What is the Assiniboine Tribe?

@Istria- I live in Arizona, and I have actually built a couple of traditional tipis. My parents have a lot of Land in central Arizona. I helped my father build a tipi on the property before he passed, and in reading the directions for building it, I learned a little about the history of the tipi. After his passing, the tipi blew down in a heavy storm, so I gathered a few friends and rebuilt it before his memorial ceremony.

Almost all of the nomadic plains tribes that used to follow the buffalo herds across central North America used tipis. The structures offered light, durable housing that was easily packed away and reconstructed.

Some of the tribes that used tipis are the Blackfoot, the Sioux, the Cheyenne and the Comanche.

Traditional tipis are often painted with tribal symbols and made of stacked or sewn hides from bison. They can be anywhere from 12 to 25 feet in diameter, so they can house a large family or hunting group around a central fire. The design also allows for convection cooling in the summer, and good insulation in the winter.

I just wanted to point out that this tribe must have had cultural and historic significance in Canada since they named a Canadian Royal Navy Destroyer after the tribe. The ship HMCS Assiniboine served in the Canadian Fleet for almost 35 years. I know this does not have much to do with the Assiniboine tribe, but I found it interesting nonetheless.

What did the Assiniboine costumes look like compared to other American Indian costumes? Were the Assiniboine's the only tribe that used the teepee, or is this type of housing common amongst a number of tribes? Were all of the tribes in the region nomadic, or were there tribes in the upper Midwest that remained in one place year round?

I have always thought that the tribes in this region of North America were very interesting because they lived in place with long winter seasons. People must have been hardy to survive long winters where food must have been somewhat scarce.

@Georgesplane, Chicada & Submariner- I would have to disagree with all of you that all Native American history should be taught. While the subject of Southwest Native American history may be an interesting college course, it is not necessarily a part of United States history until the area they lived in was colonized by the United States. Up until that point, Native American Tribes had little to do with U.S. history and the period the subject covers. Indigenous history is not always a part of U.S. history.

Hawaii is a special case, and when the once sovereign nation was colonized by a private company (Dole I think), and then the United States, Preservation of the history was part of the agreement of statehood. Although the history of the country before the arrival of Dole fruit had little impact on the United States, the island's history must be taught as part of state curriculum...or at least that is how it was about a decade ago (I studied through high school in Hawaii myself).

How many Indian tribes were there in North America around the time the Europeans landed on these shores? Are most of the tribes concentrated in the southwestern parts of the United States, or is this a misconception perpetuated in the movies and old media? Do all the Indain tribes that were here when Europeans first landed still have ancestors alive, or are there tribes that are now "extinct" for lack of the proper word?

I agree with georgesplane that these types of things should be included more in American history. All I know of is the trail of tears, but that came after the tribes were defeated. I never really learned much about what caused many of the Indian/American wars. I wonder if the reasons for conquering these people would still hold today, or if there would be no chance in the nether regions of something like this going down in modern times.

@Georgesplane- While I agree that the Assiniboine tribe history and the tribal history of other indigenous groups are not usually taught in most schools, this is not the case everywhere in the United States.

I spent most of my childhood years in Hawaii, and it was mandatory that students learned Native Hawaiian history throughout primary and secondary school. I remember learning about Hawaiian social structure and about the Hawaiian language. I also remember learning about Hawaiian Polytheism, and the interaction of the islands. I also remember learning about Hawaiian Music and learning to play the ukulele. I learned about all of these subjects before I was finished with the sixth grade.

The islands, especially the big island, retain their culture to this day. Living on the islands and learning about the history of the islands helped shape who I am, and what I am studying now. I learned to have a greater appreciation for the earth, and ended up pursuing a degree and career in the geological sciences because of these experiences.

This was a really informative article. I have always been curious about American Indian tribal history because I believe it has been largely lost on the population of this country. Just because the history may be inconvenient does not mean that it should be ignored. Unbiased history is the only true history.

Why is it that Native American history is not taught more in this country? Is Native American history seen as a threat to the ideology that this nation is founded upon? Indian culture is so rich and it should be celebrated.

I used to live on the West Coast, and I went to a number of Native American cultural events. I have been to pow-wows, festivals, coming of age ceremonies, and the likes and I never saw it as a threat to the American way of life. I am not Indian, but I still believe this country’s cultural diversity is what makes it so beautiful. I have been to other places where the aboriginal culture is celebrated, Australia and New Zealand, and there seem to be less social problems between racial groups--why not here?