The Pawnee’s and other plain groups still live in the plains and their beliefs and ceremonies continue today. They viewed the earth as sacred and the bison as the most sacred animals (Sutton, 253). The Pawnee’s used every part of the animal they hunted. They used the skin as clothing and blankets for warmth, the meat to eat and survive, and they used the bones to make tools and weapons. The bison was the single most important economic task of the plains people (Sutton, 250).  In the early 1800’s there were approximately sixty million bison that roamed the plains, but by the mid 1800’s, the bison’s numbers reduced to approximately twenty million.  This was caused by the easterners beginning to commercially kill millions of them for finical gain, instead of the Pawnee’s or other native people respecting them and using only what they need. It comes down to respect of their surroundings and living things that are used for survival. Do not get me wrong, I am not anti-hunting. I do understand the need to keep certain animal populations down and I am not a vegan or vegetarian, I am a proud meat-eater. I feel that if we had respect for the earth and animals put on it or in it, we would be much better off. I respect the native people’s views of having respect for mother earth and what is on it. The native people needed Bison to eat, but they would always respect them and hold them as sacred and would perform ceremonies to show the bison the respect and reason why they needed to hunt them.