National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Buffalo Tales: The Near Extermination of the American Bison
This site from the National Humanties Center provides pictures and and offers discussion questions in considering the near-extermination of the American Bison in the late 1800s. Very interesting and informative.
BBC
Bbc: Nature Wildfacts: American Bison
Use this site to learn some amazing facts about the American Bison and their close brush with extinction.
Other
An Introduction to North America's Native People: Plains Culture Area
A wonderful website from Cabrillo College on the Plains Indians can be found here. It gives an in-depth historical overview, profiles of numerous Plains tribes, the significance of the horse, and great information on their culture and...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Eastern Shoshone: Hide Painting of the Sun Dance
Painting on animal hides is a longstanding tradition of the Great Basin and Great Plains people of the United States. Painting, in tandem with oral traditions, functioned to record history.Cotsiogo, a member of the Eastern Shoshone...
![Chronicles of Oklahoma: Buffalo Valley: Osage Hunting Ground [Pdf] Handout](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Chronicles of Oklahoma: Buffalo Valley: Osage Hunting Ground [Pdf] Handout")
Oklahoma State University
Chronicles of Oklahoma: Buffalo Valley: Osage Hunting Ground [Pdf]
Once the Osage were relocated to the Indian Territory in what is today Oklahoma, they had to find food. This article describes one place which was very good for the hunting of buffalo and how the Osage would hunt their prey. In addition,...
Other
Weekly South Dakotan: Buffalo of South Dakota: American Indians and the Buffalo
The bison played a very important role in the lives of Native American tribes. This brief, fact based article is easy to read and most appropriate for the younger student. A timeline shows the main events which affected the bison...
Other
Calgary Board Education: The Blackfoot Story: Robes and Legends
Story robes hold the history of the Blackfoot. Significant events are recorded on buffalo hides using images and hieroglyphics.
Other
Ocb Tracker: Blackfeet Tales
Do you know who the main characters are in the Blackfeet Tales? Use this site to learn features several of the tales.
Text Project
Text Project: Fyi for Kids: Bison [Pdf]
This FYI for Kids (Volume 4, Issue 1) article focuses on Bison. It explains the difference between bison and buffalo, how the Native Americans used them, how they were hunted to near extinction by settlers, and how they are returning to...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Closing the Frontier
A brief look at the conflict between Native Americans in the last half of the 19th century. By the end of the century, Native Americans were relegated to reservation life. See how the struggle was fought and find out the advantages of...
A&E Television
History.com: 10 Things You May Not Know About Sitting Bull
Get the facts about one of the most legendary Native Americans of the 19th century. Sitting Bull was born around 1831 into the Hunkpapa people, a Lakota Sioux tribe that roamed the Great Plains in what is now the Dakotas.
Curated OER
Buffalo Hide
Twelve teacher-tested lesson plans to integrate art from around the world into your classroom. Each activity comes with a list of materials you'll need, easy-to-follow explanations, and examples.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Myths From Around the World: North America
Learn about the North American White Buffalo Calf Woman through this ancient myth. Discover how the Calf Woman went to the Lakota people and how the spirit quality is essential to the North American light.
Other
Trans Mississippi and International Exposition: The Arapaho Tribe
Provides general information on the Arapaho tribe, the buffalo hunters of the Great Plains.
Other
Mission Us: Mission 3: A Cheyenne Odyssey
[Free Registration/Login Required] Online game where players become Little Fox, a Northern Cheyenne boy whose life is changed by the encroachment of white settlers, railroads, and U.S. military expeditions. As buffalo diminish and the...
Library of Congress
Loc: Teachers: Journeys West
A series of lessons utilizing primary texts, including narratives, photographs, and maps, through which students explore the following question: "What motivated thousands of people to journey west during the 1800s?"
Other
Mona: George Catlin (1796 1872)
Four paintings that may be enlarged, and the text offers a good description of Catlin's life and artwork.
American Indian Heritage Foundation
George Catlin Biography and Paintings
This excellent site provides a biography, personal quotes and a gallery of images of American artist George Catlin.
PBS
Pbs the West: Gen. Nelson A. Miles on the "Sioux Outbreak"
Statements and reports forwarded up the chain of command in 1891 about the failure of the government to provide either food or other promised support to Sioux Indians after the destruction of buffalo herds.
Other
The Weekly South Dakotan: South Dakota History for 4th Grade
From the very beginning and through the twentieth century, this comprehensive collection of lessons will enrich students studying the history in between and the effects on South Dakota.
PBS
Pbs: Lewis and Clark: Yankton Sioux Indians
Read about what the Yankton Sioux wanted from Lewis and Clark and why they were disappointed when they met the Corps of Discovery on its journey up the Missouri River. From PBS.
PBS
Pbs: Lewis and Clark: Oto Indians
Read about the Otos, a Southern Sioux tribe, and their encounter with the Corps of Discovery in the summer of 1804. From PBS.
PBS
Pbs: Lewis and Clark: Missouri Indians
Meet the Missouri Indians, the first group of western Indians encountered by the Corps of Discovery. Read how Lewis and Clark dealt with them. From PBS.
Other
All About Shoes: Paths Across the Plains: Traditional Footwear From Great Plains
Lesson plans for two different grade levels discussing the footwear of the Plains Indians and the information one can gather from common items to find out about a culture.