Native American Culture

Before the arrival of Europeans in 1492, many tribes had grown and flourished in the Americas. Most tribes had their own organized governments and religions, but some tribes occupied entire regions, such as the Pueblo tribes of the Southwest or the Mississippi River Valley tribes, and were different from the numerous nomadic tribes. They had extensive trade systems, sophisticated farming systems that resulted in a ready supply of food, and thousands of citizens. The two groups had a lot in common, but they also had several differences that distinguished them. The Pueblo tribes had a more developed sense of unity than the Mississippi River tribes, and this unity gave them an advantage that the Mississippi

Prior to European contact, Native Americans lived as hunter-gatherers, living and traveling in groups typically less than 300. These Native Americans had over 400 languages along with a myriad of different religions (The American Pageant). Across the continent, the Natives built homes

-What were the major patterns of Native American life in North America when Europeans arrived?

Long before the Western countries discovered North America, the Native Americans lived and thrived here. Historians believe these wandering peoples crossed over a land bridge that formed when the earth froze over, officially named Beringia, to get to North America. These nomadic Natives began spreading and forming different tribes around North America. One of the many tribes was the Ais Indians of Florida. By themselves, the tribes reigned the New World, but contact with the Westerns began their tragic demise.

Native American Life Pre-Contact- There were many diverse Native American people before the arrival of Europeans. I am talking about Native American societies before Columbus' arrival in 1492. Most Native American communities organized as tribes with their environment severely impacting and shaping their lives. Native Americans in the Southwest had a strong agricultural society with maize being a staple food, an example being the Hopi in modern day Arizona. Those in the Northwest and Great Plains had more of a hunter gatherer society because of the lack of natural resources and also were more nomadic, not having permanent settlements like the Southwest and Eastern Native Americans. Eastern Native Americans had a mix of hunter gatherer and

Prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) the Americas were already a home to millions of natives that had already been there for thousands of years. The original natives of America before the arrival of Europeans were descendants of groups of hunters and fishers that crossed the Bering Strait between 15,000-60,000 years ago. Over time these natives developed their own techniques for farming, hunting and fishing. In addition, they had also developed their own religious beliefs, political structures, trading networks and hundreds of different languages. The natives, mostly lived on corn, squash, beans, and some fish, deer and turkey. They lived in 3 different kinds of societies. The three different kinds of societies were nomadic, semi-nomadic and

European Americans have commonly failed to recognize the plurality of American Indian groups, as they have classified all Indians as being in the same group of “natural beings” that wear feathers and ride on horses. However, there are many different American Indian groups and communities, and some groups had further divisions, such as the Lakota. The Lakota were made of seven tribes, the Oglalas, Brulés, Minneconjous, Hunkpapas, Two Kettles, Sihasapas, and Sans Arcs (7). Out of these, the Oglalas and the Brulés got the most attention, as they spent the most time in the Black Hills out of the tribes; however, the other tribes were definitely affected by United States policy too as the Europeans set up forts all over their territory (13).

Have you ever been in a place of green with forests and animals everywhere? Well, where some of the Native Americans lived, there were such things. Native American tribes such as the Crow lived in the Great Plains. The Crow tribe of the Great Plains were nomadic and followed the buffalo migrations which provided their food. This tribe spent a good part of the year living in camps that could easily be dismantled and moved to follow the buffalo migrations. Other tribes of the plains were more sedentary. These tribes lived in permanent villages year round.

The Indians in the South and west were peaceful tribes of Acoma, Hopi, Laguna, taos,

They used what is known as a diffused substinance pattern. By this we mean that by using resources available to them lightly as opposed to intensely using the same resources, they were conserving for the future. These tribes would spiritualize nature. In this culture everything was significant. They held reverence for the environment and a strong kinship with nature. Often these people observed respectful guidelines to avoid spiritual retaliation. For instance, the bones of the beaver would be returned to the river where it had been trapped. This was believed to keep the beavers there plentiful.

The first of all, native Americans were very smart and they knew how to survive in that different kinds of environment . Because they understand how to get foods from nature and they knew using traps to hunt animals

The Native Americans lived on millions of acres of land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and Florida, they inherited all of these lands from their ancestors who cultivated for generations. According to Elias Boudinot the natives considered themselves to be just as equal as the Whites, he states, “What is an Indian? Is he not formed of the same materials with yourself?” (Boudinot, 1826) The natives saw themselves to be no different from the Whites, in fact they cared for one another as a whole, they lived in kinships, where there was never an Indian left alone without a family. They followed a society based off of the concept of interdependence, they had in their mind that everything is dependent of something. The Indians were very advanced, and were able to prosper in their society, although the Whites believed otherwise, and believed that the natives were uncivilized.

The native americans also made diffrent houses depending on the weather, for instance the mojave and cahuilla made their houses out of brush if the weather was hot. If the weather was cold they would make there houses out of oak planks and have slanted roofs.fun fact: did you know the cahuilla also ate beans,corn and squash?anyway, the cahuilla and the mojave lived close together and probably traded lots of things with each other too.fun fact:all tribes sing or yell special ceremonies to honor there tribe or land or there people as well as food or crops.the cahuilla lived in the foot hills of the san bernadino mountains and lived there for hundreads

Native Americans thrived from nature and their way of life depended on the land of the grassy Great Plains. Their life changed due to horses, and then afterward guns, being introduced to them by the Spanish; which made it easier for them to move and hunt. As settlers moved in, the Native nations were treated poorly and had little to no ability to stand up for what they believed in and how they wanted to live with all the restrictions laid upon them. The federal government created policies, such as The Concentration Policy, “relocation”, and The Dawes Severalty Act, as settlers began moving west which eventually lead to many warfares’s.

What were the common characteristics of all Native American cultures in the New World, and what were the important differences among them?