The Plains.

By: Gio, Kirit, Safa, Darrin and Brody.

 The Location of the Plains
 The Interior Plains were located on the west-central side
of Canada, going through Saskatchewan, Alberta and
Manitoba. They also went through the territories.
 The
Plains

 The People
of the
Plains

 Although the Plains were vast, the southern area of

the Plains are where the people of the Plains mostly
resided in.
 The Environment

1,125,000 square miles

Grasslands
Humid with rainfall
Less moisture for thinner soil
Soils had carbonates
Cold winters and warm summers
More rain in summer
Grasses, shrubs and trees
 The Nations of the Plains
The nations of the Plains are divided into four main
groups:
The Blackfoot Confederacy The Cree

- The Piegan People (Pikuni) - The Plains Cree

- The Blood People (Kainai) - The Woods Cree
- The Blackfoot People (Siksika) - The Swampy Cree
- Tsuu T'ina (Sarcee)
- Sarcee is the Blackfoot word for
“robustness” while Tsuu T'ina
means “many people”

- Siksika means “Blackfoot”

The Sioux Plains Ojibwa (Saulteaux)

- The Stoney People (Nakoda)
Saulteaux means “people of the
- Assiniboine rapids”
 Subsistence Methods of the
People
 The plains people subsisted on bison.
- Bison herds were
funneled to a location
where they could be
killed

- They used blinds, buffalo

jumps, or cliffs

- These methods have

been used for thousands
of years

- They invented pemmican

 Society Organization
- Affected by bison and buffalo
• Blind: an enclosure
used to conceal oneself
from wildlife for the - 50-100 people needed for a bison drive
purpose of hunting.
- Bison drives became the basic unit of social organization

- Everyone helped in getting bison

- Buffalo was sold after being butchered and processed

- Blinds were made

 Government and
Leadership Establishment
- Groups like the Stoneys had their own systems of government
where leaders had specific powers such as:

• The keeper of the whip

• The keeper of the knife

• The keeper of the staff

- Leaders were prophets, elders valiant warriors, and wealthy people

- All leaders performed specific duties

 Religious Beliefs
The Plains Cree practiced an ancient •Manito: A supernatural
being that controls nature;
ceremony called the sun dance. The a spirit, deity, or object
people referred to it as Nipakwe that possesses
supernatural power.
Cimuwin, or "thirst dance." Some have
also called it the rain dance. In order to
complete this ceremony, it required
personal strength and courage. A
participant danced outdoors for four
days without food or water. Another
important ceremony took place in the
smoking tipi. This was an all-night
ceremony where participants, upon
making a pledge, sang and smoked their
sacred pipes in offering to a Manito.
 Language Groups in the
Region
There were three major language groups spoken in the
Interior Plains.

Algonquian Athapascan

Siouan
Tools & Traits Necessary to
Survive in the Region
- Clothing consisted of tunics, legging skins, breech
clothes, and moccasins made from deer skin.
- Tipis were lived in, and - Intestines from bison were
built quickly and easily. used to make stitching for
clothing, tipi covers, and
strings for bows and arrows.
- Moss bags
made of hide or
cloth were used
to carry children.

- Cradle boards were U-shaped

pieces of board that a child in a
moss bag was latched to, and
placed on a mother’s back.
 Sources

 http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_pla
ins1.html

 http://interiorplains.weebly.com/location-and-
landscape.html

 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/243
562/Great-Plains

 Crossroads: A Meeting Of Nations.