Peoples of the Interior Plains

• The Sarcee• The Blackfoot• The Gross Venture• The Assiniboin• The Plains Cree• The Plains Ojibwa

The Plains Natives included

• The bison were abundant in the Plains/Prairies• The animal provided the Plains Natives with food, clothing,

shelter, weapons, tools, and social identity • Plains natives lived in teepees (tipis) made from bison

hide.• They wore leggings, tunics, skirts, and moccasins made

from deer skin• Bison horns were made into cups and spoons; sinews were

used as cords for stitching, bow strings, and bindings for spears and arrows.

To understand the Plains Natives and their way of live, one must understand their relationship

with the bison (buffalo)

Life for the Plains Natives revolved around the bison

• The bison hunt involved constructing blinds, pounds and corrals

• Sometimes, jumps were used. These were constructed pathways that would lead the bison to jump off a cliff, or to trap and kill them.

• It wasn’t until the 1700s that Plains peoples had horses to aid them in the hunt for buffalo.

Recreation of Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump, Fort Macleod, Alberta

• The Plains people were nomadic. They travelled great distances to hunt, so they needed food that wouldn’t spoil over time.

• They developed pemmican to suit their needs• Pemmican is dried, ground up bison-meat, fat from

the bison, and dried berries. They were mixed together as a cake or granola-type consistency, and wrapped in bison-hide packages

• It was very nutritious, high in energy, and lasted months.

Bison were important even still

Pemmican preparation

• The Sun Dance was central to the spiritual practices of the Plains people• It was held in summer, when most members of a nation gathered before the bison hunt.• It was a ritual which people sought visions. They purposely subjected themselves to pain and

suffering to achieve these visions• Women would dance for the duration of the festival ,without stopping for rest, drink, or food.• The Sun Dance was a form of initiation for young men. They men put skewers through their

chests that were tied by rope to the top of a tall pole. These young men would lean back until the skewers ripped out of their skin - proving that they were brave and could stand high amounts of pain.

Spirituality among the Plains people

• As we learned in our geographic regions of Canada, the Plateau region lies between the Coastal Mountains and the Rocky Mountains.

• It is referred to as the “Intermountain” Region in Crossroads

• As a plateau, this region is flat, above sea level, with many lakes and rivers.

• The climate is cool with little precipitation in the winter, and hot summers.

• Culture groups are the Chilcotin, Shuswap, Okanagon, Lilloet, Nicola, Ktunaya, Nlaka Pamux, and Interior Salish.

The peoples of the Plateau

• They required shelter from harsh, cold winters.• Pit houses were built. They were 6-8m wide and a few meters deep into

the ground.• A pit house was a shelter built mostly below ground with an entrance and

ladder at the top. • The first step in constructing a pit house was to dig a 1-2 metre deep pit

into the ground using a wooden digging stick or an elk scapula shovel. • The walls and frame of the pit house were built with logs and sealed (for

insulation) with dirt and grasses. • The domed roof frame was also made out of wooden poles, and then

covered with layers of timber, bark and earth. • The entrance into a pit house was usually via a ladder through a hole in

the roof. However, some pit houses had entrances in the side of the roof.

Shelter, clothing, food, tools/weapons, and transportation for Plateau people

Examples of pit houses

• Pit houses could be lived in year round, however, in the summer months, tipis were the preferred housing as they were easy to transport as the Plateau people hunted and gathered food.

Shelter continued

• The Plateau people relied on salmon as a staple in their diet

• Plants and berries were another staple. They also ate edible roots (wild onion, balsam root, lily bulbs) which were roasted.

• Deer were hunted for meat, clothing, shelter coverings, and moccasins

• The plateau people shared many culture traits with their neighbouring nations.

• Coast Salish influence is evident in the Plateau’s use of shells and soapstone.

• The Plateau people also adapted the Sun Dance ceremonies from the Plains peoples.