INDIANS OF THE PLAINS 



31 



Indians of the 

 Plains 



Mississippi and east of tlie Rocky Mountains as far south as the valley 

 of the Rio Grande and as far north as the Saskatchewan. (See map on 

 south wall.) 



Occupying the greater part of the hall beginning on the left are the 

 l)uffalo hunting tribes: the Plains-Cree, Dakota, Crow, 

 Blackfoot, Gros Ventre, Arapaho and Cheyenne. These 

 tribes did not practise agriculture but depended almost 

 entirely on the buffalo; l)uffalo flesh was their chief food, and of buffalo 

 skin they made their garments. In some cases a buffalo paunch was 

 used for cooking, and buffalo horns were made into various implements 

 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 led the way, the more 



A DOG FEAST OF THE SIOUX 



Given in honor of Mr. Sanford, Pierre Choteau and C'atlin. 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. 



