Native American
Culture Groups
Section 2
By the 1400s Native Americans lived
Throughout all parts of the Americas.
Within each of the major culture groups,
Different nations shared similar ways of
life
During thousands of years, Native
Americans developed many different
ways to get food, build homes, practice
religion, and enforce laws
They spoke more than 1,000
languages.
MAIN IDEA: The earliest inhabitants of
North America developed unique and
thriving cultures
Compare/Contrast
Similarities
Differences
Each nation had sm. Group of
leader who decided for the whole
group
Law enforcement
Shared common ancestory
Decided leadership
No one could own land
Language
Power of spirits found in nature
Food, dress, home, hair
Arctic (4)
The Aleuts
They lived near ocean
A lot of ice
Used boats made of
whale skin over bone
Huts w/ animal fur
stretched over
Used harpoons/nets to
hunt whales
The Inuit
Travel inland during
summer / hunt
caribou
Hunter/Gatherers:
clams/berries
Were not wasteful; used
all parts of animals
Arctic (7)
The Aleuts
Lived in houses of whale
bone, driftwood, sod and
animal skin
Women sold clothing of tiny
bird bones and thread
made of fish parts
They ate clams, berries,
seals and whale meat
Settled in the Aleutian
Islands
The Inuits
Made sleds
Anything not made into
food was made into
clothing, weapons,
fuel.
Lived in skin tents and
sod houses
Arctic (8)
The Aleuts
Cold Winters / Short
summers
Trap animals: Squnk,
apasaum, chitmunk
Berries and clams
Homes made of drift wood,
whale bone and sod
Boats made of whale skin
The Inuits
Sub-arctic (4)
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Cold climate
Hunted caribou, deer and moose
Lived near forests and lakes
Used sod, wood, animals skins to build
homes
Sub-arctic (7)
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Hunter-Gatherers
Hunted moose, deer, beaver and rabbit
Caribou most important source of meat
Houses made from wood and sod
Adapt to cold winters and short summers
Land covered with forests and lakes
Sub-arctic (8)
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Land covered in forest and lakes
Like the arctic cold winters/short summers
Bordered Alaska and Canada
Hunted fish and gather food; most
important food was caribou, but hunted
moose, beaver and deer
• Homes made from sod and other mtls.
The Northwest Coast (4)
• Lived in misty forested coasts teeming w/
animals, sea and plants
• They made totem poles
• Villages near oceans and rivers
• Ate salmon, otters, seals, bears and
moose
• Large canoes that hold 50 people or more
made from redwood
The Northwest Coast (7)
• Lived near ocean and rivers
• Large houses made of wood
• Ate salmon, otters, seals, bears and
moose
• Misty forest coast
• Traveled by canoes that could hold up to
50 people
The Northwest Coast (8)
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Near oceans and rivers
Salmon was a large part of their diet
Wood used to make large homes
Wood used to make weaving baskets
Wood carved to make totem poles
Canoes made to fit 50 people
Area teemed with animals and plant life
Misty forests
California (4)
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Mild climate
Plentiful resources
Lived near the sea to catch fish
Seafood, wild plants and acorn meal
(mush)
• Used canoes traveling miles out to sea
California (7)
• Lived along the Pacific coast
• A lot of forests
• Caught small forest game; ate seafood;
collected acorns made into a meal
• Took long canoes out to fish
• Used harpoons and nets made from stone
and grass
California (8)
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Southern Pacific coast
Climate was mild
Coast was large
Ate small forest game, acorns, shellfish
and regular fish
• Art was simple harpoons, nets made from
grass weighted w/ stones
• Traveled by canoe
The Plateau (4)
• Surrounded by the Cascade mtns on West
and Rocky mtns on East
• Ate Salmon, berries, bulbs and roots
• Used rivers to travel and trade
• To protect themselves from winter they
lived under ground
• 20 Native American tribes
The Plateau (7)
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Bordered the Cascade and Rocky mountains
Ate salmon, roots, bulbs and berries
East of the NW coast
Land of many rivers that were used as trade
routes
• Cold winters/warm summers
• Lived underground during winter to keep warm
• Lived in wooden frames covered with mats
during the summer
The Plateau (8)
• Underground homes used in the winter
and wooden frames covered with mats in
the summer.
• Surrounded by mountain with lots of rivers
• Cool, arid climate
• Ate fish (salmon), roots, bulbs, berries
• Canoes used in the rivers
The Great Basin (4)
• Lived a dry desert area
• Temperature rise to over 100 degrees
• Ate roots, berries, seeds, snakes, rodents,
insects
• Sage brush and grasses only plants
The Great Basin (7)
• Dry desert area w/ high temps
• Only plants were evergreens in
surrounding mtns.
• Ate seeds, berries and roots, snakes,
insects, and rodents
• People called diggers
• Was home Shoshone, Paiute, Utes
The Great Basin (8)
• Surroundings were mountainous and
warm/dry
• Dug for most of their food: snakes,
rodents, insects and small berries, seeds
• Food was scarce which contributed to a
low population
• Main transportation was walking
The Southwest (4)
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Weather was hot w/ very little rain
Mountains and deserts; dry land
Food: corn, squash; grew tobacco
Ground corn to meal and made flat cakes
and bread
• Lived in pueblos (village) and came from
the Cliff Dwellers
• Created irrigation canal for growing crops
The Southwest (7)
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Farmers and Hunter/Gatherers
Grew corn, squash, beans and tobacco
Corn was ground into bread and flat cakes
Most lived in pueblos
Land was dry so they built irrigation canals
Roamed mtns and deserts hunting
Raided villages and deserts for food
The Southwest (8)
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Lived on cliffs
Dry land/warm climate
Ate corn, squash, bean and berries
Lived in pueblos (villages)
Main form of transportation was walking
Roamed mtns / deserts and raided villages
The Plains (4)
• Hunted Buffalo, elk and antelope during the
summer
• Area stretched from the Rockies in the West to
the Mississippi River in the East
• Grew corn, beans, squash, tobacco and
sunflower
• Used all parts of the buffalo: tepees, clothes,
tools
• Made houses from sod (grass/dirt)
• Rode horses
The Plains (7)
• Stretched west from the Mississippi River
to Rocky mtns
The Plains (8)
• Surrounded by the Mississippi River,
Rocky Mtns and treeless grasslands
• Grew corn, squash, beans, sunflowers and
tobacco; ate buffalo
• Homes were teepee made from buffalo
hides
• Used bones for tools
• Traveled on foot and horses
The Northeast Woodlands (4)
•Lived in dense forest, fertile valleys and around
streams
Climate: hot summers
Settled into village and built permanent homes
Moved around on foot
Tribes in area included the Iroquois and Algonquin
Northeast Woodlands (7)
Northeast Woodlands (8)
The Southeast (4)
The Southeast (7)
The Southeast (8)
Review
• Vocabulary (next slide)
• What beliefs about land and nature did
most Native Americans share?
• Think about one of the ten Native
American culture areas. Think about the
area’s physical environment. Draw a
scene that shows that environment.
Vocabulary
Define the following:
• Shaman
• Totem pole
• Potlatch
• Tepee
• Iroquois League