The Arrival of the Horse - Plateau Native Americans in Olden Times
For Kids
In the early 1700s, Native Americans from the south arrived on the Plateau. They traded horses for furs. That was the first time the people of the Plateau had ever seen a horse. They loved a challenge and they loved games of skill. They quickly became magnificent riders and breeders.
Trade: The arrival of horses on the Plateau made travel and trade much easier. The people were not limited to travel on foot or travel by canoes on rivers or streams to get around. That caused a shift in culture.
Expansion: Up until the arrival of the horse, vast areas of the Plateau were largely uninhabited. Various tribes claimed vast amounts of land as “theirs”. These areas were mostly unexplored. A tribe might claim all land to the ridge of the next mountain. But they had never actually reached the ridge of the next mountain since they were limited to travel on foot or by canoe. With the arrival of the horse, these areas could be explored. Tribes started to claim land that had historically "belonged" to other tribes. Not that it mattered at first. In the past, who claimed what was mostly immaterial because the people of the Plateau had always shared. But the concept of sharing was changing as well.
Sharing: For thousands of years, the clever, creative, generous people of the Plateau had worked in cooperation with each other. Some families owned fish stations, but the owners had always shared the catch. When a family or a tribe left a pit house to move somewhere else, they left food and blankets stored safely behind, so that the people who used the pit house next would have food to eat and a blanket to use to stay warm, while they got settled. But times were changing, and that change started with the arrival of the horse. The people of the Plateau needed goods to trade for horses because each brave wanted a horse of his own. No brave wanted another tribe borrowing or using their horse. After thousands of years of sharing as a way of life, the people of the Plateau were no longer willing to share. That was a huge shift in culture.
Warfare: Once horses arrived in the Plateau region, warfare changed dramatically. Warriors could travel more territory. Herds of horses belonging to opposing tribes on the Plateau were common targets of raids, and the horses were usually not returned when peace was achieved. That was new.
Hunting: Hunters, on horseback, began hunting beyond the Plateau. They hunted buffalo on the plains. That caused all kinds of trouble. The Plains Native Americans considered this an act of war.
For thousands of years, life on the Plateau had continued in much the same manner. With the arrival of the horse, life on the Plateau changed forever.
Warfare before the arrival of the horse
Return to the People of the Plateau for Kids (main index)
Geography and Map of the Plateau Indian Tribes
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
Comparison Chart (Europeans & Indians)