Aponi: a Native American Girl

Aponi: A Native American Girl


Aponi was a young girl who grew up in a Native American tribe called the Crow. She lived with her mother, father, and little brother in a house called a teepee. Her family's teepee was made out of long pieces of wood and covered with buffalo skins. They would eat dinner, play games, and sleep inside the teepee just like you or I would do in our houses.


Aponi's tribe moved very often to follow the bisheé, or buffalo. The men in the tribe would hunt buffalo, deer, and elk to feed their families. The women in the tribe were very busy. They had to gather and cook food, and every time the tribe moved, they had to pack up and move their teepees.


Aponi's mother also made Aponi and her brother's clothes, shoes, and coats. Aponi's favorite thing to wear was a long dress made out of deerskin. On her feet, she wore soft shoes called moccasins. Aponi decorated her moccasins with beads and flowers.


When she was ten years old, Aponi's father gave her a travois, or sled, for her birthday. Aponi's bishké, or pet dog, pulled the travois for her. When her tribe moved to follow the buffalo, Aponi helped carry food and clothes on her new travois. She was glad to be able to help her tribe.