Learning About Native American Indian Nations

Adriana Villarreal3rd Grade

What do you KNOW about Native American Nations and Tribes?

What do you WANT to learn? QUESTIONS

A Few of the HUNDREDS of Native American Indian Nations in North America

• Chumash – California• Navajo – Arizona• Cheyenne – Colorado• Mohawk – New York• Cherokee – North

Carolina

Chumash – CaliforniaThe Chumash lived in Southwestern California. In the area that today is called Santa Barbara.

Lifestyle

• Their homes were called ‘AP. They were round and shaped like half an orange. They were made out of branches.

• Chumash men caught fish, seals, otters, and clams from their canoes, while Chumash women ground acorn into meal for bread and gathered nuts, fruits, and herbs.

Tools• The Chumash used the bow and arrow.

Before that, they used the spear thrower. They also used a harpoon with a detachable fore shaft for spearing large fish. They made curved, circular fishhooks from abalone and mussel shells for catching smaller fish.

Canoes – Most important tool• The Chumash were experts in

building canoes. They called them TOMOL.

• Since they were located next to the Pacific Ocean, water was fundamental to their lifestyle. They used them to trade with the islands and for fishing.

• Could carry as many as 10 people.

Economy• Beads were used as

money. The value of the money depended on the labor invested to make it and the rarity of the shell that was used.

• They also traded among themselves and nearby villages.

Basketry• Baskets played essential roles

in all aspects of Chumash life.

Water baske

t

• They were used for gathering, storing, preparing and serving food, holding water, keeping money and other valuables, measuring acorns for trade, carrying babies, in gambling, as gifts, and for ceremonies. Even the Chumash house was much like an upside-down basket.

Medicine• The Chumash had several

kinds of doctors, or shamans. They believed that disease resulted from problems with a person's spiritual state, so they concentrated on healing the spirit. Songs and prayers, dietary restrictions, and special medicines were some of the treatments these doctors used.

Cave Painting

• They painted some of the most elaborate and colorful in the world!

A mystery to us…

• They were probably made for religious reasons. Shamans, or Chumash priests, are thought to have made these paintings to influence supernatural beings and forces to intervene in human affairs. We can only guess what these mysterious symbols meant to their creators, but they may represent mythic figures, natural phenomena, or abstract concepts.

Government

In the past, each Chumash village was ruled by its own chief, who was similar to a mayor.

Village chiefs were chosen from important and wealthy Chumash families by village elders, and could be either men or women.

Today

• The Chumash people live on a reservation . Indian reservations are lands that belong to the tribes and are under their control.

• Today, the Chumash tribe is led by a tribal council elected by all the Chumash people.

The Chumash tribe has its own government, laws, police, and services, just like a small country. However, the Chumashes are also US citizens and must obey American law.