What’s Around Us?!

The Great Plains Region!

The region of the Great Plains, we learned, stretched far and wide with rolling hills and oceans of grass…we added this region to our maps. The wild grasses themselves are a marvel, standing as high as six feet or more, with roots just as deep. It was the perfect place for the Tatanka (Lakota for Bison/Buffalo) to roam. We learned some of the ways of the nomadic peoples who followed the herds of Bison and how they had ceremonies before their hunts to honor the spirits of the Bison who would give their lives for the people to live. We studied the Tatanka’s ways – how they “snowshovel” with their massive necks, and created “wallows” when rolling for their dirt bath and how their elimination habits fertilized the prairie and created fuel for fires and how how every part of the Bison was used and how it was used. Using Bison to support every part of their lives made them sacred brethren.

Cartographers at work…

How parts of Bison were utilized…

Crafting Tipi models using pictographs to define our clan (team table)…

Making useful parfleches to carry food and supplies when moving from place to place

or to take food on the hunt…

Ms. Alexa came to read a Paul Goble story to us…his series of books are so beautifully illustrated in his unique style and all the stories he collected from people of the Plains to preserve them. Here’s a link to more information on Paul Goble books…most of them can be found at the public library.