Texas Indians During The Great Plains And Mountain Basin Regions

The Comanche were one of the most powerful Indian tribes that America has ever seen. They stopped the Spanish from expanding to the north and farther into America. However they weren't always that way. S.W. Gwynne compared them to a young, bullied boy who grew into a strong, vengeful man.

They migrated from a mountainous region to the plains were they were frequently encountered with the Jumano, Pueblo and Apache Indians along with the Spanish. The Comanche were such skilled warriors, that they were able to push the Indian groups further south and further west, they kept the Spanish in the southern part of Texas and prevented them from venturing north, and they also gave American settlers a very difficult time. The Comanche were very skilled horsemen. They were the most feared Indians on horses. It is actually said that the Comanche were the best Indian horsemen warriors ever. They had remarkable ability and skill on horses.

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.

As far back as the Spaniard expansion in the 1600’s the Comanches were a tribe that was actually close to the bottom in terms of power and were bullied by other tribes. Then around the year 1625 to 1750 the Comanche tribe gained massive amounts of power due to pretty much one change in their culture, the horse. Conquistadors who moved from Mexico up to what is now New Mexico brought their Spanish horses with them, and when the Comanches started to fight, they took off and left their horses behind for the Comanche’s to get ahold of. Once the Comanches got ahold of Spanish horses they became a wrecking ball in Native American culture, and became such good warriors on horses that they have even been compared to Mongolians. As stated in the book, the Comanches were not the first tribe to utilize horses. The tribes before them used horses in a different way, such as transportation and food purposes. These tribes never really learned how to breed and use the horse as a war tool and were known to still use their feet to attack enemies, yet the Comanche would do a raid on horseback and escape on the Spaniard horse which is known for its speed. The horses were also a tool to hustle white men in racing bets. The horses that the Comanches used were not too easy on the eyes, and to the white man who had these European stallions, were not any test in races. So the Natives would gamble with the white men in horse races, most of the time winning by a wide margin, and would be known as the fastest horse and riders on the plains. Since the Comanches were also really advanced at breeding, some of the tribes were known to have anywhere from 500 to 1000 horses per section. They would not only use these fast horses to race but they would use them to steal other horses which was a huge market for

The Sioux tribe followed the buffalo migration because that is what they would mostly eat apart from elk and deer. They used each part of the buffalo for many purposes. They carved the horns into cups and spoons. The teeth became tools and decorations, and were used in ceremonial rattles. The brain was used to process leather. Bones were made into knives, arrowheads, and shovels. Hides were used to make teepee covers, clothes, belts, bag, dolls, and shoes. The hair was used for headdresses and to stuff pillows, pad saddles and weave ropes. The tongue, heart, and liver were eaten right away. Muscles were cut into strips and preserved as jerky.

The Shoshone tribe lives in parts of Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, and even in California. Also, they still live in these areas today.Some information about their Environment they lived in the valleys and mountains west and southwest of Great Salt Lake.How they adapted to their environment is they lived in small and fluid family groups, hunting and gathering scarce resources throughout the spring, summer and fall. During the winter, the small groups gathered together into larger camps in areas that provided cover, timber, and food sources to supplement the foodstuffs they had gathered and stored.

The native tribes of the Great Plains and the Eastern Woodlands have surprisingly different adaptions and responses to their expansions by settlers; not only in their cultures, but in their subsistence, warfare, peacemaking, and gender roles as well. Both tribes were forced to adapt and change due to the overtaking on the European settlers, but both managed to do it in different ways.

The Lenape Indians are the natives of New Jersey and were around well before any of the explorers or our ancestors came to the area. They had a society rich of culture, traditions, beliefs and customs. They are one of the largest Indian tribes on the east coast, containing three primary divisions or clans. Frederick Hodge (1907) worked for the Bureau of American Ethnology and has done extensive research on the topic of Native Americans. Hodge compiled a detailed reference book called The Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, which gives detailed histories on many of the American Indian tribes. According to Hodge, the Lenape or Delaware Indians were an Indian society based from the Delaware area all the way to southern New York in

I chose to write my research paper on the Blackfoot reservation which is home to the Blackfoot tribe. The Blackfoot tribe was sometimes known as the classic example of the Plains Indians. The Blackfoot reservation actually consists of four different tribes and those are the Blackfoot/Siksika, Blood/Kainai, Pikuni/Peigan, and North Peigan Pikuni tribes. The Blackfoot Indians initially migrated from the Great Lakes region and now live in Montana and some of Canada.

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 Hopi tribe were villagers and farmers. Their villages were located in the lofty plateaus of northern Arizona. The Hopi tribe have kept their culture intact due to living

The Cheyenne tribe was normally located by the Great Plains present day South Dakota. South Dakota had hot summers and cold winters, their location also had good hunting and grass covered prairies with some streams and rivers. So they had good planting. Some of the animals they hunted were bison also known as buffalo, elks, cougars, deer, bears, porcupines, beavers, eagles, antelopes, and wolves. The geography of the Cheyenne tribe was very well located.

The Eastern Woodland Indians was an Indian tribe that was located around the stretch from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean. Usually the Woodland Indians had settled west from the Atlantic. The Eastern Woodland tribe also settled from Canada in the North all the way to The Gulf of Mexico in the South. The Indians of The Eastern Woodlands tribe had spoke several different languages and dialects. According to www.indians.org, “Additionally, there were many groups such as the Cayuga, Mohawk, Onondaga, and Seneca tribes”. Many different parts of the Eastern Woodlands economy encouraged them to become a civilization such as the habitat of the Eastern Woodlands, the shelter, the food, and the culture of the Eastern Woodlands Indians.

The sovereign Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is based in Miami, Oklahoma in the northeastern corner of the state. Originating out of the Great Lakes region, the Miami Tribe was forced to move to Kansas and then later to Oklahoma. The population of the community is 4,440 peoples spread across the country and world. A unique thing about the Miami Tribe is despite their small size and diverse geographical locations these people share a special connection. The Miami Tribe values a strong community life, tribe benefits, and opportunities for it’s people. These values explain what it means to be of Miami decent in and out of the community.

The Navajo Indians emulated the pueblo. The shed their animal skin clothing for cotton and learned quickly how to farm. These people settled in between the Rio Grande and the Grand Canyon. They herded sheep and grew corn in the valleys. They were a peaceful group of people, and were one with their surroundings.