Native Americans
SIOUX
SEMINOLE
Introduction
After crossing the Beringia Land Bridge, people spread to the north and to the south. We
will first focus on the natives who made their homes in present-day Canada and United States.
Using natural resources, these native people’s will create unique tribes from coast to coast.
There are many names used to identify Native Americans, such as; American Indians,
Indians, Indigenous, or Original Americans. Native or indigenous means the first people to live in
an area. A group of Native Americans who live together and share a common culture are called a
tribe. Some Native American tribes living in the continental U.S. are: the Apache, Seminole,
Cherokee, Iroquois, Comanche, Sioux, Ojibwa, Anasazi and Pueblo. In Canada and Alaska,
some of the native groups are the Ojibwa, Inuit Eskimos, and Aleuts.
After the discovery of agriculture, civilizations began to emerge in North America. A
civilization is a society with a high level of culture and organization. This is evident in the
artifacts left behind, such as a written language, religion, marriage, art, music, government,
trade, social structure and science.
Culture
The landforms, climate and resources shaped the culture of all Native American tribes.
Culture is the way people live their lives. Some cultural features are language, religion, food,
clothing, and shelter. These features can be very different from one tribe to another, depending
on their location. Tribes living in the same region had similar cultures because they lived in the
same climate zone and had similar resources. Other groups lived very different lives because the
geography of the land and climate varied from coast to coast.
Shelters
Native Americans built their shelters, or houses, using the natural resources that were
abundant to their region (what major resources they had around them). Climate was also taken
into consideration when constructing a shelter.
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The Inuit, or Eskimo, used rocks and drift wood to construct their summer
homes. In the winter or while they were hunting, they would use ice blocks to
create an igloo. They would make a pit and build walls in a circle around the pit.
The arctic land is cold and treeless so this shelter protected the natives from
the arctic wind and harsh environment. The domed top of the igloo helped to
trap the warmth created by a person’s body heat. They would make an air hole in
the roof to prevent suffocation. Today, most Inuit use modern homes but still
use igloos while hunting.
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Eastern Woodland tribes such as the Iroquois used the plentiful resource of
the woods to build their homes, called longhouses. They used branches for a
frame and covered the frame with tree bark. These shelters were long, with
rounded roofs. There was a smoke hole in the roof. A longhouse provided a
home for over 20 people. The longhouse had several bunk-style beds with a top
shelf that was used for storage. Each Iroguois village had 50-1000 people.
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Southeast tribes had resources similar to the Eastern Woodlands. The
Cherokee tribe used trees along with sod and grass to build their homes called
wigwams. A wigwams domed shape helped trap the warmth needed in the colder
seasons. In the warmer seasons Cherokees had a second shelter called a
chickee. A chickee was constructed out of wood and had a roof made out of
leaves and grass. The sides were open to let the air circulate for coolness.
Tribes like the Seminole that lived further south in this region used a chickee
year round.
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On the Great Plains some tribes used agriculture part of the year and hunted
buffalo. Most tribes in this area, like the Sioux, were constantly on the move
following herds of buffalos. They needed a home that was portable, could be
taken down and moved easily. Tepees, tent-like homes, were made of poles. The
poles formed a cone-shaped triangle. Buffalo skins were stretched over the
poles. There was a smoke hole at the top.
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The earliest natives of the Southwest deserts were called the Anasazi. They
built their homes into cliffs. Later, the Pueblo people built their homes on the
desert floor. Their homes, called pueblos, were box-shaped and made from
adobe or sandstone. Adobe is formed from wet clay and set into large blocks
that are dried in the sun. The homes were built in a row as a group. These
groups of homes could be four to five houses tall. This arrangement saved
space and gave Pueblo families shelter from enemies. The Pueblos used ladders
to enter their homes. Today the Pueblo still use the same style home, but with
modern material.
Food and Clothing
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The Inuit relied on the land for their food. They fished and hunted the
arctic wildlife such as seals, walrus’, caribous, polar bears, and whales. These
animals provided more than just meat. They were used to make tools, weapons,
clothing, oil and milk. Today, they still depend on these animals for food, but
other foods like fruit and vegetables and packaged food such as chips are
available in local stores. They have also domesticated dogs to be used to pull
their sleds.
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Years ago, Inuit men and women made clothes from animal skins and furs.
Men and women wore coats called parkas. They wore fur leggings, boots, and
mittens. Waterproof ponchos were made out of animal intestines. Today, many
wear modern clothes but still wear fur to keep warm.
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Eastern Woodland and Southeast tribes farmed the fields with maize,
squash, and beans. They still gathered some nuts and berries from the wild.
They hunted deer, turkey, bear and ducks.
They fished salmon and trout from
the many waterways around them.
The animals were also used to make clothing. They made leggings, shirts for
the men and women from deerskins. Sometimes the women made skirts or
dresses. Most natives made deerskin shoes called moccasins. Some tribes made
belts and jewelry. The skins and furs were also used to make beds and blankets.
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The natives in the Great Plains hunted the buffalo for its meat. They made
jerky by drying the meat. They created jerky pemmican by pounding the dry
meat into a powder and added berries and fat. Pemmican could be stored for
many years.
Food was not the only use of the buffalo to these natives. They made
clothes like leggings, shirts, dresses and moccasins. They also made blankets,
gloves and robes for the winter. They used the animal’s bones for tools and
weapons. Other item such as a water carrier was made out of their buffalo’s
hide, rope from their hair, the horns for cups and fly swatter from their tail.
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Natives of the Southwest were mostly farmers. At first they grew maize,
squash, and beans as their main crop, but later added peppers and wheat. They
hunted small animals such as rabbit and deer. They gathered acorns to grind
into flour with which they baked wafer-thin bread on top of heated stones.
Groups learned to irrigate the land and filled storehouses with grain in order to
have food during droughts, period of time with little to no rainfall.
They planted cotton and used it to make their clothing such as shirts. The
men wore pants and skirts called kilts while the women wore colorful dresses.
Men and women wore blankets as wraps. Some of their clothes were made of
animal skins.
Hunting and Agriculture
The most common weapons used for hunting were the bow and arrow, the war club, and
the spear. Large mammals like mammoths and mastodons were largely extinct by around 8,000
B.C., so the Native Americans adapted and began hunting smaller animals, such as bison, buffalo,
deer, bear, turkey and rabbit.
Other cultural features were also shaped by their experiences. As these native peoples
encountered European explorers and settlers and engaged in trade, they exchanged food, land,
crafts, and furs for trinkets, iron and steel tools, horses, and firearms. The Great Plains tribes
were still hunting the bison by foot when they first encountered the Europeans. They learned to
use horses from the Spanish in the 17th century and that greatly changed the natives' culture.
The use of horses made it easier to hunt. Today, most images of Native Americans are with
horses.
Native American agriculture started about 7,000 years ago in the area of present-day
Illinois. The first crop the Native Americans grew was squash. This was the first of several crops
the Native Americans learned to domesticate. Others included cotton, sunflower, pumpkins,
watermelon, tobacco, and beans. The most important crop the Indians raised was maize, or corn.
It was first started in Mesoamerica (present-day parts of Mexico and Central America) and
spread north. About 2,000 years ago it reached eastern America. This crop was important to the
Native Americans because it was part of their everyday diet, it could be stored in underground
pits during the winter, and no part of it was wasted. The husk was used for crafts, and the cob
was used as fuel for fires. By 800 A.D. the Native Americans had established 3 main crops which
were beans, squash, and corn called the three sisters.
Agriculture in the southwest started around 4,000 years ago. This region had a climate
ranging from hot dry days and cool nights to times of flashfloods. The land was dry and sandy, so
they had to come up with better inventions to be successful in agriculture. Some innovations of
the time included irrigation, which was to bring water into the dry regions.
Gender roles
The gender roles in agriculture for the Indians varied from region to region, but most
were traditional. Women had many tasks that were essential for the survival of the tribes. In
some regions women cleared the land for farming. In others, it was the men. The women were in
charge of planting, weeding, and harvesting the crops. The hoe was the main tool used to till,
or turn the soil over, and prepare it for planting. It was also used for weeding. The first tools
were made out of wood and stone. Then the European settlers came and brought iron so the
Native Americans then used iron hoes and hatchets. Once the plants were harvested, they were
prepared by the women for eating. A maul was used to grind the corn into mash, which was eaten
that way or made into corn bread. Women took care of family members and made clothing. In
some of the tribes, women gathered herbs to create medicine and cure the ill.
Men hunted, traded and made war. But not all the roles were traditional. The women
made weapons and tools, took care of the roofs of their homes and often helped their men hunt
buffalos. Though fighting was mostly left to the boys and men, there had been cases of women
fighting alongside them, especially when the tribe was threatened. So, certain tribes encouraged
girls to learn how to ride horses and fight.