Semi-sedentary Tribes

• The main semi-sedentary tribes obtained buffalo meat through hunting parties, but established villages and farmed on the Great Plains. The Nez Perce, Omaha, Pawnee, and Iowa tribes belong to this category of Plains Indians.
  
  

Nomadic Tribes

• Among the nomadic tribes that were considered Plains Indians are the Shoshone, Crow, Lakota, Apache, Cree, Comanche and Blackfoot. These tribes were known as nomadic because of their lifestyle, which kept them moving around across the Great Plains. These Plains Indians usually followed the herds of buffalo across the plains, moving to wherever the herds were.
  
  

Horses

• Just as one can't study the lifestyle of the Plains Indians without discussing the buffalo, the horse is equally as important. Horses were a part of the Plains Indians lifestyle since the 1500s, when they were brought to the Americas with Spanish explorer Francisco Coronado. For the fully nomadic tribes, horses were a key part of following the buffalo and providing for their people. Even the semi-nomadic tribes made good use of horses, sending them out on hunting and raiding parties.
  
  

Buffalo Culture

• Because all Plains Indians hunted buffalo, relying on the animal as a primary source of food, clothing, tools and more, the tribes' cultures revolved around buffalo. Teepees, for example, were important to Plains Indians because they could easily be taken down and moved to follow the buffalo. Plains Indians didn't waste any part of the bison either, using the bones to make cups, tools and knives, the hides to make blankets, clothing and the teepees and of course eating any and all edible parts of the buffalo. Even the semi-sedentary Plains Indians used the products of the bison to create their homes and lifestyles.
  
  

Religion

• While the Plains Indians did not follow a specific religion, they did have religious concepts that were followed. Most Plains Indians believed in the Great Spirit, a main God and Mother Earth. Other spirits were worshiped, but the names of these spirits varied based on the tribes. Many Plains tribes practice a ceremony called the Sun Dance, a type of self-sacrifice that was believed to gain the support of strong spirits. Medicine men, while healers, were also believed to be blessed by the Great Spirit and therefore leaders among tribes. Some tribes also believed in carrying a talisman; an object that granted a warrior spiritual power and protected him in battle.