The Mandan Tribe: Unique American Indian Tribe

The Mandan tribe was a very large and unique American Indian tribe. The Mandans specialized in many things, including building arts, handcrafts, weapons, and tools. They also had very unique beliefs and men and women had certain roles they had to follow in society. Another thing that was special to the Mandans was how they lived and the clothing they wore. All of these thing are what came together to make the Mandans different from other American Indian tribes. This tribe was one of many that came in contact with the Corps of Discovery, and met Lewis and Clark.

The Mandan Tribe was very good at building art, handcrafts, weapons, and tools. They built many arts and handcrafts including willow baskets, unpainted clay pottery, and embroidered
The Mandan believed that all natural objects had a spirit, including plants, trees, rocks, rivers etc. For example according to source C, “The Mandan was the most complex; a four-day ritual requiring lengthy preparation and self-sacrifice by participants, it was an elaboration of the Sun Dance common to many Plains tribes”. This shows that the Mandan were very devoted to their religion and took it really seriously. This also shows that they devoted a lot of their time to Animism and practiced it throughout their lives. The Mandan men and women all had certain roles within their society. Men were the ones who went to war, and went on long hunts to get food for their families. The women farmed and stayed at home to take care out their children. For example according to source A, “Mandan men were hunters and sometimes went to war to protect their families. Mandan women were farmers and also did most of the child care and cooking. Only men became Mandan chiefs, but both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine”. This shows that the Mandan people all had certain duties in the village and they all played a part in society. This also shows that they followed their rolls and made sure their work was done. All in all the beliefs of the Mandan tribe were very unique and they all had a role to play in their house and in the
These earth lodges were usually big enough to shelter up to seven families at a time. For example, “The Mandan Indians lived in settled villages of round earthen lodges. Mandan lodges were made from wooden frames covered with packed earth. When Mandan men went on hunting trips, they often used small buffalo-hide tepees as temporary shelter”(source A). This shows that the houses the Mandan people lived in were lodges made of earth and usually very large enough to hold seven families. This also shows that when the men were on hunts they set up buffalo hide tepees as temporary shelter. The Mandan clothing was very unique because the man and women wore many different animal hides. For example. “The clothes worn by the Mandan men consisted of breechcloths, fringed buckskin tunics and leggings. Warm buffalo robes or cloaks or blankets were also worn to protect against the rain and the cold”(source B). This shows that the Mandan wore many different types of animal hide clothing. This also shows that they used their resource that nature provided to them. All in all the mandan people had very unique living and clothing