Nomadic Societies Of The Great Plains

The effect of being Plains Indians located on a reservation in Oklahoma during the 1900. Between 1865 and 1900 there have numerous events that have occurred for the plains Indians that changed their way of thinking, and their way of life here in the United States of America. It all started with as a simple introduction of the horses, buffalo, boarding schools, loss of land and major attacks on the Indians.

The Westward expansion began for the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. For $15 million dollars, President Thomas Jefferson purchased from France 828,000 square miles, including most of 14 current states, thus doubling the size of America. Jefferson now had the land, but how to populate it was another story. On a three year expedition, Lewis and Clark were sent by Jefferson to explore the lands to get a better understanding of the geography and resources of the West. During the 1830s to 1840s, to promote further territory expansion, the “manifest destiny” came into play – which was the idea that America was destined to expand across the entire country westward. Quickly, the nation expanded.

The United States has always believed in manifest destiny, A term coined by John O’Sullivan. the belief that the expansion westward was both inevitable and justified the purchase of the Louisiana territory by Thomas Jefferson from the French in 1803 was a major deal that could not be ignored. Imperialism is enlarging a nation's authority over weaker countries using economic, or military promise. While not being exactly the same it is evident that westward expansion and imperialism are very similar with the United States expanding vastly in a range of imperial ways such as supplementing help from the U.S. military, and legal organizations into the gained territories and colonize them with nonnatives.

In the Eastern Woodlands, the native Iroquoian people populated the area, who set fires twice a year to clear away underbrush to allow an easier hunting season. In addition, they had no universal style of government, with many organized into chiefdoms. Near The Great Lakes, there were several different types of natives collectively called the Anishinaabe. Many Europeans found that the Anishinaabe had a vast social landscape, with the peoples of the Ottawas, Ojibwas, and Potawatomis. Additionally, these people would use canoes to travel across the Great Lakes. Towards the west in the Great Plains, the Comanches were formidable people of the vast territory. They rode on horseback to dominate their enemies, and would mainly hunt Bison.

The Plains Indians religious beliefs were quite similar and interesting. The Plains Indians believed in Animism. Animism is the belief that everything possesses a spirit. Besides Animism, the Plains Indians only worshiped one other “god.” That was the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit was the mother of all things. They would perform ceremonies for her. Sacred items were also important to the people of the Plains. They would have items that they believed had spiritual or talismanic powers. The items would be located in a pouch at the person’s side. The Medicine Man would also carry around multiple pouches with different talisman. This could come in the form of a peace pipe or a calumet or something that they

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.

In 1874 the US Army sent a force under Colonel Custer into South Dakota. When gold was discovered in the area, the federal government declared that all Sioux Indians not in reservations would have to be subjugated by Custer’s troops. Many Sioux refused to cooperate, and Custer began to attack. At the battle of Little Bighorn, in June 1876, Custer split his troops, and a larger force of Indians wiped out all of his men. After this defeat, the army took a different course by harassing the Sioux in attrition. Indians eventually lost the will to resist as these strategies were commonly successful against the Sioux. In the December of 1890, approximately 300 Indians were killed by US troops at Wounded Knee. This massacre was the indication to the end of Indian opposition. The Plains Indians were eventually conquered and forced into reservations.

The native americans had many things that helped them survive today,you will learn about the desert regions

The Plains Cree Tribe lived in Canada, north and west of Lake Superior in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories. Women wore dresses made out of deerskins, Men wore animal skin leggings,a loincloth which is a small piece of cloth or skin worn between the legs and a belt to hold the loin cloth. They did not speak english, their language is called Montagnais. They lived in teepees.

The Constitution provides clear Native American protection from governmental land confiscation in Article VI, Section 2. The relevant section states, "…All Treaties made; or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land"(Farber [9]). The United States signed 371 treaties with Indian tribes between 1790 and 1870 (Churchill, Struggle for the Land 20). Treaties were made for a variety of purposes, such as "mutual protection, peace, in support and regulation of trade with the Indians, to provide for military posts, [and] to wrest land from the Natives"

The Chickasaw Indians were a small group of Indians, consisting of a estimated amount of 5,000 people in the 1600's. They were people who were very coordinated and established their homes at close proximity. They held life at a high esteem, and had several towns and villages that incorporated present-day elements. The Chickasaw were religious and relied most on faith for healing. This Indian group worshiped the deity Ababinili. This god represents the things above such as the sun, clouds, and sky. In addition, worship of other deities was included into the religion. Each god or deity has a different purpose. For example, some deities protect against wicked spirits and evil forces.

American archaeologist and anthropologist, Stephen Plog, wrote an account of the pre-Columbian natives of the Americans titled Ancient Peoples of the American Southwest. Plog’s purpose is to communicate the cultural and ritualistic lifestyles of the prehistoric natives of the southwest, which spans across the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada with some mention of trade with Mexico. The author has demonstrated an effective approach of an objective viewpoint on the lives of the prehistoric south westerners using sources from excursions from previous archaeologists such as, Paul S Martin and David R Wilcox among many others who excavated the vacant villages of the southwest.

The horse left a large impression on the lives of the Plains Indians; however, the real question being viewed is how this animal impacted the lives of, more specifically, the Sioux, Comanche, and Apache Plains Indians. Life before the introduction of the horse was a challenge. The Sioux’s constant migration with the buffalo required long days and created the need for a tool like the horse in order to better the living standards. The Comanche Indians were extraordinary horsemen once the horse was introduced to them allowing hunting and gathering to become more efficient. The Apache Indians were known for their fighting skills and warrior-like attributes. When they encountered the Spanish conquistadors and saw their use of the horse, strong desires for this animal swept over the Apache population and quickly lead to the trade and even theft of the horse. It boosted the abilities to fight for these Indians and provided them with a tool that made them, in their opinion, almost invincible. This information is being derived from a source that covers every Plains Indian tribe and accurately expresses the actions of these Indians. Without a bias, it describes that advantages and disadvantages of each tribe, and in this case, explains the actions of the Apache Indians. Even with this advantage, however, the Comanche Indians still seemed to have an advantage over the Apache Tribe. This efficiency as well as addition to the Indian tribes allowed for these societies to feel more

Between 1829 and 1844 Americans developed four different territories. They were Texas, Oregon, Utah, and California. They were all developed for different reasons. And long after the territory was settled each kept the imprint from the original conquest. Before these territories were developed the majority of the Americans that lived west of the Mississippi river were a rugged group of explorers called mountain men. They roamed through the mountains trails made by the Indians and often worked as trappers for the companies that sold fur. But exploration was their main occupation. All of these mountain men married Native American women and worked for the US Army as scouts (Schultz, 2013).

In 1819, the British and American governments agreed that the boundary separating their territories between Lake of the Woods and be set at 49°N latitude. This terriroy called Oregon Territory. Because of the population of European in this territory was sparsely, they did not decide who will control this area. The Hudson’s Bay Company preferred to leave the region open for the rich fur trade and not interest in encouraging settlement. United States was facing a rapidly increasing population in that time. So United States purchased territory west of the Mississippi. Most Americans were convinced that they will control all of North America, an idea called Manifest Destiny. The United States government encouraged people from the eastern states