Hunting+Habits+of+the+Plains+Indians

=The Tribes=  The Plain Indians consisted of a number of different tribes that used to inhabit the Great Plains region of the present-day United States and Canada. The tribes hunting habits varied drastically; some tribes were nomadic and highly dependent on hunting not only buffalo, but elk and antelope as well. While mostly dependent on these herds of game, they also occasionally raised crops (mostly corn or some tobacco). Some of these nomadic tribes include the Arapaho, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, and the Lakota.

Other tribes on the Great Plains lived in mostly stationary villages and relied more on growing crops, however they did still hunt game. Some of these tribes are the Arikara, Pawnee, Omaha, and Santee, and Kansa tribes.

Although some tribes did rely on agriculture, as more tribes acquired horses and guns, hunting became a much easier means of obtaining reliable food. This led to more tribes competing for buffalo herds, and resulted in territorial clashes between tribes. In addition, more tribes (also being displaced by the European settlers) moved into the Plains to hunt. =The Value of the Buffalo= For the nomadic tribes of the Great Plains, the buffalo herds represented more than just a night’s dinner; these Native American tribes had a use for literally every piece of a buffalo. There was little (or very often no) waste from a kill.

Meat
The uses for meat are basically self explanatory. Buffalo and other game meat was the main diet for the nomadic Native American tribes living on the Great Plains. Meat was often roasted, dried (for long storage), or boiled. Since it was extremely difficult to hunt in the winter months, tribes often hunted for many months in mind, with most meat being stored for winter.

Hides
Buffalo and other animal hides had several uses for the Plains Indians. With the fur left onto the hide, the natives could use them for blankets, warm clothing, gloves, and costumes for use in both spiritual ceremonies and hunting (more on hunting later). Otherwise, they could remove the fur from the hides and use them for many other things. Some of these uses include: drums, bag-like containers, non-winter clothing, rope, and tipi coverings. The fur removed from the hides had its own uses as well, such as string, medicine balls, or even filling for pillows.

Innards
The various insides of a buffalo had uses for the Native American tribes. They had uses for the organs, bones, muscles, even the fat of a buffalo. Organs like the bladder and stomach were used as water carrying containers, because they are water tight and can expand without tearing. Even the brain of a buffalo had a use; it was used to tan hides. The stringy muscle or sinew of a buffalo was used for string and webbing used in snowshoes. The bones are used for tools, hoes (for tribes that farmed), and arrowheads, as well as other uses. =Hunting Practices= The hunting practices of the various tribes living on the Great Plains varied greatly through history. Before horses, the Native Americans had to hunt game on foot. However, once horses and guns were introduced, hunting was much easier and their strategies for hunting changed.

Before Horses
Before horses were introduced into Native Americans’ lives, they had drastically different hunting strategies than most Western movies portray. Because they had to hunt on foot, they needed to use some ingenuity. They had several strategies used in the hunt:

The ‘Buffalo Pound’ Method
The natives would have scouts dress themselves in bison hides and lead the bison herd into a ravine or other enclosed space. Other hunters would line the roof of the ravine and once the herd was in position, they would attack their predetermined targets with spears or arrows. Once the herd stampeded, everyone had to be careful because buffalo could easily stomp them to death.

The ‘Buffalo Jump’ Methods
These methods involved funneling the buffalo herd into some sort of natural barrier that would stop the stampede and allow the Indians to make a kill. Some natural features they would use are: Cliffs – The Indians would force the herd of buffalo towards a cliff using scouts dressed in buffalo costumes. Once there, hunters that had been lying in wait will startle the herd, causing some to fall off the cliff where hunters were waiting below to kill them. Rivers – The Indians hunted the buffalo while the herd was drinking. They would startle them into the water, which would hamper their escape and allow the Indians to make a kill. Fire – Using the previous method was sometimes accompanied by the use of setting fire to further scare the buffalo herd into the water. Snow – Winter months were extremely difficult to hunt in, especially without horses. However if food stores were so low that hunting was necessary, the Indians would drive the buffalo herd into deep snow drifts, which would bog them down. Hopefully they would be able to make a kill.

With Horses
Once the Spanish introduced horses to the Americas, hunting the buffalo herd became drastically easier. Tribes were able to hunt buffalo in such numbers that tribes that previously semi-relied on farming (or tribes that previously didn’t live on the Plains) now moved to hunting the buffalo. With horses, the Plains Indians didn’t have to rely so much on tactics as they could now match the stampeding buffalo herd in speed. Hunting parties could just ride in and take down specific targets with relative ease.

=References= http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/firstnations/bison.html http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Plains+Indian http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/462761/Plains-Indian http://www.mce.k12tn.net/indians/reports4/plains2.htm http://www.texasindians.com/horse.htm http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/14/956408/-Indians-101:-Buffalo-Hunting-on-the-Northern-Plains- http://www.freewebs.com/plain_indians/huntingandweapons.htm http://www.mce.k12tn.net/indians/reports4/plains.htm http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/fts/denver_200904A06.html http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_method_did_the_plain_indians_use_for_hunting