Ben Siegel
Baudinet
Chapter Two: 5 Sentence Summary & Prep Notes
Notes
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Haida of west coast of Canada were well-organized and comparatively sedentary, with seasonal movements to capitalize on Canadian resources, they developed substantial
housing and artwork
Inuit/Eskimo of the Canadian Artic established a unique culture based on the Artic Seasons and utilized the abundant resources of the region such as marine life and caribou
Yanomami of the Amazon Basin organized themselves in small villages and have demonstrated a successful adaptation to the local ecosystem which provided hunting, fishing, and
agricultural resources
The Blackfoot of Canada/US lived in the Great Plains and their culture was centered around the massive bison herds in the land, and maintained social/spiritual traditions such as a
strong social network between groups of Blackfoot
The Mohawk of Canada/Us were part of the Iroquois Confederacy and established a reputation for political organization and military prowess and had strong diplomatic
relationships with other indigenous groups
The Innu of Quebec lived within specific river systems, moving along the river as the seasons and resources dictated, they lived in extended family groups with gathered for social,
spiritual, and ceremonial activities
The Māori of New Zealand are known for their artwork such as facial tattoos and the famed Haka, a war dance performed to intimidate the enemy. They created a complex
network of social and political relationships and were well organized for war and self-defense
The Chittagong hill tribes of Bangladesh consisted of numerous groups that did not share the same language, culture, lifestyle or spiritual beliefs with one another and struggle to
maintain separate identities based on their homelands
The Sami of Scandinavia migrated in pursuit of reindeer herds and were deeply spiritual, relying on various gods/spirits to guide their lives and actions
The Bushmen of Southern Africa live primarily off their gathering activities and have an intense familiarity of the landscape and they move frequently to find resources to survive
The Aka of central Africa were a jungle society which drew heavily on the plant life of the region and maintained strong commercial and social relations with other peoples who
relied on the cultivation of plant life
The Okiek of Kenya were made up of interconnected harvesting societies and were known for their harvesting of honey but also hunted large and small mammals
The Vedda of Sri Lanka occupied forested lands, their lifestyle reflected the resources & rhythms of the land such as the ebb and flow of the monsoon seasons
The Jarawas of the Andaman islands capitalized on the richness of their habitat to develop a stable lifestyle and were hostile to foreigners and used the dense jungle to protect
themselves
The Agta of the Philippines followed a mixes-economy lifestyle and developed a seasonal and mobile cycle which involved considerable movement throughout their lands
The Penan of Borneo had a society based on well-placed central camps from which they moved away from temporarily in search of resources
The Jahai of Northern Malaysia maintained a unique combination of hunting, gathering, trade, and basic agriculture
The aborigines of Australia varied greatly in subsistence lifestyle and habits due in large measure to the dramatic differences in climates of Australia, they developed social and
economic systems in line with the environment
The Ache of Paraguay drew on rich resources of the region to sustain a complex social and economic system and are described as aggressive and combative
The Ainu of Japan were spiritually intense peoples who organized their lives around their relationships with the gods
The Chukchi and Yupik of eastern Siberia harvested extensively throughout the year and domesticated reindeer to move across the tundra
The Nganasan of North-Central Siberia were reindeer-herding peoples and drew most of their sustenance from the reindeer
Summary
Indigenous societies throughout the world were enormously different in complexity,
social structure, & culture. It is important for us to understand the variations these societies had
in their relationships with imperialistic states such as the Europeans. Contact between indigenous
and expansionist peoples, such as the Europeans, is referred to as the “fatal encounter”. Before
this encounter, hundreds of indigenous societies flourished around the world but where then
subject to the search of commercial and political advantages of the Europeans. The encounter
experience not only transformed indigenous societies, but the entire world.
*chapter outlines numerous indigenous groups which are summarized in above notes section