The Great Plains Indians Complete Text - Lingua

Still, the buffalo remained the most important source of clothing right up to the end of
the Indian Wars. The buffalo’s tough hide was used to make robes, caps, moccasins,
mittens 125 , leggings, coats and dresses. Women left the fur on for winter garments
and removed it for summer clothes.
While in camp men and women dressed simply for freedom of movement. However
on important ceremonial days they dressed in their finest clothes with the tribe’s
distinctive quill 126 and bead work on display. In colder weather the warrior wore
leggings for warmth. He also wore leggings when hunting or on a raiding party to
protect his legs: leggings were colorful and profusely 127 decorated with paint, bells,
shells, quills or beads. It was as a warrior in a raiding party that the men displayed
their finest garments. Within each tribe distinctive decorations indicated specific
warrior societies. However, individual warriors used paint to show their personal war
honors.
Ceremonial shirts generally known as a war shirt were extensively decorated and
worn during raiding parties. These shirts hung loose and fell well below the waist.
The Northern tribes such as the Sioux had the most glorious war shirts. The
Arapahoe, Cheyenne and Kiowa painted celestial 128 symbols on their war shirts.
Generally the Southern tribes were less adorned.
An Indian’s hair was deemed 129 directly related to the soul and as such was treated
as an adornment 130 . While on a raid it was often decorated with beads and colors to
make it distinctive. Warriors who had counted coups 131 in the battle would wear eagle
feathers as a mark of their bravery. The Sioux wore their hair loose as a sign of
humility 132 , some southern and Central Plains tribes shaved their heads except for a
short tuft. They often then painted the head as well as the face red. In the golden age
of the Plains Indians warrior culture their costumes were among the finest ever made
showing distinctive beauty and personality.
Social Structure
It was the well-ordered social structure of the southern Indian nations that enabled
them to thrive 133 in the harsh environment of the plains and desert and battle the U.S.
military to a standstill for nearly 40 years. It was a social structure that was organized
into groupings within groupings. At its base was the family, the next largest group
was the extended family called the clan. After the clans came camps or villages. A
camp could be made up of a single clan or a band which consisted of multiple clans.
Sometimes these clans would be related by marriage and sometimes not. Villages in
turn were spread out over a tribe’s territory.
125
mittens – a type of glove covering four fingers together and the thumb separately – die Fausthandschuhe
126
quill – a large feather from the wing or tail of a bird – die Feder
127
profusely – profuse – in large amounts – stark, überreichlich, übermässig
128
celestial – (attrib) of the sky – Himmels-
129
was deemed – to deem – to consider, to regard – galt als
130
adorned – to adorn – to make more attractive or beautiful especially by adding some type of ornament –
geschmückt, verziert
131
counted coups – (from the French) a warrior who had killed someone in battle and took his scalp – a heroic
warrior – ein besonders erfolgreicher Krieger
132
humility – a modest or low opinion of one’s own importance – die Demut, Bescheidenheit
133
to thrive – to live and grow well and vigorously – gut gedeihen, florieren
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