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Native Americans
Native Americans
How and when did they first arrive?
Archaeologists suggest that people arrived in several groups or “tribes” to America, from
15,000 – 40,000 years ago. One version has it that the first Americans came from Asia
and followed herds of grazing animals across a land bridge formed during the Ice Age.
When the Earth began to warm, this land bridge disappeared and became the Bering
Strait. Another version that is becoming popular describes them making their way to the
Americas by way of boats and canoes through several sea and coastal routes.
Once here, they expanded their territory slowly southward and eastward into the
Americas through a harsh landscape. They were excellent hunters and speared huge
animals such as woolly mammoths and long-horned bison. They adapted quickly to
their environment. By the year 1500, more than a thousand major tribal groups, and
probably an equal amount of languages existed.
Living Conditions & Clothing
Land and weather varied greatly across the continent and tribes had very different
circumstances to contend with and survive in. For example, in California and the
Northwest, the mild climate meant that tribes there had plenty to eat, unlike the
extremely dry Great Basin where food and water was scarce for many other tribes.
Native Americans loved their decorated ceremonial costumes, but generally wore
simple everyday clothes. They dressed to suit the weather. As mentioned above,
weather conditions varied greatly across the continent and, therefore, clothing was
different from tribe to tribe.
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Native Americans
Food
Starting from early spring to late autumn, many Native American tribes moved around
frequently, searching for things to eat. In the Great Basin, they searched for seeds,
berries, nuts, and roots. In California, Indians harvested acorns from oak trees and
ground them into flour. They hunted on the sea coast and in the mountains. The
Southeast, parts of the Southwest, and the Eastern edge of the plains were the best
areas for farming. Tribes grew corn, wheat, fruits and garden vegetables often using
clever methods. Here in the Northwest, salmon was the food of choice and the great
variety of deer, elk, coyote, and game birds made the search for food less difficult than
in many other parts of the North American continent.
Great Hunters
Buffalo meant life to the Plains Indians. There were buffalo here in the Northwest many
years ago, too! They used every part of the buffalo. They used the hides for clothing
and shelter, dung for fuel, fat for lamps, horns for spoons, bones for tools and toys, and
stomachs for cooking pots. They dried the meat and crushed it with berries and kidney
fat into an energy food called 'Pemmican.' Native Americans had no set meal times.
People ate when they were hungry, after a good hunt or when travelers arrived. Sharing
was very important for them. Most tribes’ stored food for the winter, as in cold seasons,
it was very hard to grow plants or hunt animals.
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Shelter
Native American dwellings came in various shapes and sizes. Their names were just as
varied: chickees, hogans, igloos, tepees, long houses, lean-tos, wigwams, and
wickiups. The Plains Indians lived in cone-shaped structures called tepees, made out of
buffalo hides sewn together. When tribes needed to move on to find food or to escape
from enemies, they could fold the tepees and transport them easily.
Arts and Crafts
Native American arts and crafts are famous throughout the world. Native Americans
made practical and beautifully crafted objects for everyday use. Their ceremonial
clothing and sacred things were richly decorated. Painting, carving and embroidery told
stories and were linked with the spirits through designs that had special meanings.
Skills such as basketry, pottery and weaving have been passed down from one
generation to another for many centuries.
Celebrations
Native Americans enjoyed many special occasions. Ceremonial clothing, decorated with
fur, feathers, quilling, and beadwork, was worn for these events, and people made
necklaces, earrings and bracelets from animal teeth, bones, and claws, shells, and
stones. Ceremonial dancing was the Native American way of celebrating joyous
occasions and praying for health, successful hunting and good harvests.
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New Settlers
When Europeans began to colonize America, they fought bitterly with the Native
Americans over land. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson passed a law saying that the
government would set up areas in the West called Reservations. These were
exchanged for tribal homelands, which the new settlers wanted to farm. Native
Americans suffered badly from the changes caused by European settlement. Many
people died and some tribes disappeared altogether. The clash of cultures between the
European settlers of the New World and the Native Americans resulted in the death and
suffering of possibly 100 million people that originally lived here.
Native American Pow-Wows
You will learn about pow-wow festivals and participate in a Native American dance ritual
that is a mixture of dances and customs from the “Five-Civilized Tribes”.
From Wikipedia: “The Five Civilized Tribes were the five Native American nations—
the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole—that were considered
civilized by Anglo-European settlers during the colonial and early federal period
because they adopted many of the colonists' customs and had generally good relations
with their neighbors.
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Native American pow-Wows, a time of celebration, feasting, and dance, are highlighted
by one or several grand dances and dance competitions both within the tribe and
between tribes. In the pow-wow tradition of the Choctaw Tribe, men and women dance
together. When the Choctaw Nation hosts a pow-wow, all Native American tribes, men
and women, are invited to participate.
The Grand Dance (or sometimes called “The Earth Dance”)
This is one of the real spectacles and highlights of a large pow-wow. For the Choctaws
and for a large number of Native American tribes from the Plains States (both before
and after Indian Removals), this is a celebration of the Earth, the cycles of the seasons,
Nature’s timeless advance, human interaction with other animals, life from death, and
the joy of living.
The Grand Dance usually begins with everyone taking their place in a large circle and
beginning to slowly dance in a counter clockwise direction in a large tent or open air
space. One or several drums provide a medium-paced beat. Drummers usually are
chanting as they beat the drum.
Women remain standing upright and dance a simple two-step march. They may also do
the “Jingle Dance”. Men often begin the dance doing the two-step, as well. They usually
advance slowly. Most dancers remain in step with the beat but there are almost always
side dances and activities that begin to add color, movement, and excitement to the
Grand Dance. Women are usually dressed in long flowing gowns and may add a
decorative head dress or bustle to their backs. Many may have their own hand drum or
rattle they are playing. As the slow but steady dance gains more participants, the pace
of the drumming may increase and other colorful and fancy dancing begins…mostly by
young men and children.
Fancy dances were originally a ceremony to call for war or a special plea for rain,
fertility, or an end to sickness. These dances explode with color and movement on the
dance floor. They are fun to watch as all the other dancers continue their march around
the room.
Young children participate and have fun during the dances, too. They may join hands
and “snake” their way in and around the crowded dance floor. Other children dress
themselves as animals such as raccoons, fish, coyotes, beaver, elk, and birds. They will
usually try to imitate those animals’ natural movements.
The Grand Dance may finish in a fevered pitch of beating drums and chanting, or it may
slowly fade to silence. For sure, it is always a grand event for all.
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Map of Some Original Tribal Locations in America
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