Traditional Homeland: Their original lands were in northwest Texas and adjacent lands in eastern New Mexico and Colorado as well as western Kansas and Oklahoma.  They then moved to the southwestern US where they still reside today.

Gender Roles:  Women owned whatever possessions they had in the family. Often times male was left without the possessions. The Native American had more tasks concerning their homes and taking care of their children. Their main task was cooking. They would also build tipis. Men were mostly focused on hunting.
Economic Traditions: They traveled widely over the Great Plains. Most of the time, they were nomadic in order to hunt their food.

Traditional Enemies: The Comanche had conflict with the United States Army, the Spanish, the Apache, Arapaho, and Cheyenne. 

Important Leaders: Quannah Parker was a Comanche leader in the 1860s-1870s. Isa-Tai was the spiritual leader.  

Interactions with the Federal Government (Treaties) / US Army (Conflicts): Medicine Lodge Creek Treaty- 1867 with the United States in which the tribe agreed to settle on a reservation. This treaty was drafted at Medicine Lodge Creek during a meeting led by William Tecumseh Sherman. 

The tribe sold livestock obtained from raiding parties to the Union (economic relationship)
Display in chronological order (a timeline): 1500s: Francisco Coronado came into contact with the Comanche tribe for the first time

1700s: The Comanches fight wars against the Apache and break their alliance with the Ute, and much of the tribe dies from smallpox

1800s: widespread use of the horse, smallpox and cholera epidemic, Mexican rule replaced the Spanish, Comanche and Kiowa tribes start conflicts with settlers and U.S. troops, 

1867: Medicine Creek Lodge Treaty: Provided reservation land to the Comanches in return for their own land being taken by the American government to be redistributed to settlers. 

1901: The government broke up the Comanche reservation

 

Life was started from the meeting of forces in the sky. The Pawnee believed in supernatural powers in the sky that ruled their world through storms and created star gods. There was even sacrifice to the sky, until the practice ended at the beginning of the 19th century. The Pawnee participated in the Ghost Dance, a revivalism movement that hit many Native American tribes in an attempt to reach prosperity like they had before outside influence. The harvest of maize was of high importance to the Pawnee because it marked the beginning of the ceremonial cycle and was regarded as a symbolic mother through the Sun God (Shakuru). 

Traditional Homeland
 The Pawnee tribe originally lived in Nebraska but was eventually removed and forced to lived in Oklahoma. They live on an area of land known as Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma.

Gender Roles

Pawnee men were generally hunters, while the women took care of the farming and the cared for the family as a domestic unit. Only the men were able to become chief of the tribe, but both the women and the men were able to take part in religion, medicine, and storytelling. 

Economic Traditions
The Pawnee relied on farming and hunting rather than gathering and successfully grew maise, beans, squash and pumpkin. Like most native tribes, the Pawnee mostly hunted bison. The influence of European firearms was limited on the Pawnee and the main weapon to hunt bison was bow and arrows. The Pawnee tried to avoid the pressure of the US to switch to European methods of farming until they were forced to drop their traditional methods of hunting and farming. 
 

Traditional Enemies:
The Pawnees had many enemies, primarily with other Plain Indian tribes such as the Cheyennes, Arapahos, Delawares, Sioux, Comanches, Apaches, and the Kiowas

Important Leaders:

Some important chiefs of the Pawnee tribe were Sharitarish (Long Hair), Tarecawawaho, Man Chief and Chief Crooked Hand.Tarecawawho is known as one of the chiefs who refused to meet with the President of the US and believed that the Pawnee people were the greatest people in the world.

Interactions with the Federal Government (Treaties) / US Army (Conflicts):

1818: The Pawnee signed treaties with the United States ensuring that they stayed peaceful with the 

1821: The Pawnees decline an invite from John C Calhoun because the chief Tarecawawaho believed that the Pawnees were the “greatest people on the planet.”

1833: The Pawnee ceded all land south of the Platte River 

1857:Treaty signed at Table Creek, accepted a small reservation on the Loup Fork of the Platte River, together with monetary and other economic provisions.

1861-1865: The Pawnees continued their peaceful relations with the United States Army by holding positions as scouts during the civil war. 

1873: The Pawnees disperse from their homeland along the Platte River in Nebraska to a reservation in Indian territory. 

1879: Many Pawnee children attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania and Hampton Institute in Virginia.

 

 

Keith and Sophie
Tribe : Apache - specifically the Mescalero Apaches

Religious Beliefs | They believed supernatural beings lived with them.  Although they could not technically see them, the tribe members still claimed to feel the spirits presence in nature and around them.




Traditional Homeland | Mainly in Kansas, New Mexico, and Colorado in the early 1700s, but moved further South to New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas after conflict with the Comanche. They tended to live a nomadic lifestyle.

Gender Roles | The Apache women were skillful providers. They could find water where others would die of thirst. They prepared meat and skins brought home by the men. While the men hunted, the women gathered wild plants, foods, nuts, and seeds.

Economic Traditions | Hunting the buffalo and using all parts of it, gathering assorted plants, and agriculture (growing watermelons, beans, and corn).




Traditional Enemies | Navajo, Comanche, Spanish (in the 1700s)
Important Leaders | Mangas Coloradas, Victorio, Lozen, Cochise


Interactions with the Federal Government (Treaties) / US Army (Conflicts)
Display in chronological order (a timeline) | 

August 1862: Union troops arrived in New Mexico on orders to defeat Confederates, but attacked the Apaches when they learned that the Confederates in the region had already been defeated. 
1863: Army invaded Apache lands and began to force Apaches onto the Bosque Redondo Reservation, which they shared with their traditional enemy, the Navajo. 
1873: A new executive order was established which placed the Mescalero Apaches on a new reservation in central New Mexico. This reservation was expanded in 1883. 

Sources:

 

The Cheyenne believed in the world was divided into seven major levels. They believed that the creator of all spiritual and physical life was Ma’heo’o. The Cheyenne believed that everything was part of the spiritual world, known as Hestanov. They also had “shamans” that were religion and medicine leaders. The Cheyenne also had Sun Dances where the community would gather to pray for healing and to make personal sacrifices for the whole community. 

 

Traditional Homeland | Sheyenne River ValleyMinnesota, Montana, Oklahoma, and portions of Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota
 

Gender Roles | Women- Were mainly subordinate, but could own land, divorce, and trade surplus crops. Their responsibilities included clearing fields, planting, hoeing, and harvesting; digging cache pits and storing food; building and dismantling lodges and tipis; collecting wild plants and firewood; cooking, hauling water, and washing dishes; transporting possessions, generally on foot, on bison hunts; making household items, like pottery and clothing; child rearing; healing; and religious ceremonies.
Men- Men were responsible for dangerous hunting, defensive and aggressive warfare, manufacturing of weapons, and political and religious operations with other tribes and Americans. They also sometimes helped women with building and farming.
 

Economic Traditions | Trade amongst surrounding tribes with things of value which often included western goods like horses, bison robes, and guns. There was no currency for the Cheyenne Tribe.
 

Traditional Enemies | The Crow, the Shoshoni, the Blackfeet, the Flat Head, the Nez Perce, the Arikara, and the Gros Ventre
 

Important Leaders | Dull Knife, Black Kettle. Hishkowits, Wopohwats
 

Interactions with the Federal Government (Treaties) / US Army (Conflicts)
Display in chronological order (a timeline) | 
Treaty of Fort Laramie gave the Cheyenne land, Sand Creek Massacre, 2nd Treaty of Fort Laramie with Northern Cheyenne and Northern Arapaho, Battle of Powder soldiers attacked and burned the Northern Cheyenne village, Battle of Wolf Mountain, Northern Cheyenne participate in the Battle of Little Bighorn, Northern Cheyenne reservation is established

Religious Beliefs | Their religious beliefs revolve around the Wakan Tanka (the Great Spirit). Wakan Tanka created the universe and represented the universe at the same time. Wakan Tanka represents a sum of invisible beings (Wakanpi) who had control over everything. The Sioux believed that at birth an individual receives a guardian spirit from Takuskanskan which comes from the stars. When the individual dies, the spirit returns to the spirit world. One of the sioux religious rituals was the sun dance. A sun dance was held by each tribe once a year in spring or summer. 


 

Traditional Homeland | Minnesota, and then the Dakotas, Wisconsin, and Canada area, but they were nomads so moved around a lot, following buffalo. 


 

Gender Roles | The men would become chiefs if they could show war skills. They hunted buffalo, and community policies were overseen by military associated men. Women were skilled in porcupine-quill, bead embroidery, and bison hides. 

 

Economic Traditions | Traded the buffalo and crops from their agriculture.


 

Traditional Enemies | Pawnee, Omaha, European settlers 

 

Important Leaders | Sitting Bull (Chief of the Native Americans)


Interactions with the Federal Government (Treaties) / US Army (Conflicts)
Display in chronological order (a timeline) | Located in Minnesota
European settlers settled in 1600’s
Pushed west by Europeans and rival tribes Moved into Wisconsin, Iowa, the Dakotas and Canada
1851 Ft. Laramie Treaty was a peace agreement between several tribes and the government.
1854 army butchered by Sioux near Fort Laramie breaking Ft. Laramie Treaty
1855 army general killed 136 innocent Sioux
1860s fight over land increased as the gold rush was occurring and gold was found on their land. 
1890 Sitting Bull and the Sioux tribe along with the Cheyenne tribe fought against the American policies 
1890 Ghost Dance movement started by spiritual leader Wovoka in which the tribe believed that reverting back to their traditional ways would bring back their sacred buffalo and expel the white man from their land. It frightened whites and led to military investigation.
1891 Battle of Wounded Knee 

Traditional Homeland
They lived in western Oklahoma and northeast New Mexico
Gender Roles
Men were responsible for hunting, participating in religious ceremonies, war, and fighting. They were also responsible for maintenance of tools for these activities. Women were responsible for gathering herbs, cooking, mending clothing, and caring for children. Women were also responsible for the dogs that were used to go on hunting trips and preparing for travel. 

They hunted Buffalo, and were considered hunter and gatherers. They also bred horses and sold them. The Kiowa also made leather goods, which they traded. 

Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Sioux. They were also attacked by Comanche

The most important leader was Santana. Also Chief Red Tipi, Chief Little Mountain, Chief Kicking bird

They got moved onto a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma in 1867 in the Treaty of Medicine lodge. The US government moved them there.

1874: The Red River Wars (1874 - 1875) force the Kiowa and Comanche onto reservations

1887: The Dawes General Allotment Act- led to the breakup of the large Indian Reservations and the sale of Indian lands, including Comanche lands to white settlers.

In 1901 Kiowa land was up for white settlement, and Kiowa lost most of their land holdings.

Gender Roles: Arapaho women tended to the home, cooking and cleaning. Women also were in-charge of building houses as well. Arapaho men fit the typical male stereotype, hunting food necessary for survival and defending the tribe when they were threatened. They were also the leaders of the tribe.
Economic Traditions: They were very friendly traders. Mandan villages along the Knife River in Northern Dakota were trading hubs. They traded buffalo robes with Mexicans and Americans for non-buffalo items. They acted as middlemen between their northern and southern neighbors.
Traditional Enemies :The Arapaho fought with the Shoshone, the Ute, and the Pawnee.
Important Leaders: Little Raven (Hosa), Nawat
 Interactions with the Federal Government (Treaties) / US Army (Conflicts):
 1836 – Northern Arapaho started participating in the fur trade. 
1849 – The Arapaho were cut out of the fur trade by the US Government, who purchased the trading posts in the area of they were in, excluding the Native Americans. 
1850’s – Arapaho aligned with the Comanche, Cheyenne into “The Alliance” and assumed control of the Great Plains. During the time they ruled, it was peaceful.  
November 1864 - Sand Creek Massacre (Arapaho and Cheyenne massacred)
July 1867 – The U.S. Congress began the “General Peace Policy” October 1867 – The Arapaho and Cheyenne were granted lands (Medicine Lodge Treaty). November 1867 – Arapaho were attacked, despite guaranteed peace, as dictated by the treaty. 
November and December 1867 – The “Red River War” military campaign was launched to rid the rest of the Arapaho of their sovereignty. 
1875 – Last Arapaho surrendered. 

1825 - The first treaty between the Crow and the United States is signed by Crow leader Long Hair and Major O’Fallon of the United States.
1851 - The Crow participated in the first Ft. Laramie Treaty signed by Chief Big Robber which stated that the Crow controlled over 33 million acres of land in present-day Montana and Wyoming
1865 - The Crow assisted the United States military in protecting travelers on the Bozeman Trail, three forts were established in Crow territory.

1868 - the Crow sold around 30 million acres of their 1851 territory and accepted to live in a reservation. Both borderlines met the Yellowstone at a point. The connection of these two points followed the course of the river and made up the last border of the 1868 reservation.
1882 - The Crow agreed to another land cession and the government agency is moved to its present site at Crow Agency, Montana