Native American Art: Plains Indians When someone is presented with the word “art” many different definitions can come to mind. When most people in the United States think of art, they think of a painting on a wall or a sculpture in a museum. Before there was museum to go to, Native people were creating art that told stories and explained the histories of where they came from. Native people began expressing themselves through art by using natural resources such as seashells, cooper, wood from trees, plants, animal’s skins and furs, and other accessible items. Once the Europeans made their way to the Americas, they introduced new materials such as glass, beads, metal, and cloth to Native people to explore even more art forms. But before the Europeans began to lead native people towards more contemporary art, Plains people were expressing themselves through many different types of art such as rock, hide, beads, and pipes. As the Plains Indians began to settle between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi river, they soon started creating their own traditions and way of life. Although the plains were one of the most prosperous agricultural zones in the United States, it was always one of the last chunks of land surveyed by Europeans because of the wide spread diseases than ran through it (Penney 107). Before the introduction of guns to the Indians living in the plains, they had to find a way to feed their families without shooting down big prey. Most big game hunters
First of all, the Plains Indian were great travelers that roam free throughout the lands and were great fighters who used guerilla tactics. With time, came the genocide of the of the buffalo, this was because the Americans would just kill them for sport and leave the meat to rot. Another issue that came was the creation of reservation. As you know the plain Indians were always free to roam the land and all of the sudden the Americans tried to restrict them to one place, which could not have happened since the Indians hatted farming. In addition, you cannot forget the creations of boarding school which were founded by Francis Pratt. At the schools they tried to persuade the American way of life such as religion, clothing, and language. If a Indian spoke their native language they beaten for not
The Creek Indian Tribe created art by using items they found in nature. They used it to tell a story or represent history. Each item that was made had a purpose and was put to use. Many of the items were created just before the Green Corn Festival.
Native American culture was a great influence on newly introduced western art when settlers first came to North America. Not only did Native Americans have their own style of art, sculpture, basket weaving, and other fine arts. Their artistic styles helped influence some European art and gave them a different outlook on not only art itself, but a brand new culture that they have not seen before. This paper will talk about the different styles of Native American art and compare it to European art styles and artist, as well as going into detail about how their culture influenced artistic styles.
First, I will look at the tribes of the Great Plains. These nomadic tribes survived on hunting, and the great American Buffalo was their main source of food. These massive animals were the main source for many items the Plains tribes made from their flesh, hide and bones, such as foods, cups, decorations, tools, knives, and clothing. The tribes followed the seasonal grazing and migration of buffalo in order to maintain their diet and subsistence throughout the year. The Plains Indians lived in tipis because they were easily disassembled and allowed the nomadic life of following game. When horses from the Spanish were finally obtained, the Plains tribes rapidly joined them into their daily lives. The natives began to acquire these horses in the 17th century by trading or stealing them from the Spanish colonists in, what is now, New Mexico.
Native American art is a profoundly expressive culture that has been a way of life for so many Native Americans. Native American art history has advanced over thousands of years and is composed of several idiosyncratic styles from the differentiating cultures of diverse Indian tribes. From Navajo to Hopi, each tribe has a particular history, which consists of many types of Native American arts including beadwork, jewelry, weaving, pottery, carvings, kachinas, masks, totem poles, and more. To truly understand Native American art, we will explore Native American art history, its subjects, and if Native American art has a spiritual connection to it.
The American territory was sprawling across the Mississippi River and into new Native American territory. The Great Plains and far West were occupied by both Indians and Hispanics whose custom and way of live were distinct in language religion and kinship and governance. The white settlers and hunters were a threat to the resources in which they used for survival.
One of the most important traits shared by all Plains tribes was the fact that they all hunted bison or buffalo. This was also the economic basis of their way of life since hunting provided them with food and
The Cheyenne tribe were a powerful, resourceful, tribe of the Great Plains. They fought against the Americans when they went to take their land. Within their tribe there were very powerful role model like figures. Some of these leader like figures were Chief Roman Nose and Little Rock. All of the Native American tribes seemed interesting to learn about, but the Cheyenne tribe had a certain charm and dedication to their tribe that none of the of the other tribes seemed to have from the outside looking in.
Throughout all regions above Mexico, Native Americans from all different tribes built structures that were useful to them. They built burial mounds all across the Mississippi River Valley and other regions. These mounds came in all shapes and sizes, and some even had figures of
The world of Plains Indians and of other American Indians in the West had existed for several centuries. The 18th century, in particular, represents the West as we think about it before the arrival of the white man. This enormous area of the Great Plains, Southwest, Pacific Northwest, and Basin area represented the homelands of many Indian communities. At least 28 tribes might be called Plains Indians. Trade alliances existed among these peoples, and protecting hunting domains was important to their economy, depending on the natural resources of the environment, which included antelope and smaller game. North American Indians shared their world with two types of buffalo (plains and wood), eight species of bear, three primary species of wolves,
Native American rock art is a big part of early American history. Most of these fragments of history were destroyed and lost to the public due to vandalism, mass settlement and colonization, and man-made things like dams. The history of the rock art is incredibly fascinating.
Pictures often have several different angles and meanings behind their reason for being taken. In this case these photos of Native Americans can be looked at and examined with several benefits and a few drawbacks as well. The benefit I see would be the timeless history captured in these moments, a shot in the past of a civilization still fresh and full of life that we as Americans now will never see again. However, there are many different sides to every story and many angles to every camera, “Companies like the Great Northern Railroad often manipulate the scene” (pg.34). This is an example of using the great Native American people as propaganda and abusing their culture by putting a fake image in the media and displaying it as something that it wasn’t at the time. This is a serious problem with many photos used even in modern society, we often use these as a historical source without considering the actual facts behind the image.
Art is a very realistic aspect among the Native Americans. In fact, what we call primitive art is actually symbolic objects from the process of a sacred ceremony. This concept is one not easily understood. Furthermore, this concept by Sam Gill is explained in Native American Religions. Sam Gill shows that Native American Art is different in meaning because of its contents then what modern societies consider art. Nonliterate people produce objects of beauty through ceremonial performances and rituals that keeps the cosmos in order, while modern societies over look these factors.
I loved my mother and following the buffalo, but that was all taken away from me.
Most people who settled the Great Plains were ranchers. The western frontier was an idea place for grazing huge herds of cattle. Cowboys tended herds of cattle, branded them, and managed long cattle drives across the open prairies. In 1869 the building of the transcontinental railroad made it possible to ship the cattle market in large and profitable numbers (JRank Articles 2011). The experience of the