Polygamy (having more than one wife) was common in most plains Indian tribes, men would often do it for respect and recognition from other warriors. The men would go out and hunt buffalo and the women would stay and look after the there tipi and the children. The boys would hunt with the warriors. The men, as the hunter-warriors, were more likely to be killed during the hunt or in war, and there was often a relative shortage of adult males in a band. Polygamy helped the survival of the band by ensuring that all women of childbearing age were producing children. Although the women where trained a little to fight, if the men of the tribe where out hunting then the women had to know how to fight incase any body tried to invade there camp. Also a man would have more than one wife so when he killed buffalo and brought there skin back it could be made into things quicker than usual if he had more women to do the job for him.
I Dyde