The Lakota

The Great Plains of the United States was home to the Lakota. The plains stretched from the central part of Texas in the south into Canada in the North. Covering over a half million square miles, it featured level grassland with few trees.

The Lakota were mostly nomadic hunters, meaning they moved from place to place to follow wildlife. They lived in portable homes, called teepees, which could be taken apart and carried to a new location.

The Spanish explorers of the 16th century brought horses to North America. The Lakota attained horses through trade, capture or other means. The horse also changed hunting styles. The tribes hunted elk, deer, and buffalo. Buffalo were difficult to hunt on foot. With the arrival of horses, the Native Americans could more easily hunt buffalo. As a result, buffalo hunts were more successful, and the people prospered.