Tribes of the First Nations

Throughout its journey across America, the Corps of Discovery encounters and interacts with a great number of native Indian tribes. These tribes are often vastly different from each other. In keeping with the orders received from Jefferson, the diarists spend a lot of time describing each tribe's customs, cultures and habits. Differences are observed in the language spoken by the Indians, in the clothes they wear, in the way they travel and live, in the way they paint their body, for example. The captains record important distinctions between tribes living in the same area; the differences are even more important between tribes living in different geographical areas.

The expedition of Lewis and Clark covers three major geographical areas: the Plains, the Plateau and the Northwest Coast. These geographical areas translate into cultural areas for the Indian tribes. The native inhabitants of the Plains are...