Colonial America

Part 1American Indians:

Stereotypes and Realities

Indians are all alike.

In land that makes up the U. S., there were at

least 520 culturally distinct tribes.

Indians are a vanished race.

In the last census taken in the United States, there were at least 4

million American Indians.

Indians had no civilization until Europeans came.

Many Indian tribes were very civilized. They were

just different from European cultures.

All Indians were warlike and treacherous.

Most Indians fought to defend their lands and

way of life.

Indians were conquered because they were an inferior people.

One of the biggest reasons they were conquered, was

the fact that there was a lack of immunity to various

diseases like smallpox.

If Indians had united together, they could have defeated European

settlement.

Most Indian tribes were very culturally different from each other, usually lived far apart,

and often hated their neighboring tribes.

Indians are confined to reservations, live in teepees, wear braids, and ride horses.

Indians are not confined to reservations anymore. Many of

them are now urban or city dwellers. Few ride horses,

wear braids, or live in teepees.

Indians have no reason to be patriotic.

Indians are one of the most patriotic groups of Americans

when you look at the percentage of them who are

veterans of the military.

These were the major

CULTURAL REGIONS of

North America.

Native American Diversity

By the year 1500, Native Americans had divided into hundreds of cultural groups who perhaps spoke up to 2,000 different languages. Each group adapted to its ENVIRONMENT whether in frozen ice fields, scorching deserts, or densely

forested woodlands.

Some native cultures based their economies on farming, while others relied on hunting and

fishing. Depending on where they lived, different groups had different technologies.

For instance, on the coast, some Indians used tools made from shells. In the desert,

irrigation was used.Environment affected religion too. Native Americans strongly believed that certain places were sacred—and that animals, plants, and natural forces had spiritual

importance.

Peoples of the North and Northwest Coast

• In the far north, people like the Aleut and the Inuit, had to deal with snow and cold for much of the year. They were mainly hunters, and hunted things like whales, seals, and walruses.

• They hunted these animals for food, and used skins to make clothing. Land animals like caribou were also hunted using weapons made from bones and antlers.

Further south, on the Northwest coast, people also hunted sea mammals. Fishing for

salmon was very common. Living near the forests, trees were often used for houses and

boats. They sometimes traded things like shells with inland Indians for things like furs.

Some tribes in the Northwest held a POTLACH or special ceremony where all

possessions were given away to claim social status or benefit the community. They were

held on special occasions such as the naming of a child or mourning the dead.

Members of the Chilkat Tribe

Peoples of the Columbia Plateau, Great Basin, and California

• These native people did not rely as much on the sea. They mainly hunted for or gathered food, and moved around a lot.

• Men hunted deer, elk, antelope, rabbits, and birds. They also fished. Women gathered nuts, seeds, and berries. Many were also excellent weavers.

• Many tribes had dances or ceremonies for various reasons.

Members of the Bannock Tribe

Peoples of the Southwest

• One of the more well-known tribes here are the Pueblo. They used IRRIGATION for farming, and lived in many-storied houses made from adobe—dried mud bricks.

• They raised corn, beans, and squash, as well as doing some hunting.

• Other tribes such as the Navajo and Apache came after the Pueblo. They were HUNTER-GATHERERS.

Peoples of the Great Plains

The Great Plains is a relatively flat, grassy area between the Mississippi River and the

Rocky Mountains. These are often the Indians many people STEREOTYPE all

Indians as being like. Many picture them as always being horse riders. However, they

had no horses until the Spanish arrived in the Americas in 1500s.

Some Plains Indians were NOMADS or wanderers, while others lived in villages by rivers and farmed. The BISON or buffalo, was the most important animal to these

people. They not only used the animal for meat, but used their hides for shelter and clothing, and their bones for tools. Many Plains people lived in TEEPEES, and in

winter, some of the northern Plains Indians such as the Mandan and Pawnee lived in

LODGES that were partly underground and had earthen walls.

Peoples of the Southeast

• The southeast region has mild winters and warm summers with plentiful rainfall. The long growing season allowed crops like corn, beans, squash, and pumpkins to be grown by tribes such as the Choctaw and the Chickasaw

• Men did the hunting, while women usually farmed. Family ties were traced through the bloodlines of women.

SeminoleIndians

Peoples of the Eastern Woodlands

This region had plenty of fish, game, and rain, but the climate was colder with snowy winters. Some natives here practiced

SLASH-AND-BURN FARMING where trees are cut down and burned. Ashes from the fire enrich the soil. When the soil was worn out,

the land was abandoned, and a new field was created.

Many natives of the region lived in LONGHOUSES, or bark-covered shelters that could house 8-10 different families.

Some natives also lived in WIGWAMS which were dome-like structures covered with

deerskin and slabs of bark. Many villages were protected by pole fences to ward off

enemies. The Iroquois Indians of this region gave women a lot of power. If a male leader

did something wrong, women of the clan could vote him out of office.

The Eastern Woodland

Indians were some of the

first to be affected by European

settlement. They were eventually

driven west of the Mississippi River, or killed.

As you can see, there is no “typical Indian”. There were many different

cultural groups who lived very differently from each other, usually

based on their environment. Native Americans played a large role in the history of the United States, and we will be discussing them periodically

throughout the year.