American Indian
Culture Regions
Intro
• Imagine that you are an Alaskan Native.
Describe what a day in your life would be
like.
• Include:
– Where you live
– What you eat
– What you wear
American Indians
are diverse!
•When Europeans first arrived in America,
they noticed that the Natives were very diverse
•Different cultures were developed by Native
peoples, based on their environment
•Scholars group Native Americans who shared
similar cultures into culture regions (or culture
areas)
What is a culture
region?
Culture Region: a geographic
region which shares similar
physical terrains, natural
resources, and cultural
characteristics
Three Characteristics
of Culture Regions
1. Physical terrain
2. Natural resources
3. Culture
Physical Terrain
Climate & Landforms
Natural Resources
Plant and animal life
Culture
everything that makes
up the way of life of a
people
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Shelter
Tools
Language
Clothing
Arts
Religion
Government
Map of American
Indian culture regions
10 Culture Regions
1. Arctic
2. Subarctic
3. Northwest
Coast
4. Plateau
5. Great Basin
6. California
7. Southwest
8. Great Plains
9. Northeast
10. Southeast
Arctic
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Natural Resources
Little vegetation
Dogs, used for hunting and hauling
Sea mammals major food source (seals,
sea lions, sea otters, walruses, and
whales)
Other game (polar bears, musk oxen,
mountain sheep, wolves, wolverines,
foxes, rabbits squirrels, and waterfowl.
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Physical
Terrain
Large, treeless
plains, called
tundra,
Frozen and
snow-covered
Winters are
long and severe
Blizzards
Subarctic
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Physical Terrain
Mostly interior
(except Hudson Bay
& Pacific coast)
Thick pine forests
Thousands of lakes,
ponds, swamps,
rivers, and streams
Long winters with
deep snow and thick
ice
Short summers
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Natural Resources
Caribou
Large game (moose, deer, musk oxen,
mountain sheep, bison)
Small game (beaver, mink, otter,
porcupine, rabbit, squirrel, and
waterfowl)
Seeds, berries, bark
Northwest Coast
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Physical Terrain
Narrow coastal region
Cool & damp climate with mild wet winters
and cool summers
Thick forests
Many rivers
Mountains
Evergreen forests
Natural Resources
Lots of food source: seals, sea lions, and
fish (salmon, halibut, herring, cod, and
flounder)
Hunted whales
Hunt deer, elk, bear, and mountain goat
They learned to dry their meat and fish
with smoke
Plateau
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Physical Terrain
High plateau region,
surrounded by desert &
mountains
Rivers
Natural Resources
Small game
Wild plants (berries & edible
roots)
Fish (Salmon)
Large game in the mountains
(elk, deer, mountain sheep,
bear)
Great Basin
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Physical Terrain
Very dry
Surrounded by mountains,
plateaus, & deserts
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Natural Resources
Sparse vegetation
Very little resources
Small game
Foragers
California
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Physical Terrain
Mountain ranges & Pacific
coastal regions
Forest & deserts
Mild climate, with many warm
days
Varied rainfall
Natural Resources
Acorns from oak trees
Wild plants (berries, nuts,
seeds, roots)
Fish, seafood, small game,
birds, deer
Southwest
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Physical Terrain
Mesas and canyons,
Mountains, deserts
Few rains
Natural Resources
Evergreens
(mountains), cactus
Small game
(rabbits, birds, and
rattlesnakes)
Great Plains
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Physical Terrain
Large inland region
Rolling, fertile tall-grass
prairies
Summers are typically hot
and dry, and winters are
long and harsh.
Natural Resources
American bison (buffalo)
Farmers
Berries
Northeast
Physical Terrain
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Temperate & humid climate
Hundreds of rivers, creating rich soil for agriculture.
Widespread forests
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Sometimes the area is grouped with the Southeast culture area and referred to as the
Eastern Woodlands.
Natural Resources
Animals (a variety of
game, large and small:
fish, deer, rabbit,
squirrel, beaver, and
various birds, such as
turkey, partridge, duck,
and goose; also hunted
moose, elk, and bear)
Southeast
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Physical Terrain
Semitropical
Humid and well-watered
Saltwater marshes, grasses,
rich soils, swamplands,
rounded hills, high grass,
and rolling mountains
Natural Resources
Forests of pine trees
Animals (deer, squirrel,
birds, fish)
On your index card…
• Choose a culture region DON’T write it on
the card!
• On the lined side
– two animals,
– two types of plant life, and
– info about the climate
• Remember DO NOT write which region!
• Put your name on the back (blank side)
Musical Chairs
• When the music starts move around the
room
• When it stops sit in the closest desk
• Look at the card on your desk.
• From what you know, what culture region
does it belong in
• One region at a time you will have a
chance to tape your card in the right
culture region
• Artic
• California
• Southwest
• Subartic
• Great
Basin
• Plateau
• Great
Plains
• Northeast
• Southeast
• Northwest
Coast
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Culture Region Project
Assignments
Arctic
6. California
Subarctic
7. Southwest
Northwest
8. Great Plains
Coast
9. Northeast
Plateau
10. Southeast
Great Basin