Pawnee NationNative Americans of Long Ago

Great Plains

Great Plains Map

Plant Resources

grasses

flowers

cedar trees

Native AmericansFill in your worksheet about plants.

Animal Resources

prairie dog

mole

skunk

rabbit

Animal Resources

Mule Deer Coyote

BisonBison are

sometimes called

buffalo.

That is not the correct name for

them, but it is okay to say it.

Bison

Native AmericansFill in your worksheet about animals.

Pawnee Tribe The Pawnee people lived in Nebraska.

This region has all four seasons. The climate can be very cold and snowy, or it can be very hot and humid.

The land is mostly flat or hilly, but some areas to the north start to have mountains.There are rivers, lakes, and prairie. A prairie is a grassy land with few trees.

Pawnee Food The Pawnee people ate corn, beans,

squash, pumpkin, and bison.

pumpkins and squash

corn

beans

Native AmericansFill in your worksheet about food.

Pawnee Shelter The Pawnee people lived in earth lodges.

An earth lodge was made from soil and grass.

Between 30-50 people would live in the lodge.

Sometimes plants grew on top of the lodge, or animals would walk on top.

Earth Lodge

Tipi The word tipi can be spelled three ways: tipi,

teepee, or tepee. All are correct.

The Pawnee people lived in tipis when they needed to move a lot to hunt the bison.

The tipi was made by the women from buffalo hide.

A tipi was useful because it was easy to keep it cool in the summer.

Tipi

Native AmericansFill in your worksheet about shelter.

Pawnee Clothing Clothing was made from skins.

Men wore leggings, a loin cloth, a belt, blankets, necklaces, and buffalo robes.

Women wore leggings, skirts and shirts and necklaces.

Pawnee Clothing

Pawnee Clothing

Breastplate

Ceremonial Clothing

The clothing that these

men had on was only worn for special

ceremonies.

Native AmericansFill in your worksheet about clothing.

HorsesThe Pawnee people are known for riding horses to hunt buffalo.

There weren’t any horses in America until the Spanish explorers brought them in the 1500s.

Before the Spanish, the Pawnee had to hunt on foot.

Hunting Tools

tomahawk

bow and arrows

Cradleboard

A baby was put in a cradleboard when families moved from place to place.

Dreamweaver

The dreamweaver was made to catch the bad dreams of children.

Only good dreams were allowed to go through to the sleeping child.

TravoisThe Pawnee people

used a “travois” /trah - v wah’/ to carry

things on.

Before there were horses to pull the

travois, the Pawnee used dogs and people

to pull them.

Pawnee Pottery

Review Where is the Great Plains region? What plants and animals are in this region? What is the climate like in this region? What resources did the Pawnee tribe use to

meet their basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter?

What other interesting information do you know about the Pawnee people?

Native AmericansEnd of Lesson