Native American Native American Culture GroupsCulture Groups

Section 2Section 2

By the 1400s Native Americans livedThroughout 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/ContrastCompare/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)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)Arctic (7)The AleutsLived 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)Arctic (8)

The AleutsCold 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)Sub-arctic (4)

• Cold climate

• Hunted caribou, deer and moose

• Lived near forests and lakes

• Used sod, wood, animals skins to build homes

Sub-arctic (7)Sub-arctic (7)

• 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)Sub-arctic (8)

• 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)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

• 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 (7)The Northwest Coast (7)

• 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

The Northwest Coast (8)The Northwest Coast (8)

California (4)California (4)• 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

• 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 (7)California (7)

• 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

California (8)California (8)

The Plateau (4)The Plateau (4)

The Plateau (7)The Plateau (7)• 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

• 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 Plateau (8)The Plateau (8)

The Great Basin (4)The Great Basin (4)

• 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 (7)The Great Basin (7)

The Great Basin (8)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)The Southwest (4)

• 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 (7)The Southwest (7)

The Southwest (8)The Southwest (8)

• 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)The Plains (4)

• Stretched west from the Mississippi River to Rocky mtns

The Plains (7)The Plains (7)

The Plains (8)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 (8)The Northeast Woodlands (8)

The Great Basin (7)The Great Basin (7)

The Southeast (4)The Southeast (4)

The Southeast (8)The Southeast (8)

The Southeast (7)The Southeast (7)

ReviewReview

• 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.

VocabularyVocabulary

Define the following:

• Shaman

• Totem pole

• Potlatch

• Tepee

• Iroquois League