Mandan Tribe Research Paper

The tribe lived in thatched houses before which were grass huts shaped like beehives. They had a communal way of life in their permanent habitations. When men went to hunt they build temporary shelters from buffalo hides. Before the modern times, the men dressed in breech clothes and occasionally putting on leather chaps to act as leg protection. Their hair was cut in traditional Mohawk or complete shaving of hair and wore single long tassel of hair on the top of the head. Women kept long hair styled in a bum or braid. They wore wrap around skirts and ponchos. In the modern times traditional dress and face paints are only reserved

The Cheyenne women and men had very major roles in the tribe. The women were in charge cleaning their house. A big roll of the cheyenne women was building their home every time the tribe moved. The women would also teach the daughters how to cook, clean, make the houses, and etc. The Cheyenne men were hunter and worries. The men ware responsible for protecting their family and tribe if anything tragedies occurred. The Cheyenne men would go on hunting trips for miny days ,but when the men got back from hunting the women would cook the meat to eat and preserve it for later.

The Encounters at the Heart of the World by Elizabeth A. Fenn is a book that includes the history of Mandan people. Most of the people know this place because of Lewis and Clark, but in this book readers can also learn so many important things about Mandan and combination of important new discoveries. In this book, a reader can examine how an author can go far and beyond the expectation, the way she went into the Mandan’s history. The way author have written this book, makes easier for readers to read because she divides each chapter in many topics.

     Since no single food source could support their people for any length of time the Athabaskan continued to move around. Because they were accustomed to living in mountainous regions their migration southward followed the Rocky Mountain range until they eventually reached the Southwestern us, probably in the 1500's. The reason for all this southward trek is not so clear but is most likely because of lack of game and food. During the migration they broke into smaller bands that settled in various areas of the country. Those that landed in what are now the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah adopted some of the culture of the Pueblo Indians and eventually came to be known as Navajos; others, who became the Western

The Blackfoot Indian tribes held a major tribal ceremony in the summer, for which all the bands came together. It was called the Sun Dance. By engaging in the Sun Dance, their prayers would be carried up to the Creator, who would bless them with well being and abundance of buffalo. Other than the winter, when a few bands might join together for shelter, this was the only time the entire tribe came

The Maidu lived in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in North Central California. They lived in villages with around two hundred people in them. Their homes were made from earth, bark and brush. The land provided animals and plants for them to eat. Everyone work clothes that were made from animal hide. Tools helped them hunt, build houses and survive. The Maidu Indians are an interesting tribe.

Thomas Jefferson had just expanded the United States territory immensely. This purchase was known as the Louisiana Purchase, which is arguably the best decision in US history. All the new land resulted in several unknown questions. Some of them were, “what does this land provide, what animals are out there, who can be found on this land?” To answer some of these mysterious questions Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the Louisiana Purchase. They also were sent to form learn and form relationships with the people all ready on the land they are about to explore. One of their stops on their journey was at what now is known as Fort Mandan, in Bismarck, North Dakota. Here is where Lewis and Clark’s relationship with the Mandan tribe was crucial because their next steps have never been explored by whites. Only the Indians knew what the land looked like from North Dakota to the Pacific Ocean. The Mandan tribe was able to show the explorers areas of the land that was just bought by the United States of America. Between both the white explorers and the Mandan tribe they both benefited from their relationships they formed over the winter months of 1804 because Lewis and Clark did not anticipate spending the winter in North Dakota.

The Mandan tribes were a resourceful and unique society that are considered to be an important part in American History. The Mandans were a group of people who adapted to their region and survived for many years. The Mandan people were one of the few groups that met the Corps of Discovery and communicated with Lewis and Clark. Most importantly, the Mandans are a civilization most noted for cultural aspects such as their dwellings, religion, and social organization among the people.

The Menominee, a group of Native Americans, currently reside in Wisconsin, which has always been their home. Beginning in 1667, the French send missionaries to educate the tribe, as well as fur traders to trade with them. Later, the Menominee also began trading with Britain. During wars between Britain, its colonies, or Native American tribes, and the French, the Menominee sided with the French. During the American Revolution, the Menominee decided to fight with the British because they didn’t want to lose their land to the Colonists. However, after the British lost the war, the Menominee eventually made peace with the Americans in 1817. Through a series of treaties, the Menominee lost land to the government and other Native American tribes.

The Navajo, also known as the Diné, are one of the largest Native American Tribes in the world. Their culture is made up of very distinct and unique characteristics that have been passed down from generation to generation. They have been taught to adapt to their surroundings and to the land. Each moral, standard, belief and value are what make the Navajo so unique to the Native Americans. In the following, their primary mode of subsistence, kinship system, beliefs, values, and economic organizations will be briefly examined to gain a better knowledge of the Navajo culture.

Geologically ‘almost’ centered in North America, Mandan Indians occupied “the heart of the world”, present day North Dakota, where the Heart River joins the Missouri River. They were once cradled prosperous human settlements, but Mandan Indians are only mentioned in History when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark spent the winter with them in 1804-1805**. Elizabeth A. Fenn took a trip to North Dakota in 2002, and she had an urge to write about Mandan Indians. For twelve years, she spent time to gather and learn every aspect that can bring Mandan Indians. She learned archaeology, anthropology, geology, climatology, epidemiology, and nutritional science, anything that could bring Mandan past. Winner

Recovering the Indigenous Past, Crafting a Native Narrative: The Mandan People Who Lived and Still Breathe at the “Heart of the World”

Each of the tribes specifically mastered many different skills and ways of life. For example, the Anasazi tribe mastered the techniques making of pueblo built homes. Still today, you are able to see the work they put into their homes and towns that have been preserved all these years. According to “Lister’s Those Who Came Before (1983), the Anasazi group is the most studied and researched Native American tribe in the entire United States. (Heartland of the Southwest, Ch. 4) Another example would be the Hohokam tribe, who were great at constructing irrigation systems coming from the Salt, Gila, and Verde River valleys. (Gawronski, 14) This tribe built some of the most voluminous canal systems ever made in their time.

The Mandan cultivated their lands and raised crops of corn, beans, sunflowers, squashes, and pumpkins” (Source B). “The Mandan trapped and prepared furs. Tribes that did not grow vegetables often visited… for trade of surplus garden products” (Source D). There were many trade opportunities, as the Mandan men also “...hunted deer and small game and took part in seasonal buffalo hunts” (Source A). A “system of using sign language was developed to facilitate communication between all of the different tribes who inhabited the Great Plains and to facilitate trade with the white trappers and traders” (Source B).

In Chapter 4, "Turning the Tables on Jesus: the Mandaean View", by Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley, states that studying the descendents of the firsts followers of Jesus, we can have a better understanding of the social history of the early Christians. The Mandaeans were known as the knower's or Gnostics and they are the only ones that survived that have a connection to the early Christians. Mandaeans have their own spoken language and religion with unique ritual practices. In addition, their cultural traditions come from their literature text. Mandaean ritual's purpose is to control or overcome evil, which makes them believe that this has saved them from extinction. Mandaean people' way of life is through their religion and history, today we can even find them.