1. Chapter 2 Lesson 2
The great plains

2. Desribe the way of life of people of the great plains.
Be prepared to…
Desribe the way of life of people of the great plains.
Analyze the effect of the horse on the lives of the Cheyenne.
Identify where in the united states the Cheyenne live today.
Vocabulary To Know:
LODGE TEEPEE TRAVOIS POWWOW

3. The Great Plains
- A flat, dry, grassland prairie region of North America extending south from Canada through the west-central United States into Texas.

5. The Buffalo, or American bison
Large, grazing mammal that could weigh over a ton.
Central to the lives of the Plains Indians.
Used a major source of meat.
Hides were used for clothing and blankets.
All parts of the the buffalo were used, including horns and stomachs.

6. On the hunt
In summer and fall, the Plains Indians traveled from their homes to hunt buffalo.
Hunters often used disguises to get close enough to their prey.
They lived in TEEPEES – temporary shelter made with poles and covered with buffalo hides.
They made TRAVOIS – a sled to carry goods made of two poles and dragged by a dog (and later by horse).

7. At home
Plains people included the Lakota (Sioux), Pawnee, Osage, and later the Cheyenne.
Because of the dry climate, they settled along rivers.
Their crops included corn, beans, squash, and pumpkins.
They built LODGES to live in. Describe how lodges were built.

8. The cheyenne
The horse changed the way of life of the Plains Indians, particularly the Cheyenne.
The Cheyenne used the horse to
More easily hunt buffalo.
Become more mobile.
Carry heavier loads and
Move to different places with the seasons.
The horse was so important to the Cheyenne that wealth was measured in HORSES, not money.

9. Hunting buffalo by Alfred Jacob miller
This painting is a depiction of Cheyenne hunters’ use of the horse to hunt American buffalo. The riders are driving the buffalo herd over a cliff.
The horse enabled the hunters to ride close to a herd to more easily kill his prey. Later Plains hunters also used rifles.
About the painting: Watercolor on paper, circa It is true that various Plains Indians would occasionally chase buffalo over a small cliff, but Miller probably never saw this scene and therefore exaggerated it a bit. The Indians, when they found a suitable bluff, would conceal themselves behind the rocks with hides. When the herd would start to move towards the bluff, the Indians would jump up from behind their rocks, shouting and waving the hides, keeping the buffalo moving toward the cliff. In later versions of this picture, Miller exaggerated the cliff even more. Had the Indians driven buffalo over such precipices, the meat would have been too badly smashed to eat and the bones would have been broken.

10. The Cheyenne today Many live in present-day Montana.
Many Cheyenne keep their traditional customs alive, including language, ceremonies, and dance.
Powwows – gatherings of American Indians – are held by many groups. It is a time of sharing, trading, and keeping cultures alive.