WHO WERE THE PLAINS INDIANS

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WHO WERE THE PLAINS INDIANS?
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AIMS

• To understand where the Indians came from.
• To understand why the Indians moved onto the
  Great Plains

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ASIA TO AMERICA!

• The original Indians came from North Asia.
• The two continents were linked by land in the Ice
  Age.
• The Indians moved into Northern America and
  spread throughout the continent.
• The end of the Ice Age brought the end of the
  link.

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EARLY SETTLERS

• The Great Plains were empty except for the
  buffalo.
• The Indians lived difficult lives on the edge of
  the Great Plains.
• What changed this?

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THREE REASONS

• Horses
• Guns
• Disease

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HORSES

• Introduced by the Spanish in the 1500s.
• Allowed greater and quicker movement.
• Could be used to hunt buffalo.
• Tribes able to move onto the Great Plains and
  follow the buffalo herds.
• They need never be hungry again.

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GUNS

• European traders brought guns to America.
• This changed the balance of power among the
  Indian tribes.
• The Sioux fled onto the Plains when their
  enemies, the Ojibwa, got guns.
• On the Plains the Sioux were mobile and could
  escape the Ojibwa more easily.

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DISEASE

• The Europeans brought killer diseases.
• Cholera, smallpox, measles, flu, scarlet fever.
• The Indians had no immunity.
• Whole settlements were wiped out.
• Moving onto the Plains allowed the Indians to
  escape the diseases.

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TASK

• Why did the Indians move onto the Great Plains?
• Which of these reasons is most important?
• Explain your answer.
• Use Martin Shephard, p. 15, and Rees,
• p. 9-10 for extra help.