A distinctive rendition of the American plains Indians in a series of outstanding figures.

The hunting grounds of the North American plains were home to a number of nomadic Indian tribes. They were known for a lifestyle built around buffalo hunting, horses, the tepee and a religious feeling toward nature and life. This lifestyle was shared by the Sioux, the Cheyenne, the Crow, and the Blackfoot, among other tribes.

The Indians’ living was totally dependent on the existence of the buffalo. When summer arrived, the buffalo herds dispersed into small groups as the grass became less plentiful. Consequently, the tribes divided into smaller hunting bands. This allowed them to move fast and live on scarce amounts of food and grazing for the horses. These bands could number around 20 families which lived separately until they gathered for big summer hunts or ceremonies. Family was regarded as the key unit of Indian life. Children, called “Wakanisha” (waka is Sioux for sacredness) were of foremost importance to the Indian family, and surely the most important concern in tribal life. Generally speaking, monogamy was the rule even though Indian men were allowed to take more than one wife. Men’s and women’s roles were clearly defined. Hunting and warfare was men’s business, while women handled all that happened inside and around the tepee.

The American Indians were a horse culture of an extremely individualistic and spiritual nature. However, they were also a warrior people who, more often than not, were involved in small-size warfare between tribes. Going on the war path was customary for males. War was an underlying principle for the Indians through which tribal prestige was attained. This attitude was typified in the Sun Dance ceremony shared by many of the tribes. It was the most striking and important religious ceremony of the Plains Indians of the 19th century, and was normally held once a year at the time of the summer solstice. It was certainly a complex event loaded with deep religious and philosophical meaning, it included self-inflicted torture which symbolized the continuity between life and death.

The young braves hung from long skin ropes tied to bone skewers that were stuck into their breasts and fixed at their other extremity to the top of long poles. The first white men witnessing this rite were shocked.

Unfortunately, and probably unavoidably, this colorful culture of the plains would be practically wiped out in just a few decades. That was when the Indians finally confronted the blue coated soldiers spearheading the expansion of white western civilization.

This Blackhawk line of figures has been designed as a tribute to this great people who lived on the American central plains long ago hunting buffalo, worshipping nature, and honoring humankind by developing a culture based in self-respect and the nobility of life.