The Plains tribes considered meat from antelope, deer, elk and buffalo to be "real food". Everything else was second-rate and many tribes had taboos about eating fish, birds and other creatures.
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The buffalo. It was used for everything including spiritual rites. This is one reason when the buffalo were killed off by hunters who purposely shot thousands to prevent the Native Americans from having them as a source for food and other things that the tribes were affect by the lack of buffalo. Other factors also contributed to the herds population numbers decreasing. There was a drought on the plains in the 1800's and the herds moved north to find the grasses they needed. This also meant that the plains tribes moved north as well and this put pressure on tribal regions that were considered tribal territory of northern tribes. Combined with these factors and the government stance concerning native Americans a lot of pressure was felt on the plains by the tribes.
From the land that they cared for, the lands in question provided everything they needed to survive.
The buffalo, or bison was the main species hunted by the plains tribes.
Horses were important to the Native Americans because it allowed them to travel vast distances in shorter periods of time. Thus allowing them to strike enemies and prey at a quicker pace. Buffalo were important because it was the main meat provider for the tribes. The buffalo pelts were used to cover the Teepee's of the nomadic tribes as well as clothing. The buffalo chips (dried Buffalo dung) were used to start fires because it was made up of digested grass and straw making it a great source of kindling
One of the main sources of food for the people in the Great Plains was buffalo. Other foods that they ate included elk, berries, deer, and Indian turnip.
The Makah Indians mostly ate sea foods such as: Whales Crabs Fish Seals and Sea Otters
The Indians disliked living on government reservations because it was not their way of living, There was a lot of hostilities during the late 1800's between the Indians and the US government, The US government wanted to keep track of the Indians and their movement, so most of the plains Indians were forced into living on Government owned land (The Reservations) One of the main reasons for the US governments suspicion against the Indians was the Ghost Dance created by the Sioux Indian Wovoka. Ghost Dances were carried out at the government reservations, and the Indians believed that the sacred Ghost Dance would bring their ancestors back to life and the plains back to how it used to be. Another reason for the Plains Indians not liking the Reservations is the fact that the Indians could not run their lives on how they wanted it to be, the Indians didn't have their traditional lifestyle, and were often forced to act more like one of the white men and some were even educated in the white man's way of life. The Indians were basically being told how to live their life's and did not have the freedom they were used to on the Plains. The Indians Nomadic way of life was also connected to their beliefs about land, they believed land was provided by the Great spirit for all living creatures to share. Therefore they believed no one should ever live permanently on one piece of land because they would be claiming it for themselves.