How to Use the Images

Table of
Contents

Painting 1: Hidatsa Village, Earth Covered Lodges, on the Knife River, by George Catlin.

Painting 2: Bird's Eye View of the Mandan Village, by George Catlin.

While the villagers spent a good deal of time outdoors in mild weather, the climate was harsh, with recorded winter temperatures often as low as 45 degrees below zero. In winter people moved to temporary lodges built among the trees beside the Knife River.

Questions for Paintings 1 and 2

1. How would you describe the setting?

2. What activities are the Hidatsas and Mandans participating in?

3. What can you learn about these villages and their inhabitants from studying these paintings?

* The paintings on this screen have a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a high quality version of Painting 1 and Painting 2, but be aware that each file will take as much as 35 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.