The Plains region is an immense sea of long grass that stretches from the Saskatchewan River to central Texas and to the foothills of the Rockies to the Mississippi River. As early as 9000 BCE, hunters criss-crossed this sea of grass in search of game. Around 1000 BCE, immigrants from the east introduced agriculture and pottery making to the area. This new way of gathering and storing food allowed permanent settlements to be formed on the Plains.
In the early 16th century, the Spanish introduced horses into North America. Some of these animals escaped their keepers and became wild. By the 18th century, they had migrated to the Plains where the people saw their value. They captured the wild horses and re-domesticated them for their own purposes. The horse allowed the Plains people to chase and hunt buffalo herds more efficiently. At the time buffalo herds on the Plains were huge, numbering in the tens of thousands of animals. Buffalo provided the Plains people with meat, skins for clothing and shelter, and bones for tools. It was a sacred animal since it provided so much life for them. During the buffalo hunt, entire family headed for the foothills of the Rockies. As such, the Plains peoples carried with them only those possessions which were absolutely necessary such as tents, clothing, tools, weapons and ceremonial objects.
Some of the peoples in of the Plains are the Sioux Nations (Dakota, Lakota and Nakota), Cheyenne, Blackfeet, Kiowa, Comanche, Osage, Omaha, Pawnee and Assiniboine.
In the early 16th century, the Spanish introduced horses into North America. Some of these animals escaped their keepers and became wild. By the 18th century, they had migrated to the Plains where the people saw their value. They captured the wild horses and re-domesticated them for their own purposes. The horse allowed the Plains people to chase and hunt buffalo herds more efficiently. At the time buffalo herds on the Plains were huge, numbering in the tens of thousands of animals. Buffalo provided the Plains people with meat, skins for clothing and shelter, and bones for tools. It was a sacred animal since it provided so much life for them. During the buffalo hunt, entire family headed for the foothills of the Rockies. As such, the Plains peoples carried with them only those possessions which were absolutely necessary such as tents, clothing, tools, weapons and ceremonial objects.
Some of the peoples in of the Plains are the Sioux Nations (Dakota, Lakota and Nakota), Cheyenne, Blackfeet, Kiowa, Comanche, Osage, Omaha, Pawnee and Assiniboine.