Plains Indian Cultures: Yesterday and Today

Objectives

• Students will learn about Plains Indian cultures, comparing the past and the present.
• Students will compare Plains Indian objects from the past to contemporary art created by Plains Indian artists who are alive today.  
• Students will learn about the Plains Indians’ origins throughout the great North American Plains.

Vocabulary 

What is culture?

Culture is a shared pattern of learned behavior; a shared way of thinking, believing, and acting that are passed from generation to generation.  

Background

When we think of Plains Indians, we often think about their life long ago when their ancestors hunted buffalo and lived in tipis, and some even in earth lodges. However, Plains Indian people today have vibrant cultures that reflect their past traditions and contemporary lives. 

Plains tribes lived on land throughout what we know today as the plains of Canada and the United States east of the Rocky Mountain. The plains are flat grasslands of what we now often call the American West. 

Activity

Part 1

Have students look at the historic objects below that reflect traditional Plains Indian cultures.  

As students observe each object, ask questions such as: 

1. What do you think this object was used for? 
2. What is this object made of? 
3. Where did Plains Indian people get the resources to make this object? 
4. How do you think Plains Indian people expressed their culture through art in this object? 

Summarize by asking:

What did you learn about the historic cultures of Plains Indian tribes from these objects? 

The Paul Dyck Plains Indian Buffalo Culture Collection, acquired through the generosity of the Dyck family and additional gifts of the Nielson Family and the Estate of Margaret S. Coe  

Part 2

Have students observe the contemporary art from Plains Indian artists today. As students observe each piece of art, give them a moment to look and reflect quietly and take in the details. 

Ask questions such as: 

1. What do you see?   
2. What can you conclusion can you make from what you see?   
3. What does that tell you about Indigenous Peoples and their cultures? 

Summarize by asking:

What did you learn about the contemporary cultures of Plains Indian tribes from these objects? 

Additional Questions for Discussion 

1. What colors do you see?  Textures?  Patterns? 
2. Do you see people?  Animals?  What are they doing? 
3. Is this a place?  Inside?  Outside? 
4. Do you see buildings?  Natural features like mountains?  

Compare and Contrast

Ask students to find similarities and differences between the historic versus the contemporary. 

Plains Indian Map

Plains Indian Movement Over Time

Have students view the video below showing how the lands of indigenous Plains Indian Peoples have changed over time.

Summarize by asking:

1. How would you describe the lands of the Plains Indian people at the beginning of the video?
2. Were their boundaries?
3. What happened to their lands and why?