iMjJA.ws or riih: i-laj.ws 



:u 



Indians of the 

 Plains 



Mississi])])! and cast of \\\v Rocky Mount aiiis ;is fjir south as the valley 

 of the Rio (Iraiulc and as far nortli as the Saskatchewan. (Sec niaj) on 

 south wall.) 



()ccu|)>in,n- the «2;reat(^r ])art of the hall he^innin^ on the left are 1 ho 

 hul'falo huntin<>; tril)(\s: the Plains-( 'i-ee, Dakotji, ('row, 

 niackfoot , (Jros \'(Mitre, Arapaho and Cheyemie. These 

 tribes did not i)ractise aj»;riculture hut (le])ended almost 

 entirely on the buffalo; buffalo flesh was tlieir chief food, and of buffalo 

 skin they made their garments. In some easels a buffalo ])aunch was 

 used for cooking', and buffalo horns were made into various imi)lements 

 of industry and war. The spirit of the buffalo was considered a power- 

 ful ally and invoked to cure sickness, to ward off evil, and to give aid 

 in the hunt. Whenever the buffalo herds 1(h1 the way, the more 



A DOG FEAST OF THE SIOUX 



Given in honor of Mr. Sanford, Pierre Choteau and Catlin. From the CatUn Collection of paintings. 



nomadic Plains tribes moved their tents and followed. With the 

 extermination of the buffalo the entire life of the Plains Indians was 

 revolutionized. 



On the right, near the entrance, are the village tribes of the Plains; 

 the Mandan with whom Lewis and Clark passed the winter of 1804-1805, 

 the Hidatsa who now live with them, and the Omaha, Kansa, Iowa 

 and Pawnee. All these tribes raised corn and lived in earth covered 

 houses of considerable size. A small model of one of these houses 

 stands near the exhibits. 



