Knife River: Early Village Life on the Plains

1. To describe the life of the Hidatsa and Mandan groups in the early 19th century and to explain how the villagers shaped their environment and adapted to it; 2. To compare the seasonally nomadic Plains villagers with the popularized history of nomadic horse-culture Indians; 3. To use archeological and historical data to understand the daily life of the villagers; 4. To discover American Indian groups who once lived in their region and compare their cultures to the Hidatsa and Mandan peoples.

Recommended level: Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade