clan or tribe?!?

Question

were the Peoples of the Plains a clan or a tribe??

Answer 1

A tribe would apply to a group like the Cheyenne.
A clan would apply to a group of people related in some way to one another. Often a clan was associated with a guardian spirit. Names like Turtle Clan, Wolf Clan, and Raven Clan were used.
The association was through blood relationships, fathers, sons, grandsons and so forth. It often also included relatives by marriage, as sometimes the bride would leave her family and live with her inlaws after the wedding, and at other times the groom would do likewise with his wife's family. It mainly depends on the group.

The principle thing to remember here is that there was no single pattern followed by all the Plains peoples. Some Plains peoples were not even from the Great Plains originally, the Lakota had been driven west by the Ojibwa in the late 18th century for instance.

I think a lot of what confuses Europeans about this is the tradition among the Hebrews. The twelve tribes are identified by the names of the sons and grandsons of Jacob, and are descended from them. In most other cultures, the blood relationship would make them a clan, but the Hebrews are referred to as tribes.

I've found one website that might be useful and I have attached the link.

I'd recommend a good Anthropology text covering the Peoples and Cultures of the Great Plains, like Driver's books.

Answer 2

Not having read the book I can't tell you for sure, but a clan is an extended family group and a tribe is a collection of families under one ruler.

Answer 3

The very fact that they're referred to as "peoples" (plural) suggests that they were a tribe, if not something larger and looser. A clan is based on theoretical descent from a common ancestor--all members are considered related. A tribe is a larger, broader group with many ethnic characteristics in common, but the idea that all members are related doesn't exist at the tribal level. The Peoples of the Plains must have been a tribe or a group of sevral tribes.