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The Great Plains of North America were once home to over 30 distinct Native American nations now referred to as the Plains Indians, Native Americans of the Plains and Prairie, and Indigenous Peoples of the Great Plains. Their descendants still live in the region, only now on greatly reduced lands of reservations.
Not all Native Americans today live on reservations – though many do – as their ancestors were forcibly relocated from their homelands by the policies of the US government, which saw the American Indians as an obstacle to progress and an impediment to Manifest Destiny. The reservations were often poorly suited to sustain the population; a serious challenge many Native Americans still face today along with continual encroachments on the lands left to them. The modern Land Back Movement is working to address this injustice by holding the US government to the terms of treaties they signed with the Native peoples of North America but never honored and, among these, are those referred to as Plains Indians.
The following gallery is limited in scope, relying heavily on images of the Sioux and Cheyenne, but attempts to give an impression of Native American life on the Plains in the 19th and early 20th century.
American Bison Grazing in Montana
by PD-USGOV-Interior-FWS
published on 12 July 2024
The Plains Indians is a modern term for the Native American nations that lived on the Great Plains of what is now the USA and part of Canada. These nations included the Sioux, Cheyenne, Blackfoot, Pawnee, Crow, Arapaho, Comanche, and many others.
How long did the Plains Indians live in the region before the Europeans arrived?
The Plains Indians lived in the region for at least 13,000 years before Europeans arrived in North America. According to their own beliefs, however, they always lived on the land and there was never a time when they did not.
How many different nations lived on the Great Plains?
There were over 30 nations living on the Great Plains at the beginning of the 19th century.
When were the Plains Indians removed from their lands?
The Plains Indians were removed from their land throughout the latter part of the 19th century and forcibly relocated to reservations.
Based on Wikipedia content that has been reviewed, edited, and republished.
Original image by PD-USGOV-Interior-FWS. Uploaded by Joshua J. Mark, published on 12 July 2024. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Public Domain. This item is in the public domain, and can be used, copied, and modified without any restrictions. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
