Plains Indian society and beliefs

Question 1

Did all Plains Indian tribes get along?

Answer 1

No - some were sworn enemies and would fight on sight

Question 2

What name was given to large tribes such as the Sioux?

Answer 2

Nations

Question 3

How many people could be in a band within a tribe?

Answer 3

20-30 or several hundred

Question 4

When would all the different bands in a tribe meet, and for what purpose?

Answer 4

In the summer for a great tribal camp

A social and religious occasion, but also to co-operate to ensure survival on the Plains

Question 5

Give two ways bands could be organised within tribes

Answer 5

1) Bands come together frequently and people could move between bands (e.g. the Comanches)

2) Each band has a separate village (e.g. the Pawnee)

Question 6

What tribes made up the Sioux nation?

Answer 6

Lakota, Dakota and Nakota

Question 7

How many sub-tribes made up the Lakota Sioux tribe?

Answer 7

7

Question 8

What gender were chiefs?

Answer 8

Men

Question 9

Give three examples of types of chief

Answer 9

1) A war chief

2) A spiritual chief

3) A chief who led negotiations with other tribes

Question 10

Why did the system of chiefs lead to problems with the white Americans?

Answer 10

The white Americans found it difficult to understand that one tribe could have multiple chiefs

Question 11

Why would someone be chosen to be a chief?

Answer 11

Their wisdom, leadership and spiritual powers, or their skill as warriors and hunters

Question 12

Were chiefs in position for life?

Answer 12

Rarely

Question 13

What role did the band chief play?

Answer 13

They guided the band in finding enough to eat and protected the band from danger

Question 14

Who made up the tribal council?

Answer 14

Band chiefs and elders

Question 15

What did the tribal council decide?

Answer 15

Where to declare war or negotiate peace

Question 16

How were decisions made in the tribal council?

Answer 16

Unanimously - everyone had to agree

Question 17

Did bands have to follow chiefs?

Answer 17

No - in tribes like the Lakota Sioux, they could make their own decisions

Question 18

Name three famous chiefs

Answer 18

Red Cloud
Sitting Bull
Crazy Horse

Question 19

Who would be part of the warrior brotherhood?

Answer 19

Young men who had proved their bravery and skill

Question 20

What did warrior brotherhoods teach their members?

Answer 20

They taught about the tribe’s beliefs and values

Question 21

What did warrior brotherhoods NOT have to respect?

Answer 21

Peace treaties negotiated by tribal councils

Question 22

What would leading men from the warrior brotherhoods join?

Answer 22

The guard unit

Question 23

What did the guard unit do?

Answer 23

1) Organised the tribe’s yearly buffalo hunt

2) Looked after old and ill tribe members

3) Chose where the tribe should gather to make camp

Question 24

What was the Last Child Society?

Answer 24

A warrior brotherhood in the Oglala Sioux made up of only youngest sons, said to be the bravest and most daring

Question 25

What role did women play in a tribe?

Answer 25

Feeding and clothing their families Processing buffalo hides and meat

Question 26

Were women respected in Plains Indians society?

Answer 26

Yes - they had a specialised role

Question 27

What was the key resource for the Plains Indians?

Answer 27

The buffalo

Question 28

What was the fat of the buffalo used for?

Answer 28

For cooking and making soap

Question 29

What was the skin of the buffalo used for?

Answer 29

Made into leather for clothing, bags, horse harnesses and tipis

Question 30

What was the bladder of the buffalo used for?

Answer 30

Food bags or water skins

Question 31

What were the bones of the buffalo used for?

Answer 31

For making arrow heads, tools, jewellery, and frames for sledges

Question 32

What benefits did horses bring to the Plains Indians?

Answer 32

Allowed them to live a nomadic lifestyle, following the buffalo herds as they migrated across the Plains

Question 33

What did the Plains Indians use horses to carry?

Answer 33

People, sledges carrying folded-down tipis, and camp equipment

Question 34

How did the Plains Indians kill the buffalo?

Answer 34

They would fire arrows or guns while riding their horses at full speed

Question 35

What evidence suggests that horses were important status symbols to the Plains Indians?

Answer 35

They were stolen during warfare, and Plains Indians often measured their wealth in the number of horses they owned

Question 36

Why was buffalo skin a suitable material to make into the tipi?

Answer 36

It was light and easy to carry, and it did not need a lot of wood to make the frame

Question 37

What did Plains Indians believed was contained in everything in nature?

Answer 37

A spirit

Question 38

How did Plains Indians believed they could contact the spirit world?

Answer 38

Through 'vision quests', guided by spirit animals, or special ritual dances

Question 39

What was the sacred land of the Lakota Sioux?

Answer 39

The Black Hills of South Dakota

Question 40

What activities were seen as disrespectful to the land in Plains Indian beliefs?

Answer 40

Farming or mining

Question 41

What did Plains Indians believe about the status of land?

Answer 41

It could not be bought or sold

Question 42

Describe TWO ways Plains Indian tribes minimised the number of men killed in raids

Answer 42

1) The raid would only go ahead if it looked as if it would work 2) Only selected brotherhoods would go on a raid

Question 43

What was 'counting coup'?

Answer 43

A special type of fighting in which a warrior would attempt to hit or touch (not kill) an enemy and get away without being injured or killed