User:Taryn R Riemer/sandbox

First People Lifestyle

In southern Saskatchewan there was one main group of plains Indians who were called Assiniboin. They moved around the area that is modern day Willow Bunch. This band is thought to arrived 11,000 years ago, just after the last glacier retrated. Like most bands at the time this group moved where their food went. They depended on the bison for almost everything. They used the bison to make clothing, build their shelter and to make tools. Since they moved around a lot they made a very smart way of transporting their tipis. The poles of the tipis would make a sled of sort that was called a travois and would be pulled by dogs. This carried all that they needed and transported their home at the same time.

Bird's eye view of Willow Bunch

The Assiniboin had a system of a Sioux Kindship. In this kindship everyone who was born belonged to it, but outsiders could become part of the kindship through relationships. In terms of religious beliefs the band had strong ties to the spiritual world. Their religious ideas and practices formed the basis of their life. They had powerful connections with animals and natural phenomenas. They believe that animals and natural phenomenas had spiritual power that could be aquired for personal advantage through a vision quest. In this quest they would go to a secluded area of the forrest where they would fast and pray until a spiritual guardian came to them in a dream.

When it comes to food and other nesscities of life the band worked together. The men would hunt the buffalo by driving them into pounds or corrals and killed or they would be stampeded off cliffs. The women would collect edible roots and berries but they would also perserve the food and build toold for everyday life. The band worked together so everyone would have enough food. If there were shortages on food the band would split into smaller ones so they had a better chance to survive.

As for the political structure of the bands they had a chief but their way of dealing with issues was like a democracy. Any decisions that needed to be made were reached by finding a consensus between all the families of the band. Although the chief was the advisor of the band there was no guarentee that he would stay at the top. The only way the chief stayed in his position was if people were being fed and the band won attacks from enemy bands.

When it came to punishment there were straight forward rules. If you didn’t aide the community then you were seen as an enemy to the band. The way that they diciplined people was also staright forward. If you did something wrong your punishment would be public shame and riducl. When the band depends so much on each other this kind of punishment would be one that was hard to deal with.

In general the other bands in the area and the Assioboin moved independantly of each other. However during midsummer when there was a lot of buffalo all the bands came together for a few weeks in one tribal encampment. During this time they would have celebrations and possibliy a tribal buffalo drive. After this time the bands would separate again and go to the river valleys or foothills and get ready for the winter months.