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Because of the vast buffalo (Bison) herds food,
shelter, fuel and clothing was often plentiful on the plains. This animal was so
common that sometimes thousands would be found m
just
one herd and they would blacken the prairie for as far as the eye could see. The
meat was eaten, the best bits considered to be the tongue, the hump and the raw
liver. As shown in the boxes above above everything was used. The bones were
used for tools and weapons, sinews for sewing or for bow strings, the hides were
tanned with a mixture that incorporated the brains and used for clothing, tipis,
parfleches and medicine shields.
The
hooves were boiled down and used for glue, the buffalo stomach was used to carry
water, and the tail became a useful fly swat. With the absence of many trees on
the prairie, wood was in short supply and fires would have been in short supply
were it not for buffalo chips, the dried dung, which was plentiful, easy to
collect and burnt well, producing a good fire.
Before
the widespread use of the horse, the Lakota would hunt the buffalo on foot.
These animals had poor eyesight but an excellent sense of smell so the Indians
would cover themselves in wolf skins and crawl close to the herds. Wolves were
no threat to the buffalo so they would not be alarmed by the approach, the
man's smell being masked by the wolf skin. Another method of hunting was the
communal drive, or Piskun. A Lakota holy man with the power to call the buffalo
would lure them to a tall cliff. The entire band would then surround the herd
and stampede it over the cliff. An alternative in the winter was to drive the
animals into a snow drift where they would become stuck and make easy targets.
With
the arrival of the horse the hunt changed completely. Specially trained horse
called Buffalo Runners were used to hunt down the animals in wild chases. These
were sometimes very dangerous and were carefully planned and overseen by members
of an Akicita, a warrior society. The whole camp sometimes went on the hunt. As
soon as the men had finished the kill the women would move in for the skinning
and butchering. No warrior would ever do that when there were women with them
for it was considered to be women's work.
With the larger travois used with the
horse larger amounts of meat could be carried back to the village where the meat
not used at once would be cut into thin strips and hung out to dry for
consumption later. This was called Jerky. Wasna was also made which the white
man called Pemmican. Dried meat, usually buffalo was pounded together with
chokeberries or serviceberries and mixed with tallow (fat). The mixture was
sealed in lengths of intestine with more tallow poured over it to keep out the
air. Jerky and Wasna were both methods of preserving meat for later consumption.
They could either be eaten straight away or added to soups and stews.
One
particular type of hunt, not used often was called the surround. This was
literally when the hunters on horseback surrounded a herd of buffalo, gradually
tightening the circle, shooting the buffalo as they went. This was very
dangerous as the herd would usually stampede in panic and both hunters and
horses could fall foul of the rampaging buffalo.
The
Lakota adopted a seasonal pattern which mirrored migrations and habits of the
buffalo. From August (Moon of Ripe Plums) to November (Moon of Hairless Calves)
the various hunting bands roamed independently, moving camp when buffalo were
scarce. The autumn hunts were very important as the meat may have to last
through the winter. The hides were also important for new robes and lodge skins
to protect from the cold weather. As much meat and wild vegetables as possible
was stored at this time. Those with the most always gave gifts of food and robes
to those who were poor.
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