Rare 1949 'Meet the Sioux Indian' Footage. Restored in Color

Added: 2026-05-10

[00:00:06][music] [music] >> Meet the Sioux Indian. The Sioux were and still are among the most colorful and interesting of all American Indians.

[00:00:24]It was the duty of the women to put up the teepee.

[00:00:29]First, three main poles were set up and then other poles were laid against them.

[00:00:36]Finally, a cover made of buffalo hide was spread over the poles to make a snug tent which kept out the cold winds of the winter plains. The cover was laced tight and flaps adjusted so that air would circulate through the teepee.

[00:00:52]Since it could quickly be taken down and put up again, the teepee made an excellent home for the wandering Sioux. Before a buffalo skin could be used for a tent cover or for clothing, it was carefully cleaned of flesh and pegged hair side down upon the ground.

[00:01:10]This loosened the hair. After several weeks, the skin was turned over and hair scraped off with a crude tool made of wood and stone.

[00:01:21]The skin was pounded vigorously with a stone to soften it and pulled back and forth over raw hide to make it pliable.

[00:01:32]From the tendon of a buffalo muscle, the Indian woman pulled a tough fiber called assinew.

[00:01:40]The woman softened the sinew in her mouth and rolled it on her thigh to twist it into a thread.

[00:01:46]The thread was used to sew skin clothing.

[00:01:51]This clothing was often embroidered with bead design.

[00:01:56]A sharp bone awl pierced the skin and the sinew thread was drawn through to pull the glass beads into place.

[00:02:04]The design took shape to make a picture of mounted Indians on a jacket.

[00:02:11]Glass beads were first introduced to the Indian by the white man who used them in the fur trade.

[00:02:18]An assortment of colors were kept handy when a woman used them for embroidery.

[00:02:24]Each quill was first flattened by pulling it through the tightly clenched teeth.

[00:02:30]This also softened the quill so that it could be bent and sewed back and forth until it made a bold and colorful design.

[00:02:42]The buffalo robe was worn and the porcupine quill embroidery made it beautiful as well.

[00:02:49]The Sioux used almost every part of the buffalo.

[00:02:53]From the horns, they cleverly fashioned spoons and the hide from the back of the head made an excellent bowl.

[00:03:01]After a buffalo hunt, the meat was cut apart and distributed equally to each Indian family.

[00:03:08]It was the task of the women to gather wood for the fire.

[00:03:14]A fire was started with a friction drill.

[00:03:18]Wood spinning upon wood became hot and a smoldering spark began to burn.

[00:03:24]The meat was roasted on top of hot coals.

[00:03:28]Every part of the buffalo was used.

[00:03:30]The intestines were roasted and considered a delicacy.

[00:03:34]Often, the Sioux used a most unusual cooking pot.

[00:03:39]The stomach of a freshly killed buffalo was carefully suspended between four upright sticks.

[00:03:47]Then with a horn spoon, it was filled with fresh water.

[00:03:50]In the meantime, stones were heated on a nearby fire.

[00:03:56]Using sticks, the Indian cook placed hot stones into the water which set it to boiling fiercely.

[00:04:04]Quickly, the meat was placed into the boiling pot.

[00:04:07]Bits of wild turnip were added for seasoning and more meat.

[00:04:12]In a few minutes, the Indian had boiled meat, a nourishing soup, and a well-cooked buffalo stomach for a dessert.

[00:04:24]The Sioux learned to preserve some of the meat for future use by drying it.

[00:04:31]To prepare it for drying, the meat was cut into very thin slices.

[00:04:36]The muscle structure was followed with the skill of a surgeon so that wide, thin sheets of meat were cut away.

[00:04:44]This method is called jerking and required the skill and patience of the older women to do it well. The thin slices of jerked meat were hung up on pole racks to dry in the sun.

[00:05:00]Slender sticks were poked through the slices to hold them out flat so they would dry evenly.

[00:05:07]After the meat had dried thoroughly to a golden brown, it was often used to make pemmican which the Sioux called wasna.

[00:05:17]To make pemmican, the jerked meat was pounded between two stones.

[00:05:21]It was pounded almost to a powder.

[00:05:24]Pemmican is one of the most nourishing foods in the world and it is light and easy to carry.

[00:05:31]That is why it made an excellent food for the Sioux who were constantly on the move.

[00:05:37]Dried cherries have been added and pounded into the mixture.

[00:05:42]An oily marrow obtained from split bones was added to keep the mixture from spoiling.

[00:05:50]The pemmican was formed into small meat balls and packed away.

[00:05:55]The Sioux depended upon plants as well as meat for food.

[00:05:59]Buffalo berry bushes were beaten and the bright red berries fell upon a skin spread out on the ground.

[00:06:06]Leaves and twigs were picked out.

[00:06:10]The berries were mashed and pounded between two stones in a buffalo hide bowl.

[00:06:16]Despite the fact that these berries were tart and sour, no sweetening was added even though they would be used as dessert after a winter meal of pemmican.

[00:06:27]Flour was worked into the berries to soak up the juice.

[00:06:32]The mixture was shaped into patties and thoroughly dried and stored away.

[00:06:39]The Sioux used many kinds of wild plants for food.

[00:06:42]It was the task of the women to dig wild turnips.

[00:06:47]This spicy vegetable [music] was used in soup or with cooked meat.

[00:06:51]The turnip was peeled soon after digging for the skin would get tough upon drying.

[00:06:57]Always, the Sioux thought of the long winter ahead and a large part of the harvest was braided into long strings and packed away in leather bags.

[00:07:10]Sometimes, the Sioux remained in one place long enough to raise a crop of corn and pumpkins.

[00:07:18]After harvesting the corn, the Sioux boiled the ears and hung them up to dry.

[00:07:25]During the following winter, the corn could be placed in boiling water and restored to its former freshness.

[00:07:33]Indian corn often had many colors.

[00:07:35]Red and black were as common as yellow.

[00:07:39]Fresh corn was roasted over a fire and eaten.

[00:07:43]Pumpkins as well as corn were harvested from the field.

[00:07:47]To dry pumpkins for winter use, the Sioux first cut the pumpkin in half and scooped out the seeds.

[00:07:56]The half shell was peeled and cut into long spiral ribbons.

[00:08:01]Round and round went the knife cutting the pumpkin into strips that would dry quickly.

[00:08:08]The long ribbons of pumpkin had to be handled carefully.