By Sheridan Halvorson 2 nd period history

1. Mandan Indians By Sheridan Halvorson 2nd period history

2. Environment • Lived in present day North and South Dakota. • Two major rivers, the Knife River and the Missouri River. • Plentiful amounts of wood, water, soil, and many other natural resources. • Many wild plants and trees. • A lot of rolling hills and plains.

3. Religion/Myths and Legends • Most of their mythology was based on a figure known as, Lone Man. • They believed that the world was created by rival dieties. • Thought that the Missouri River divided the two worlds. • Believed that every member of the tribe had four immortal souls. • The tribe honored the Lone Man. • Many myths and stories revolve around Lone Man. • They performed what is called and Okipa. • Religious celebration where warriors proved courage and gained approval of spirits. • Warriors would sacrifice their little fingers on each hand, each being cut off by a medicine man.

4. Language • Their language belongs to the Siouan language. • It is closely related to languages of the Hidatsa and Crow Indians. • Two main dialects, Nuptare and Nuetare. • Mandan had different grammatical that depend on gender of the address. • They have elements of sound symbolism. • Today descendents of Mandan Indians mainly speak English.

5. Government • The Mandan society was organized according to a matrilineal clan system. • Each clan elected each of their own chief or leader. • The people of the clan held their own common property also. • Each chief was elected by either a great achievement or accomplishment.

6. Food • The Mandan Indians were farming people. • Mandan women worked together to raise crops like beans, corn, squash and sunflowers. • The men hunted wild game such as deer, antelope and took part in seasonal buffalo hunts. • Animals were killed with spears or knives. • Much of their food was meat and crops.

7. Shelter • The Mandan shelter was mainly an earth lodge covered with mud, sticks and hay. • Some lodges were for permanent use. • Such as food storage and surplus. • They lived in settled villages. • On hunting trips men would use a buffalo hide teepees. • Mandan people were not migratory people and didn’t have to move houses.

8. Technology/Artifacts • Mandan Indians used iron hoes. • Axes, metal pots that were good for trading. • Fish hooks, bone and stone tools. • Few arrowheads and buffalo hide scrapers.

9. History • 1738 was the time when they experienced their first encounter with the English. • About 1750 they were settled and had nine villages along the Heart River. • A smallpox outbreak occurred around 1803. • Around 1837 most of the people were destroyed by smallpox. • The tribe had their first encounter with Lewis and Clark around, 1804. • In 1833 an artist came to the tribe and painted images and pictures of their way of life. • During the 1880’s much of the tribe became abandoned. • So after many years in 1971 the last true blood Mandan Indian died.

10. Clothing • They wore mainly buffalo robes that were different from any other tribes. • The chiefs wore mountain sheep hides. • As for everyday clothing it was buckskin and wolf hides. • Mandan Indians chose to wear green masks at festivals and celebrations. • Feathers were mainly a sign of war. • Women wore the buckskin dresses and grass skirts.

11. Entertainment • Everyone in the tribe was included in entertainment. • Had many ceremonies, celebrations, and festivals. • They had a rain dance to honor the coming rains. • A buffalo dance that lasted three nights, to bring and kill the buffalo. • The Okipe which was a sun dance. • Then finally a corn dance to pray for healthy and plentiful growth of their corn.

12. Arts&Crafts • Mandan people were very good artists. • They were known for crafts such as, • Beadwork • Pottery • Paintings • And buffalo hide paintings. • They would create masks and headdresses for special festivities and celebrations.

13. War/Peace & Weapons and Costumes • The common war clothing was feathers, war paint, and buckskin skirts. • The Mandan encountered a major war with the during 1864. • Feathers usually symbolized war for the Mandan. • Main weapons were spears, knives, and bows and arrows. • Horses helped with getting around and was a main source of transportation during wars with other tribes and indians.

14. Domestication • The Mandan tribe had many to few domesticated items. • They had wild dogs to help around the tribe or clans. • Many horses. • Domesticated and farmed crops such as, • Corn • Beans • Squash • Sunflowers • And other fruits and vegetables.

15. Gender Roles • Mandan men were hunters, and sometimes went to war to protect their families. • The women were farmed in the fields and did mostly the child care and cooking. • Only men were elected to be chiefs. • Both genders were involved in storytelling, artwork, music, art and traditional medicine.

16. Bibliography • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandan • http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bowen/mandans.html • http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/northamerica/mandan.html • http://www.ndparks.com/Parks/falsp/falsplocation.jpg • http://images.google.com/images?/.com • http://www.everyculture.com/North-America/Mandan-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.html • http://www.prairiepublic.org/features/mandannation/tools.htm • http://www.bigorrin.org/mandan_kids.htm

17. The End!