Plains Indians
Nomadic prairie tribes
Plains Indians refers to the diverse Native American peoples who historically inhabited the Great Plains of North America, from present-day Canada to Texas.
These groups—including the Lakota, Cheyenne, Comanche, and Blackfoot—developed cultures centered on buffalo hunting and, after Spanish contact, horsemanship.
The Plains Indians followed the buffalo herds across vast territories.
The term groups distinct nations by geography rather than shared language or ancestry.
Plains Indigenous nation
- CheyennePlains tribe or state capital
- ComancheSouthern Plains indigenous nation
- LakotaWestern Sioux people
- ArapahoNative Plains nation
Kiowa · Pawnee · Blackfoot · Oglala · Dakota · Teton · Mandan · Osage
Large wild ox
- huntingPursuing wild game
- herdsGroups of grazing animals
- pemmicanConcentrated portable meat provisions
- hidesConceals or animal skins
robes · sinew · jerky · scapula · buffalo jump · tanning · travois · winter counts
Free-roaming feral horse
- horsebackAtop a steed
- warriorOne skilled in combat
- raidingSudden attack for plunder
- horse cultureTraditions surrounding mounted animals
riding · pony · warhorse · breaking · travois · bridle · bareback · paint horses
Open grassy flatland
- grasslandTreeless herb-covered ecosystem
- badlandsArid, heavily eroded terrain
- Black HillsForested Dakota mountains
- sacred sitesReligiously significant locations
ancestral lands · hunting grounds · river valleys · short grass · tallgrass
1876 Montana battle site
- Wounded Knee1890 massacre location
- Red CloudNineteenth-century Oglala chief
- Sitting BullLakota spiritual leader
- Crazy HorseLakota war leader
treaties · reservations · sovereignty · land rights · treaty violations · assimilation policies · boarding schools
Rite seeking supernatural guidance
- sacred pipeRitual smoking instrument
- sweat lodgeHeated structure for ritual purification
- Ghost DanceIndigenous messianic religious movement
- medicine manTraditional indigenous healer
spirit animals · eagle feathers · ceremonial dress · prayer · smudging · shamanism · pipe ceremony · dreamcatcher
Conical hide dwelling
- lodgeTemporary woodland dwelling
- portable shelterMovable protective structure
- earth lodgeTimber-framed sod house
- encampmentTemporary military or refugee settlement
winter camps · village · backrests · fire pit
Sioux
Plains Indigenous nation
- CheyennePlains tribe or state capital
- ComancheSouthern Plains indigenous nation
- LakotaWestern Sioux people
Arapaho · Kiowa · Pawnee · Blackfoot · Oglala · Dakota · Teton · Mandan · Osage · Shoshone
bison
Large wild ox
- huntingPursuing wild game
- herdsGroups of grazing animals
- pemmicanConcentrated portable meat provisions
hides · robes · sinew · jerky · scapula · buffalo jump · tanning · travois · winter counts · butchering
mustang
Free-roaming feral horse
horse culture · riding · pony · warhorse · breaking · travois · bridle · bareback · paint horses
prairie
Open grassy flatland
- grasslandTreeless herb-covered ecosystem
- badlandsArid, heavily eroded terrain
- Black HillsForested Dakota mountains
sacred sites · ancestral lands · hunting grounds · river valleys · short grass · tallgrass
Little Bighorn
1876 Montana battle site
- Wounded Knee1890 massacre location
- Red CloudNineteenth-century Oglala chief
- Sitting BullLakota spiritual leader
Crazy Horse · treaties · reservations · sovereignty · land rights · treaty violations · assimilation policies · boarding schools
vision quest
Rite seeking supernatural guidance
- sacred pipeRitual smoking instrument
- sweat lodgeHeated structure for ritual purification
- Ghost DanceIndigenous messianic religious movement
medicine man · spirit animals · eagle feathers · ceremonial dress · prayer · smudging · shamanism · pipe ceremony · dreamcatcher · four directions
tipi
Conical hide dwelling
- lodgeTemporary woodland dwelling
- portable shelterMovable protective structure
- earth lodgeTimber-framed sod house
winter camps · encampment · village · backrests · fire pit
- frontierfrontier, pioneer, pioneers, settlers, settler
- Kansas HistoryKansas-Nebraska Act, statehood, Lawrence, John Brown, Topeka