The American West, c1835-c1895: The Plains Indians' Way of Life
Before large-scale white settlement of the American West, the Great Plains were home to Plains Indian peoples such as the Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne and Pawnee, most of whom lived as nomadic or semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers whose way of life was organised around the buffalo.
Before you start
No specific prerequisites - this is a good place to start.
Method
- Learn the difference between a tribe (e.g. the Lakota Sioux) and a band, the smaller group within a tribe that usually travelled and hunted together.
- Learn how leadership worked: a chief was chosen for skill and wisdom, not born into the role, and major decisions such as going to war were usually agreed by a council of senior men rather than ordered by the chief alone.
- Learn the core beliefs: many Plains peoples saw land, water and animals as gifts from the Great Spirit that could not be owned or divided, a belief that later clashed directly with white ideas of private land ownership.
- Learn at least four specific uses of the buffalo (e.g. meat for food, hide for tipis and clothing, bone for tools and weapons, dried dung for fuel) so you can support any point about its importance with named detail.
- For questions on Plains Indian society, always name a specific practice or belief (e.g. the sun dance, the role of the medicine man, communal decision-making in council) rather than describing 'their culture' in general terms.
- When contrasting Plains Indian beliefs about land with those of white settlers, keep the comparison factual and specific: state what each group believed and why the difference mattered, rather than judging one view as more advanced than the other.
Worked example
Explain two reasons why the buffalo was central to the way of life of the Plains Indians before c1835.
- Identify two distinct reasons rather than one point repeated twice: (1) the buffalo supplied almost all of a band's material needs, and (2) the buffalo also shaped how Plains society organised itself, for example through communal hunts.
- Develop reason one with named detail: buffalo meat was the main food source, the hide was used for tipi covers, clothing and blankets, and bones and horns were made into tools, so a successful hunt could support a band for months.
- Develop reason two with named detail: because a single hunter could rarely bring down enough buffalo alone, bands organised communal hunts, sometimes driving herds over cliffs or into corrals, which required cooperation and reinforced the authority of the council in planning them.
- Finish with a linking sentence that states the overall consequence: because so much of Plains Indian life, from diet to shelter to social organisation, depended on the buffalo, anything that later reduced the herds (such as the coming of the railroad) threatened the whole way of life, not just the food supply.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What is the difference between a Plains Indian tribe and a band?Show answer
Answer: A tribe (e.g. the Lakota Sioux) was the larger group sharing a language and culture; a band was a smaller group within the tribe that usually travelled, hunted and camped together.
Q2How was a Plains Indian chief usually chosen?Show answer
Answer: By demonstrated skill and wisdom, for example in hunting or war, rather than by inheriting the position from a parent.
Q3Name two materials the buffalo provided to Plains Indian bands, other than meat.Show answer
Answer: For example, hide (for tipis, clothing and blankets) and bone (for tools and weapons).
Q4What did many Plains Indian peoples believe about the ownership of land?Show answer
Answer: That land, water and animals were gifts from the Great Spirit for all to use, and could not be owned or divided by individuals.
Q5Why did Plains Indian bands often organise communal buffalo hunts rather than hunting alone?Show answer
Answer: Because a single hunter could rarely kill enough buffalo to support the band, so cooperating, for example by driving a herd towards hunters or over a cliff, produced a far larger and more reliable supply of meat and hides.
Q6Give one role, other than chief, that existed within Plains Indian band society.Show answer
Answer: For example, the medicine man, who provided spiritual and medical guidance to the band.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE History exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain two ways in which the beliefs of the Plains Indians differed from the beliefs of white settlers about land, c1835.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 8 available
Describe two features of leadership and decision-making within a Plains Indian band.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 4 available
See real GCSE History past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the the american west, c1835-c1895: the plains indians' way of life worksheet pack - 8 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
Next topics
Not quite what you needed?
Tell us what is missing on the american west, c1835-c1895: the plains indians' way of life, or which topic to write up next. Every request is read, and we reply to every one.
Build a full practice pack.
This topic is one of hundreds in the library - pick the ones a student needs and generate a printable PDF in minutes.