Map One - Regional Approach

Great Plains

The Great Plains, or Prairies, consist of rolling hills, lowlands, and plains of tall and mid-grasses. Areas of trees with forbs (leichens) and shrubs are found along river edges. Precipitation of 200 to 500 millimetres per annum creates an arid environment of hot summers and cold, dry winters. Along the northern border between plains and Sub-Arctic territory are forest groves and a grassland mix of aspen, poplar, birch, spruce, and pine.

The Sioux (Dakota),, Blackfoot, Gros Ventre, and Assiniboine peoples were nomadic Plains dwellers. Archaeologists and historians debate over when and why the Blackfoot and Plains Cree moved into this region. Prior to European contact and documentation there is evidence that these groups formed tribal alliances and that they had territorial controls over favourable hunting grounds. Centuries of life on the plains are associated with these shifting territorial claims.

The peoples of the Plains followed the seasonal migrations of bison. They hauled their own dwellings and all of their household possessions, or a domesticated dog pulling a travois transported these items. The travois consisted of two long poles hitched to the dog's sides. A webbed frame for holding baggage was then fastened between the poles behind the dog. A large dog could carry as much as thirty-five kilograms on a travois, and each family usually owned several animals. Nomadic bands of fifty to one hundred individuals, who occupied five to eight tents, made up a seasonal camp. Women hauled supplies from camp to camp, and with great speed and agility unpacked and set-up dwellings. The women made, erected, and owned the tipi. Eight to ten buffalo hides were used to create a tipi. The tipi was tilted so it was steeper at the back, and the smoke hole extended down the sloping front. Besides improving ventilation, this tilt enlarged the space at the back of the tipi where most activity took place. The tilt also helped brace the shorter face of the cone against the wind. The hearth fire was built just behind the centre of the tipi. Furniture consisted of lightweight triangular backrests made of willow and bound together with cord. Fur bedding served as couches during the day. Bags of food, tools, weapons, and garments were hung from the pole framework.

The Plains region was inhabited by as many as sixty million bison. The bison, the single most important animal in Native lifeways, was the primary source of meat in the Native diet and the primary source of raw material for manufactured goods. If the bison hunt was poor then bands, such as the Pikuani (Peigan), also killed elk (wapiti), moose, and waterfowl. The Pikuani traversed mountain trails and crossings in pursuit of bison herds. Wolves were killed if they competed with humans for bison. Early winter marked the beginning of the bison-hunting season, and camps might swell to several dozen tents. During the spring season, resources were scarce and the bands dispersed. Archaeologists have found evidence of large camps in areas that are rich in resources. A single buffalo provided a great amount of meat; bulls averaged 700 kilograms and cows averaged 450 kilograms. Eaten fresh, the meat was roasted on a spit or boiled in a skin bag with hot stones, a process that also produced rich, nutritious soup. Meat for preservation and drying was taken from the animal's lean parts and cut into thin slices. These were slit until they resembled coarse netting and were then hung on racks to dry in the sun. Once thoroughly dried, jerky could be stored for a long time in rawhide bags called parfleches.

A Tsuu T'ina (Sarcee) kitchen. In traditional Plains First Nations culture,
the women made pemmican, a mixture of dried, powdered buffalo meat,
melted buffalo fat and berries. Packed away in tightly sewn skin bags,
pemmican remains edible for years.
Photo Courtesy Public Archives Canada. Photo by E.S. Curtis.

Pemmican was another nutritious, preserved food that was eaten year-round. Dried buffalo meat, grease, berries, and herbs were prepared by the women who pounded the mixture into a powder that was then combined with hot, melted buffalo fat. The resulting product was a high protein food that was easily transportable for the travelling hunter or warrior. Packed tightly in sewn skin bags, pemmican would remain edible for years. Gathering practices involved the harvesting and drying of berries, prairie turnips, or wild rice. The Blackfoot people may have also cultivated tobacco.

A Buffalo Pound: Courtesy of the Glenbow Collection

The communal hunt required a high degree of organisation. Buffalo were fast moving herd animals. The only way to kill the animals was to do so at close range. Initially, the buffalo were forced onto soft ground or into snow banks as a means of slowing them long enough for hunters to approach. Another technique was to herd them into an enclosed area. The buffalo were forced down driving lanes, marked with stone cairns, into pounds or corals constructed with poles and brush. There they could be approached and killed. The buffalo were also injured or killed outright by being driven over cliffs. Hunters disguised as buffaloes or wolves herded the animals into drive lanes, marked by cairns, which guided the buffalo to the edge of a cliff. There, unable to stop because of its own speed and the momentum of the animals running behind it, the buffalo fell over the cliff. An enclosure was constructed at the base of the jump to prevent the escape of any animals that did not die in the fall. The Southern Alberta site, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, was used for over 9,000 years. Natives produced tool kits to spear, hide, and butcher the buffalo. In fact, the Plains region technology is characterised by these portable tool kits, which contain notched arrow points for arrows and lance weapons.