Native Americans: The Beginning

Junior English

The First Migration: Ice Age

Travelers Ice Age hunters

Traveled with dogs, crossed Bering Land Bridge (now under Bering Strait) from Siberia to present day Alaska

20-40K yrs ago Others followed route

throughout the years By 1490—great European

exploration—numerous groups of Native Americans scattered throughout continent

Native Americans:

Eight Geographical Groups 1.  Northeast Coast: Coastal dwellers;

fishers; developed complex culture 2.  Plateau: River valley dwellers; primarily

fishers; relatively small population 3.  Great Plains: grassland dwellers;

nomadic buffalo hunters after introduction to the horse

4. Northeast: forest dwellers; primarily hunter-gatherers, also farmers and fishers

  5.  Great Basin: Desert basin dwellers; primarily gatherers because of barren surroundings; small population

 6.  California: Desert, mountain, river, or coastal dwellers depending on location; primarily gatherers and fishers

 7.  Southwest: Canyon, mountain, and desert dwellers; either farmers or nomadic hunters

 8. Southeast: River valley dwellers; primarily farmers, but also hunter-gatherers and fishers

Native Americans:

Eight Geographical Groups

Native American Literature Did not use written language Stories passed from generation to

generation through story and song Stories centered around a particular

character, event, or element Most common stories

center around: The trickster The gambler The creation Abduction Migration

The Oral Tradition

Stories were reliant upon repetition Used in ceremonial situations Repetition aided in memorization Provided narrative cohesion Participatory Powerful and unifying

Creation Stories Similar to the account in The Bible Similar from tribe to tribe Used to explain how world/universe

was created Explained the origin of man

Sometimes had animal characteristics

Sometimes non-gender, or only one gender (usually female— mother earth)

Creation Stories Contained what the tribe generally

believed the relationships between People People and nature

Contained origins of tribal customs and structures

Creation Stories Creation occurs primarily in one of five ways:

From chaos or nothingness From a cosmic egg or primal maternal

mound From world parents who are separated From the process of earth diving Land was created from mud pulled from bottom

of ocean by animal spirit From several stages of emergence from

other worlds, or states of being Every story, there is a sense of birth—both of

the world and humans

Creation Stories Characteristics Characteristics include:

A Creator (medium for creation) Such as clay, fluids, and supernatural power

The trickster; can be A negative force A cultural hero (dives to the depths of

nothingness to find form) The first man and woman

Job is to continue to create both offspring, and plants and animals

The flood hero Saves mankind from great waters

and begins again

Trickster Tales One form of creation story Trickster is usually a coyote Vary from tribe to tribe, but contain

same basic qualities: Tricksters are more than

deceivers who make us laugh By crossing social boundaries,

they both break rules and show how important rules are

Tricksters are creators in their own rights

Trickster Tales Presence of traditional elements, such as:

Animals --buffalo, coyote, spider, salmon Vegetables –usually corn Minerals—clay, obsidian

(type of rock) Landscape—a holy mountain,

a vast sea Weather–storm Supernatural—spirits, etc. Also, colors, directions, time,

and dances

Native American Religion Commonalities

At time of European contact, nearly all indigenous cultures in North America had developed coherent religious systems that included creation myths

Most natives worshiped an all-powerful, all-knowing Creator or "Master Spirit" as well as numerous lesser supernatural entities, including an evil god

Members of most tribes believed in the immortality of the human soul and an afterlife

Religious Similarities with Europeans

Three beliefs common to Native American tribes: All had developed a religion; creation

myths, origin myths, etc. Worshipped an all-powerful “Great Spirit” Immortality of the human soul; an afterlife

Sought assistance of their deity with prayers and offerings

Called upon specially trained clergy, such as a Shaman, to assist them, particularly during times of crisis

Religious Differences: Native Americans & Europeans Native Americans did not distinguish

between the natural and supernatural as Europeans did Native Americans perceived the

“material” and “spiritual” worlds as one Protestant and Catholic traditions were

more inclined to separate the pure/spiritual beings in heaven from sinful men and women

Conclusion Europeans arrived in the 15th

century The Pequot War in 1636

Friction between Puritans and Pequot Indians

Pequot defeated in 1637 massacre Survivors were

beheaded or sent into slavery

Works Cited• Lewis, S. “Native American Literature”• “Native Voices” unit, American Passages website

– Unit Overview www.learner.org/amerpass/unit01/instructor.html

– Authors: Stories of the Beginning of the Worldwww.learner.org/amerpass/unit01/authors-8.html

• Divining America: Religion and the National Culture– Native American Religion in Early America

www.nhc.rtp.nc.us/tserve/eighteen/ekeyinfo/natrel.htm