Two copies of the Plains Culture Area kit are available for checkout. Each kit is one complete unit, adaptable for grades 3 to 8. Included in the kit are integrated lessons outlined in the teacher's guide, images, and artifacts that have been carefully selected to acquaint students with primary sources. Below are some images and labels about some of the artifacts in this kit.
Bone Bracelet
Bone bracelets were a decorative item worn by men and are still worn by dancers at pow wows today. The long white beads that make up the bracelet are called hair pipes and are made from the bones of animals. Sometimes people from the Plains area would wear a similar item around their neck or string many hair pipes together to make a chest covering which was used for protection against arrows during battles.
Hand Drum
Hand drums were used by people of the Plains as well as by people from the Coastal culture area. It is made with a 12-sided wooden frame with rawhide stretched tightly across it and is fastened in the back with strips of rawhide. To play it, you hold the drum by the cross piece in the back and hit it on the front with the drumstick. Durms are used to accompany singers and dancers at pow wows and special ceremonies.
Pictographs on Skin
This picture story is made of many small symbols drawn on a rabbit skin. The poeple of the Plains Culture area used buffalo, deer, or antelope skins. The symbols tell a story. Picture skins often told the history of a tribe or clan and were carefully saved from one generation to the next. Some were called "winter counts" and were a record of the passing years.
