hunter andrews. -the great plains stretch over a wide area of north america. -the land to the east...
TRANSCRIPT
Hunter Andrews
The Great Plains
Climate and Terrain
-The Great Plains stretch over a wide area of North America.
-The land to the east of the great plains consists of rain and tall grass prairies.
-The land towards the east is more dry, has shorter grass prairies and hardly any rain since it is on the leeward side of the mountains.
-The great plains weather consists of very cold winters and hot and humid summers.
Transportation
-The early plains peoples would walk from place to place while carrying what they could.
-Dogs were used to pull loads by being hitched to an A-shaped frame called a travois.
-Horses later replaced dogs after Spanish explorers arrived since they could carry more.
-Canoes, rafts and bull boats were used to cross lakes and rivers.
-In the winter, toboggans and sleds pulled by dogs and snowshoes were used.
Fact: Snowshoes were invented by aboriginal peoples and were made from wooden frames, sinew netting and leather straps.
Fact: Red river carts could float and also be used as rafts when a river had to be crossed.
-During the fur trade but before the railroad was built, Red river carts which were pulled by horses or oxen were used.
Tools and Technology
-The plains people used spears with stone points which were later replaced by bow and arrows which was more accurate and lighter than the spear.
-Decoys of ducks and geese were made to attract the birds so they could be hunted.
-Small animals such as rabbit, gophers and small birds were caught with a snare trap.
-Hammers were made from a rock, a wooden handle and skin straps and were used to crush berries and break up firewood.
-Knives and hide scrapers were made from sharp bones or stones with handles made of deer antlers or wood.
-Other tools they would use would be water bottles made from animal skins and bison stomach and hair brushes made from porcupine tails.
Music
-In some parts of the plains nasal, high pitched and frequent falsettos in monophony would be the singing you would hear along with the double sided skin drums and the end-blown flutes.
-Central plains tribes music is recognized by extreme vocal tension, pulsation, rhythmic complexity and increased frequency of scales northern tribes have smaller melodic ranges and fewer scale tones
Economy
-Before European explorers came over, the plains people would live off the land. The jobs would be separated into women’s and men’s jobs.
-After explorers arrived, the economy changed quite a bit as the fur trade began and the natives joined because the explorers brought over material goods that the natives would need to survive
-During and after the first world war some natives went to work in the oil or other mineral resources industry and more traditional economic enterprises.
-Women from the Cheyenne tribe continued to make moccasins for natives as well as non-natives.
-Wheat and potato harvesting and cattle ranching were also jobs plains people would have at this time.
System of Government
-Within each nomadic group, there is a band chief who was supported by the group only if his band could catch enough game for food and were protected from enemies.
-Public shame was the form of discipline.
-Sometimes groups would split off into smaller groups when food was scarce.
-The leaders could have different duties or certain powers like being the keeper of the staff, knife or whip.
http://www.aitc.sk.ca/saskschools/firstnations/travel.html
http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_plains6.html
http://www.aitc.sk.ca/saskschools/firstnations/tools.html
http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.na.001
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_music#Plains
http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com
Bibliography