Marriage and Weddings - Plateau Native Americans in Olden Times for Kids

For Kids

Marriage: Young people usually married in their mid teens. Marriage was a big deal.

Finding a Partner: Some tribes arranged marriages, but either the girl or the boy could refuse to marry the person their parents chose. There may have been disappointment felt, but no shame was attached to this refusal. Some tribes believed in proposals, and left it up to the kids to decide who and when they chose to marry. Some tribes held a dance, where young people selected partners. Many young couples had already decided who to marry before the dance. This dance was mostly for fun. During a partner selection dance, if a young man wanted to marry a certain young woman; he grabbed the sash around her waist and reeled her in. If she allowed him to continue to hold her sash, she had agreed to the marriage. Some tribes on the Plateau used sticks on shoulders instead of sashes.

The Wedding Ceremony: Whatever method was used to select a partner, the wedding ceremony was very similar. There was a groom�s family feast, and then a bride�s family feast. Gifts were given at both. These gifts were not given to the young couple but were instead given to the guests. After the bride�s family feast, the couple was considered to be married.

Where did newly married couples live? Until the birth of their first child, the couple moved in with the bride�s family. After the birth of their first child, they moved into their husband's family pit house, or negotiated with the village Council to be assigned a space in the village longhouse, or built a separate home of their own. The choice was up to them. Custom dictated that whatever choice they made would be supported by both the bride's family and the groom's family.

Babies and Cradleboards

Other Plateau People Ceremonies

Religion and the Shaman

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Native American Games & Activities

Native American Stories, Myths and Legends

Native Americans for Kids

Native Americans in US, Canada, and the Far North

Early people of North America (during the ice age 40,000 years ago)

Northeast Woodland Tribes and Nations - The Northeast Woodlands include all five great lakes as well as the Finger Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River. Come explore the 3 sisters, longhouses, village life, the League of Nations, sacred trees, snowsnake games, wampum, the arrowmaker, dream catchers, night messages, the game of sep and more. Special Sections: Iroquois Nation, Ojibwa/Chippewa, The Lenape Indians. Read two myths: Wise Owl and The Invisible Warrior.

Southeast Woodland Tribes and Nations - The Indians of the Southeast were considered members of the Woodland Indians. The people believed in many deities, and prayed in song and dance for guidance. Explore the darkening land, battle techniques, clans and marriage, law and order, and more. Travel the Trail of Tears. Meet the Muscogee (Creek), Chickasaw, Choctaw, Mississippians, Seminole Indians and Cherokee Indians.

Plains Indians - What was life like in what is now the Great Plains region of the United States? Some tribes wandered the plains in search of foods. Others settled down and grew crops. They spoke different languages. Why was the buffalo so important? What different did horses make? What was coup counting? Who was Clever Coyote? Meet the Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Comanche, Pawnee, and Sioux Nation.

Southwest Indians - Pueblo is not the name of a tribe. It is a Spanish word for village. The Pueblo People are the decedents of the Anasazi People. The Navajo and the Apache arrived in the southwest in the 1300s. They both raided the peaceful Pueblo tribes for food and other goods. Who were the Devil Dancers? Why are blue stones important? What is a wickiup? Who was Child of Water?

Pacific Coastal Northwest Indians - What made some of the Pacific Northwest Indian tribes "rich" in ancient times? Why were woven mats so important? How did totem poles get started? What was life like in the longhouse? What were money blankets and coppers? How did the fur trade work? How did Raven Steal Crow's Potlatch?

Inland Plateau People - About 10,000 years ago, different tribes of Indians settled in the Northwest Inland Plateau region of the United States and Canada, located between two huge mountain ranges - the Rockies and the Cascades. The Plateau stretches from BC British Columbia all the way down to nearly Texas. Each village was independent, and each had a democratic system of government. They were deeply religious and believed spirits could be found everything - in both living and non-living things. Meet the Nez Perce

California Indians - The Far West was a land of great diversity. Death Valley and Mount Whitney are the highest and lowest points in the United States. They are within sight of each other. Tribes living in what would become California were as different as their landscape.

Native Americans of the Far North: What trick did the Kutchin people use to catch their enemies? How did these early people stop ghosts from entering their homes? Why was the shaman so powerful? What is a finger mask? Play games! See and hear an old Inuit myth! Enter the mystical world of the people who lived in the far north in olden times. Algonquian/Cree, Athapascan/Kutchin, Central Canada, Inuit, The Shaman

Myths & Symbol Stories

The Importance of Baskets

Many Types of Homes

Canoes & Horses

Pow-wow & Potlatch

Medicine Man & Religion

Dream Catchers

Totem Poles

Native Americans Art

Native American Holidays

Some Principal Tribes

Comparison Chart (Europeans & Indians)