Photo credits  Franz Brown. Click on images below to go to full size image. Use back key to return here.

a29-bluecorn-p0008237

The Mandans and their neighbors were among the few Plains Indians who raised corn.  Many other tribes traded with the Mandans for their corn and Lewis and Clark were forced to follow this example.  As their own provisions disappeared, they became dependent on Mandan corn to get them through the winter.  The Mandans gave them many gifts of food, including corn, but it was not enough.  Therefore the expedition blacksmith forged metal objects such as hatchets that were traded for corn.

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a22-drum-p0008268

A whistle similar to the one on the left was worn by all men. It was blown as the warriors entered battle, a chilling sound when an army of 1000 or more Indians were attacking someone.
The flute in center played a very different role for it was used by men to court the young women they hoped to marry. A medicine man often gave the man a tune that was supposed to entrance the woman.
Drums played an essential role in many ceremonies. The one shown is similar to that made by the Mandan chief “Four Bears” who, as a boy, knew Lewis and Clark and later as a chief welcomed artists George Catlin in 1831 and Karl Bodmer in 1833.

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a30-tanningtools-p0016581

Using the various tools shown, the Plains Indians prepared buffalo hides. The Indians developed brain-tanning which used the brains of the animal as the lubricant to be rubbed into the hide. The hides were made more durable by smoking them. They were more supple than those prepared by methods brought from Europe, a method which took many months.  Using the Indian’s method of tanning, a hide could be prepared in a few days.  The men of the expedition had to prepare many hides for their clothes.

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a29-pemmicaningredients-p0016674

Pemmican was a high calorie food essential to Plains life. It was made by mixing dried chokecherry, dried meat (jerky) and tallow (fat).

Bowls, spoons and ladles could be made from buffalo horn which was steamed, split, shaped and polished.

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a25-porcupinetailbrush-p0016712

A porcupine tail was used as a hair brush. A decoration such as the beading shown here was often added.  It was common to rub bear oil onto one’s hair to make it shine.  Then using the tip of the tail brush, the hair was stroked to make it glossy and smooth. The young men, in particular, took great pride in the appearance of their hair.  Since there were no mirrors, often the husband parted his wife’s hair.  

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a08-erminebonnet-p0016832

An ermine war bonnet was highly prized and was associated with certain societies. Among the Mandans there were six societies through which a man passed as he grew. The right to enter a society had to be purchased.

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a27a-hoofandpin-p0016983

The Native Americans had many games  played with gambling as an essential component. Sacajawea was a Shoshone prisoner of the Hidatsa, the neighbors of the Mandans. She was 15 when she was won by Touissant Charbonneau during a betting game. They both joined the expedition as interpreters.  In the hoof-and-pin game, the parts are attached to a leather strip and bone skewer.  The players seek to swing the bones and get the point of the pin into them in sequence. 

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a12-grizzlyclawnecklace-p0016993

After the first couple of encounters with grizzly bears, Lewis didn’t think the bears represented a serious threat as the Indians claimed. The Indians would not engage a grizzly unless they had six to ten men and even then they often lost a member of their party. The bears represented powerful “medicine” because they could withstand so much injury before dying. Lewis would change his opinion of the bears within a short time after leaving the Mandan village. On one occasion six men encountered a bear. It turned on them and chased them to the river. The grizzly was killed with ten bullets.

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a14-doll-p0017126

Toys such as small buckskin dolls were present among the Native American girls. For the doll, a miniature tipi might be prepared. The bones were a simpler toy that children used to represent horses of  various colors.

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a11-mansleggings-p0017392

Clothing was an important form of display for men.  On the buckskin leggings, men painted the symbols which represented status. Stripes  meant coups counted, the dangerous act of touching an enemy warrior. Wrapped hair was sometimes from a fallen enemy. Quilled hair ties also indicated horses stolen from an enemy.

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a02-bonewhistle-p0017505

The whistles were made from the wing bones of various birds. They had only one note.

Among the Mandans the type of whistle the men wore indicated their membership in various societies. Boys started at age 10 to 15 in the “Foolish Dog Society" with a wing bone of a wild goose. The next level, “The Crows”, carried a double whistle around their neck. The “Warriors Society” used the wing bone of a crane and the “Dog Society”, the wing bone of a swan.

 
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