Unit 5
The Crow and Metis of the North American Plains

As a culture area, the great grasslands of the North American Plains differ significantly from both the boreal forest and the Northeast culture areas. Stimulated by the introduction of the horse and by the fur trade, Woodland groups moved to the Plains, adapting their culture in the process. A new group, the Metis, also emerged to play an important role in northern Plains history. In this unit, we discuss two Aboriginal groups: the Crow and the northern Plains Metis.

Objectives

When you have completed Unit 5 you should be able to

1. describe the geographic and environmental characteristics of the Plains culture area.
2. identify the geographic location of the cultural groups that historically occupied the Plains.
3. compare Crow and Metis societies with regard to
   • economy (resources, technology, division of labour, seasonal mobility);
   • social organization (group membership, marriage rules, non-kin relations);
   • political systems (leadership, social control, warfare); and
   • ideological systems (rituals, beliefs, worldview).
4. interpret the phrase, “an authentically Indian future” (Morrison and Wilson, 2004, 272).
5. describe Foster’s concept of personal perspective, and discuss its influence on historical scholarship.
6. discuss how scholarly perspectives on the Metis have changed over time.
7. describe the emergence of the Plains Metis and their distinctive characteristics as a culture.
8. outline the socio-political events that affected the Red River settlement.
9. explain the socio-political relations between the Red River Metis and the Dakota.
10. explain the rapid economic shifts for the Crow over the past two hundred years.
11. compare the different ways that the horse was integrated into groups in different ecological niches and with different types of economies.