the most common crops in the plains regions were corn, squash and beans (the three sisters). there was also tobacco, plums and sunflower. corn culture developed in 900 ad. natives often collected rainwater. plains people also hunted buffalo, deer, and elk. with horses, several tribes focused only on hunting buffalo and moved around more. up to the 1500s, tribes lived on the edges of the great plains. they were farmers and hunter-gatherers. from autumn to spring they raised crops. during the summers they went out onto the great plains to hunt bison on foot.