Imagine a time before cities, railroads, highways, and automobiles.
Imagine a time when the grasslands of America’s Great Plains rolled on for thousands of miles. They were untouched except for the hooves of buffalo, deer, antelope, and elk. Thousands of years ago, small bands of hunters walked onto the Great Plains. Over time, their numbers grew. Different groups became different nations with different languages. Yet they still walked the Plains. They hunted with bows and arrows and spears and lived in tipis. They honored the spirits who guided and protected them. They raised their children to do the same. These are the Plains Indians.
In time, the Plains Indians settled into two ways of life. Some were nomadic. Nomadic tribes moved their camps to follow herds of buffalo. Others were sedentary. These tribes, especially those on the northeastern fringes of the Plains, learned farming from their eastern neighbors. But they still made short trips to hunt buffalo. These huge, shaggy grass-eaters were like general stores for Plains Indians. They gave them everything they needed to live.