Mandan Tribe Research Paper

According to the four sources, the Mandan tribe, also known as the “tattooed people” because of their many blue, black, and red tattoos, was an Indian tribe of Native Americans whom lived in small villages along the Missouri River in North and South Dakota. This tribe started in 1250, and the last event recorded was in 1889; it has been called the Mandan Tribe since the first whites arrived in America. The Mandan tribe had many different lifestyles, beliefs, and businesses that affected the entire tribe in their daily life.
The Indian lifestyle of the Mandan tribe is not as different from the american lifestyle as it sounds. Indian children, just like white children, went to public school, played with their friends, and worked with their mothers.”They do the same things all children do--play with each other, go to school and help around the house” (Source A). Indian men and women split the work for their

family and the good of their tribe. The men worked as hunters, warriors, and sometimes, ranchers, while the women cared for the house, the children, cooked, and sewed and weaved together clothes, clothing decor, jewelry, baskets and other items. Every member of the tribe had their own role to play.
The Mandan tribe had many beliefs, most of which were religious, and they changed as the tribe grew older.

“Aboriginal Mandan religion centered around a belief in supernatural powers that were shared by all living things” (Source D). The Mandan also believed in multiple gods or creators that made the Earth that they know; the most significant, in their opinion, were the Lone Man, “Old Woman Who Never Dies, the Sun, the Moon, Black Medicine, and Sweet Medicine” (Source D). According to Source D, the Indians believed in this so deeply that they held an annual, four-day ceremonial event that celebrated the very mysterious creation of Earth and the possibility of life itself. Death was also a belief that the Mandan tribe accepted because one of their gods told them they would die, and they buried their dead just like we do in the present. “Although death was caused by not following tribal customs, it was considered normal because Lone Man decreed that people would die. People had four souls: two went to the spirit world and two stayed on earth” ( Source

D).
The Mandan tribe, just like anyone else alive, needed to make money to survive, and they earned it according to many different methods including farming and trade. Since the land within the Mandan villages was fertile, the crops grown there were fresh. “The Mandans were farming people. Mandan women worked together to raise crops of corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers” (Source A). According to Source D, the Mandan villages were also the center of trade for Indians and even a few whites. “Prehistorically, the Mandan villages were trade centers that attracted many different tribes and, later, White traders” (Source D). The Mandan tribe has even traded with famous whites from the U.S. including Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the men who set out on an expedition dedicated to exploring the newly-bought Louisiana Territory; they needed more supplies to continue their dangerous, important journey. Many different kinds of goods were traded to many different kinds of people.
In conclusion, the Mandan tribe was an Indian tribe that created a significant effect on Native American history.