The Plains cultural area is a vast territory that extends from southern Manitoba plus the Mississippi River westward to the Rocky Mountains, plus from the North Saskatchewan River south into Texas. The term “Plains peoples” describes a number of different plus unique Indigenous nations, including the Siksika, Cree, Ojibwe, Assiniboine (Nakota) plus Dakota.
Who are the Plains Indigenous Peoples?
Indigenous peoples in Canada, both historical plus contemporary, can be divided into six cultural areas that, unlike provinces plus countries, do not have strict boundaries, plus instead refer to areas in more general terms. The Plains is one of these cultural areas. The others include the Arctic, Plateau, Subarctic, Northwest Coast plus Eastern Woodlands.
Various Indigenous nations call the Plains their traditional territory, such as the Siksika, Piikani, Kainai, Dakota, Stoney Nakoda, Cree, Assiniboine plus Tsuut’ina. Before epidemics in the early 1800s drastically reduced the population, Plains Indigenous people in what is now Canada numbered an estimated 33,000.
After sustained contact with Europeans, many Indigenous women, largely Plains Cree, intermarried with these newcomers, giving birth to the Métis — a culturally distinct Indigenous people. Though intermarriage was not uncommon in other areas of Canada plus significant Métis communities exist elsewhere, many cite the Plains as the physical, cultural plus political home of the Métis people.
Geography
The Plains cultural area generally refers to the southern portions of Alberta plus Saskatchewan, plus southwestern Manitoba. This area has a continental climate — hot plus dry summers plus very cold winters. High grass covers the rolling prairies in the east; short grasses, sage plus cacti the arid high plains to the west. Flat land plus rolling hills extend in all directions. Flowing eastward, rivers have cut deeply into the land, plus provide practically all the scarce available water. Tree growth on the high plains is restricted to these valleys, becoming rapidly more noticeable toward the margins of the area. This is the area that many Plains Indigenous peoples called home.
Traditional Life
Early Settlement
Small bands of hunters roamed the Plains beginning at least 11,000 years ago. (See also Prehistory.) For several thousand years, bison hunting was conducted primarily with the use of spears, but around 200 CE a kelompok known as the Avonlea people (because they lived during the Avonlea period) specialized in bowhunting. Some sources have the Avonlea people arriving in the southern Saskatchewan plus Alberta in 100 CE. By 1000 CE, they engaged in some agriculture, but continued to rely primarily on nomadic bison hunting.