The Indians were not socialists. At least not among the Great Plains tribes I have studied. In fact that was the problem when White people moved into the area. The Indians were hardened raiders that capitalized every resource on the land.

Indians lived in scattered tribes numbering 50 to 100 people. Each small tribe belonged to a larger tribe, for example the Kiowa numbering 1,400 people or Cheyenne numbering 2,500 [according to an 1870’s census]. Among the Kiowa and Cheyenne, they met once a year in a large group. I think it happened each summer, but it could’ve been the spring, I forget. The purpose of the meeting was fun, marriage and business.

The Plains tribes were never farmers when they lived on the Plains. The Kiowa were possibly descended from the Pueblo Indians which were farmers at one time. The Kiowa arrived on the Plains in the mid 1700’s, shortly after the horse was introduced by the Conquistadors. The Kiowa had been pushed from the Dakotas by the war-like Sioux who outnumbered them.

The Cheyenne arrived on the Plains near the same time as the Kiowa. They were pushed from Illinois by other invading tribes. In Illinois the Cheyenne lived in log huts and grew crops, but they were forced to abandon that way of life.

After arriving on the Plains, these tribes plus Caddo, Comanche, Apache and about 6 or 7 others, adopted a culture of raiding and hunting on horseback. Horses were a form of wealth and currency. The Plains tribes hunted buffalo on horseback. But they also hunted each other and anybody else who strayed in their path.

The Plains tribes existed in a cycle of retaliatory violence, with each stealing and raiding from the other. This violence stopped social progress. The culture was made up predominantly of young people. The older people got killed, got sick, didn’t survive wounds, or were left behind when the tribe moved on.

The boys were raised aggressively with acts of bravery held in high esteem. A young man could advance in his society only by exhibiting great skill as a hunter and raider. During the hunts and raids, young men were expected to distinguish themselves. It was important not only to steal food and possessions from the enemy, but also to take scalps and hostages to prove one’s worth. A man of esteem was one who could provide food, hostages and belongings for his small band of 50-100 people.

I have speculated in other writings that hostage-taking was a cultural answer for introducing needed genetic mix into the tribe. In other words, the culture evolved from the scarcity of resources on the land > which is Cindy’s field of study I think. Anyway…

The first white teacher to live among the Indians was advised by the chief not to venture far from the school because he would be killed for his clothes. The bulk of Indians were dirt poor and had nothing > which is borne out by stories and photographs from the era. The idealized drawings of finely dressed Indians were the exception and not the rule.

The Plains tribes were blocked from becoming peaceful farmers. The culture of young aggressive men gained no prestige by farming. They saw farming as something to exploit and were continually raiding farms especially when the men were out in the fields and the women left alone in the house. Indians lived on the move, constantly hiding from other Indians and from the increasing numbers of outraged white settlers. This is hardly indicative of a socialist culture.

Only the most violent and aggressive Indians had possessions. Most Indians had nothing so they gravitated into treaties with the US government which promised them a yearly annuity of goods. The treaties were intended to stop the Indian violence against settlers. However, the Indians who signed a treaty were not in control of the smaller groups of Indians. The small groups of 50-100 had to do whatever possible to survive. On the other hand, the whites couldn’t control all their people either, so the treaties were violated by both sides.

The raiding and murders and kidnappings continued until two things happened in the 1880’s and 1890’s. The first thing was the killing of the buffalo. In the 1850’s, the buffalo darken the parries with their numbers. Within a span of 10 years, the buffalo were near extinction. An excellent story from this era is the Battle of Adobe Walls (see Wikipedia) where the Indians sought to permanently throw out the whites and buffalo hunters. This war, called the Red River war, was the final undoing of the southern Plains tribes.
 
The second thing that doomed the Indians was the US military. The military, hardened by Civil war, and stocked with ambitious men wanting public office from the spoils of warfare, began pursuing Indians vigorously. The soldiers carried improved firepower developed during the Civil War. They also had year-round supplies and could pursue Indians throughout the winter.

The Indians traditionally settled into winter camps. All raiding activity among Indians stopped until the springtime grass allowed their ponies to regain strength. The Indians had no stores of grain or wheat to see them through the winter. They lived on salted buffalo meat. But the late 1800’s was different. The buffalo meat was no longer available, and therefore the Indians couldn’t survive except during the abundance of summertime.

The soldiers found and destroyed Indian camps, the buffalo were gone, the people were starving, so the Indians had no choice but to enter government reservations and begin farming.

So if you can see socialism among young, non-farming, aggressive raiders whose behaviors mimic modern-day street gangs, you are truly amazing > which of course, you are anyway.


Gene Haynes