Native
Americans
Cultural Groups
Eastern Woodlands, Southeastern, Plains,
Southwestern, and Pacific Northwestern
Major Native American
Cultural Groupings
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Eastern Woodlands
Southeastern
Plains
Southwestern
Pacific Northwestern
Words You’ll Need to Know
• tribe-a group of families bound together
under a single leadership, share a common
culture
• league-an organization that people form
which unites them for a particular purpose
• culture-way of living
• cultural region-an area in which people with
similar cultures live
Eastern
Woodlands
Example of Eastern
Woodlands
The Iroquois lived in the Eastern Woodlands cultural
region.
Five Iroquois tribes came together to form the Iroquois
League. (later six)
Iroquois people used their surrounding resources of the
Eastern Woodlands to meet their needs.
Eastern Woodlands
Everyday Life
• Way of life: hunting and farming
• Hunted animals that were plentiful in the area
– deer, bear, elk, and beaver
– used traps
• Fished in lakes, rivers, and streams
• Grew crops
– corn, beans, squash, tobacco
• Used the woodlands for food and clothing
Eastern Woodlands
Everyday Life
• Traveling
– by canoes for water
– used snowshoes over snow
– by foot mostly
• moccasins-like slipper made of animal skin
• Animal Skins
– used to make clothing
Eastern Woodlands
Physical Environment
• Thick forests
• Used the woodlands for food and clothing
• Many carved tree wood into bowls, tools, and
utensils
• Some made bark or grass baskets for gathering and
storage
• Cleared part of the woodlands to make room for
fields of crops
• Made birch wood canoes
Eastern Woodlands
Physical Environment
• Lived in longhouses
• Some tribes lived in birch-bark wigwams and some
built dome-roof houses
• Gathered the sap for maple syrup (attached birchbark containers to maple trees)
• Paddled through waterways to fish
• Gathered berries and nuts
– knew which ones were safe and delicious
Eastern Woodlands
Culture
• Based on hunting and farming
• Felt deep connection to animals, trees, and other
resources around them (Ex. Hunter/deer
connection)
• Gave thanks for their crops
• Iroquois wampum belt
• Sang and danced to the rhythms of rattles and
drums
– ex. rattles made of turtle shells
Eastern Woodlands
Culture
• Believed that the trees, clouds,
rivers, and other natural
surroundings had spirits living
within them
• Respected nature
• Took just what they needed
and no more…healthy balance
Eastern Woodlands
Governing
• Native American tribes joined together and
formed the Iroquois League [about 1580]
– Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk
(later Tuscarora)
• Sent 50 representatives, all men, to a Great
Council
– made decisions for the whole league
– *Cool Fact* The older women of the tribes chose
these men. (could also remove them)
The Iroquois Today
• About 50,000 Iroquois today
– many live on reservations* in New York state
(*land set aside by the U.S. government for
Native Americans)
• 50 members still form its Great Council
• League members have become skilled
builders of city skyscrapers
– mainly from the Mohawk tribe