomadic
   • Tipi
     • Travois
       • Made in 10 minutes
     • Circle shape
   • Polygamy
     • So that women would always have someone to look after them
   • People
     • Men
       • Warriors
       • Boys taught to be warriors
       • Men decorated the Tipi
     • Women
       • Girls taught how to provide for the family
       • Women cooked, cleaned and made clothes
         • They did most of the work
       • Handled the Buffalo
     • Elderly
       • Exposure
   • Councils and Chiefs
     • Chief had no power
     • Council of the Nation
       • You didn't have to follow their decisions

2. War

   • Raids
     • Short, sharp
     • Changed to stealing horses
     • On horseback
       • Painted stripes on the horses
         • To make them go faster
     • Started with bows and arrows, then guns
   • Enemies
     • Scalped them
       • To prevent meeting them in the afterlife
       • Hung the scalps on the Tipis
     • Counting Coup
       • Touch enemy with stick, and run away
         • Braver than killing the enemy
           • You could have killed them, but you didn't
     • Only killed when necessary
   • Feathers show success

3. Animals

   • Horses
     • Currency
     • Warfare changed to stealing horses
   • Buffalo
     • Hunting
       • Stampede off cliff
       • Dress up as wolves
         • Sneak up on them
       • Only ever killed what they needed to
     • Uses
       • Poo used as fuel
       • Heart buried (to give it back to the earth)
       • Clothes
       • Tipi
       • Bowls and plates
       • They used every part of the Buffalo

4. Religion

   • Dances
     • Buffalo dance
       • Before a hunt
       • Call the Buffalo
     • Ghost Dance
       • Wovoka
       • If everyone started dancing, their ancestors would come back.
         • They would help defeat the Whites
     • Sun dance
   • Spirits
     • The Great Spirit
       • Wakan Tanka
     • Everything has a spirit
       • You can't own land
     • Bury dead in Black Hills
       • Closest to Wakan Tanka
   • Circles
     • Everything was in circles
       • Tipis
       • Councils
   • Visions
     • To get their names
       • Interpreted by Shaman
         • (Medicine Man)
     • Girls
       • Had a vision automatically
         • When they got their period
     • Boys
       • Starved
       • Put under pain
       • Near death