What did the Sioux eat?
Buffalo, other meat, and wild fruits and vegetables. The Sioux ate mostly buffalo -- boiled, broiled, dried, and sometimes raw. After a buffalo hunt, the Sioux ate fresh buffalo. In the winter, when buffalo were hard to hunt, the Sioux ate dried buffalo meat, called pemmican. The Sioux also ate other meats (bear, deer, antelope, and wild turkey and hens), wild fruits (cherries, berries, and plums) and wild vegetables (potatoes, spinach, and prairie turnips). The Sioux did not plant gardens because they were always on the move and could not take care of them. Food was shared or traded by all the members of the tribe
Did the Sioux hunt buffalo?
Yes. A buffalo hunt was very serious and carefully planned. Scouts would find the buffalo, and the tribe would move as close to the buffalo herd as possible. On the day of the hunt, hunters would mount their horses, the chief would give a signal, and the men would charge. The buffalo ran fast, and the hunters shot only three arrows before the stop-shooting signal was given. The Sioux only killed as many buffalo as the tribe could use. The women followed the hunters with their pack horses. The men and women would skin the buffalo, cut up the meat, and load it on the horses. Then they all rode back to the camp for fun and feasting.
What did the Sioux make out of a buffalo?
The Sioux used every part of the buffalo for many things. The meat was used for many meals. The bones were used for toys, tools, painting sticks, and an awl (a special kind of needle). The muscles were used for thread and bows. The horns were used for spoons and cups. The stomach was used for a pot for cooking and carrying food and water. The tongue was used for special religious celebrations. The dried buffalo droppings were used for fuel for camp fires. The hair was used for ropes, fancy belts, and decorations. The ribs were used for sleds. The hide was used to make rawhide (for drums, rattles, and bags to hold dried meat and clothing, glue, and splints) and to make soft cloth (for bags, moccasins, clothing, pipe holders, and tipis). Even the tails were used for fly swatters!
Buffalo
1.)What animal was the most important to the Lakota Sioux?
2.)Name 3 uses of the buffalo.
3.)What were the buffalo hunts like?
4.)How many buffalo would the Sioux kill on a hunt?
5.)What different parts of the buffalo were used?
6.)How did the Sioux get the buffalo back to camp? Explain.
7.)Why didn’t the Sioux plant gardens?