1. American Indians Unit Essential Questions:
Where did the American Indians (Inuit, Kwakiut, Nez Perce, Hopi, & Pawnee) settle?
How did the American Indians use their environment to obtain food, clothing, and shelter?

2. Vocabulary Words
Geography – the study of the world and the people and things that live there
Climate – the type of weather a place has over a long time
Migration – movement of people or animals from one region to another
Civilization – a culture with cities, a government, and many different jobs for people to do
Agriculture – growing plants for food; farming
Surplus - extra

3. Vocabulary Words continued..
Potlatch – a traditional feast of Northwest Indians
Clan – a group of related families
Irrigation – a method of channeling water in order to grow crops in dry land
Staple – a main crop and food
Ceremony – a formal act determined by ritual or custom
Lodge – an American Indian dwelling that several families lived in
Nomad – a person who moves around and does not live in one place

4. Arctic (Inuit) Indians

5. An Inuit Woman

6. An Inuit Family

7. Where did the Inuit settle?
The Inuit settled near the Arctic, in what is now Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. Their homeland has a very cold climate. Snow and ice cover the land for up to nine months each year.

8. What did the Inuit eat?
There were few plants for the Inuit because they settled so far north. The Inuit hunted seal, whale, caribou, polar bear, walrus and other animals for their food.

9. What type of homes did the Inuit build?
Few large trees grew in the area, so the Inuit used other materials to build their homes. The Inuit cut blocks of hard packed snow to build their shelters, called igloos. The Inuit also built shelters made of stones, wood, and caribou skins.

10. Pictures of Inuit homes

11. How did the Inuit travel?
The Inuit traveled by dog sled when on the ground. They traveled by a small boat similar to a kayak when on the water.

12. How did the Inuit travel? cont..

13. Was the Inuit village permanent?
The Inuit spent part of the year on the move, searching for food, and then part of the year at a central, more permanent camp. Anywhere from a dozen to fifty people traveled in a hunting group. The year was divided into three hunting seasons, revolving around one animal. The hunting seasons were seal, caribou, and whale.

14. Was the Inuit village permanent? cont….
The yearly cycle began with the spring seal hunting, continued with caribou hunting in the summer, and fishing in the autumn. A caribou hunt was also mounted in the fall. In the far north, whales were hunted in the early spring. It was a relentless cycle, broken up with occasional feasts after the seal and caribou hunts, and with summer trade fairs to which groups from miles around attended.

15. Hunting & Clothing
The walrus, seal, and other fur-bearing sea mammals supply food and clothing to the Inuit. All parts of the animals were used. Parkas were made of seal-skin. The walrus hide was made into boats. In the winter seals were harpooned at their breathing holes in the ice. A hunter might have to stand still for hours waiting for the seal to come up for air. In the summer the seals came out of the water to sun themselves. The hunter can crawl close to the seal and throw a harpoon to kill the seal. In late summer the caribou were hunted. Inuit hunters made camp near the caribou grazing grounds. They would ambush the slow-moving herd with bows and arrows.

16. Inuit Hunter with a harpoon

17. Plateau (Nez Perce) Indians
Chief Joseph Picture taken in 1900

18. How do you pronounce the word "Nez Perce"? What does it mean?
It is pronounced "nezz purse." It comes from the French name for the tribe, Nez Percé (pronounced nay per-say.) Nobody knows why the French called them this. It means "pierced nose," but the Nez Perce people say that unlike some neighboring tribes, they have never had a tribal tradition of pierced noses.

19. Where did the Nez Perce settle?
Peoples of the Plateau region lived on the Columbia Plateau between the Cascades and the Rockies. They traveled on the region’s many rivers and settled in the valleys. The Nez Perce Indians are original people of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington State. Most Nez Perce people live in Idaho today.

20. How is the Nez Perce Indian nation organized?
The Nez Perces live on a reservation, which is land that belongs to them and is under their control. The Nez Perce nation has its own government, laws, police, and services, just like a small country. However, the Nez Perces are also US citizens and must obey American law. In the past, each Nez Perce band was ruled by a chief, who was elected by a tribal council of important men from each village. Today, the Nez Perce are ruled by a tribal council which is elected by all the people.

21. What were the Nez Perce homes like in the past?
Originally, the Nez Perce lived in settled villages of earth houses. They made these homes by digging an underground room, then building a wooden frame over it and covering the frame with earth, cedar bark, and tule mats. There were two styles of Nez Perce earth houses: oval-shaped longhouses, which could be as long as 150 feet, and smaller round houses. Dozens of families lived together in a longhouse, while only one family lived in a round house. Once the Nez Perce began hunting the buffalo, they began to use tipis like the Plains tribes. Tipis, or teepees, are tall, cone-shaped buffalo-hide houses. Since Nez Perce hunters moved frequently to follow the buffalo, a tipi was carefully designed to set up and break down quickly, like a modern tent.

22. Nez Perce Homes
Longhouse
teepees

23. Nez Perce teepee community

24. How did the Nez Perce gather food?
The Nez Perce were fishing and hunting people. In the spring, the Nez Perce men caught salmon and other fish in the river valleys. They also hunted in the forests for deer, elk, and other game. Once they acquired horses, the Nez Perce tribe began to follow the buffalo herds like their Plains Indian neighbors. Nez Perce women also gathered roots, fruits, nuts and seeds to add to their diet. In the winter, they settled in villages and lived on food they had trapped or gathered earlier in the year.

25. What types of tools and weapons did the Nez Perce use?
Nez Perce fishermen used spears and nets to catch fish. Hunters used bows and arrows. In war, Nez Perce men fired their bows and arrows or fought with war spears and leather shields.

26. What did the Nez Perce Indians wear?
Nez Perce women wore long deerskin dresses. Nez Perce men wore breechcloths with leather leggings and buckskin shirts. Both men and women wore moccasins on their feet. A Nez Perce lady's dress or warrior's shirt was fringed and often decorated with beadwork, shells, and painted designs. Later, Nez Perce people adapted

27. Pictures of Nez Perce clothing

28. Nez Perce clothing cont..

29. Here is a picture of a Nez Perce canoe.

30. Nez Perce Transportation
The Nez Perce Indians made dugout canoes by hollowing out tree trunks.
Over land, the Nez Perces used dogs pulling travois (a kind of drag sled) to help them carry their belongings.
Once Europeans introduced horses to North America, the Nez Perces could travel quicker and further.

31. Assignment for Inuit and Nez Perz Indians:
American Indians
Assignment for Inuit and Nez Perz Indians:
The teacher will pass out a “What Have I Learned” worksheet. You must list at least 6 things you learned about the Inuit Indians and 6 things you learned about the Nez Perz Indians for a total of 12 items of information that you’ve learned.
When you’re done, find 2 people in your group to share this information with and then turn it in on the back table.
Finish all unfinished work from this morning, and if you’re done…it’s SILENT READING TIME!!!

32. Kwakiutl Indians

33. How do you pronounce Kwakiutl?
It is usually pronounced "kwah-kee-oo-tl."

34. Where did the Kwakiutl settle?
The Kwakiutl were a large American Indian group in the Pacific Northwest. They live in Canada.

35. How is the Kwakiutl nation organized?
Each Kwakiutl community has its own reserve, or reservation. Reserves are land that belongs to a Native American tribe and is legally under their control. Each Kwakiutl tribe--known as a band or First Nation in Canada--is politically independent and has its own leadership. The fifteen Kwakiutl bands each have their own government, laws, police, and services, just like small countries. However, the Kwakiutls are also Canadian citizens and must obey Canadian law.

36. How did the Kwakiutl nation gather food?
They built their villages near the coast or rivers to make hunting and gathering easier. Their main sources of food were fish and other ocean animals.
The Kwakiutl Indians were fishing people. Kwakiutl men caught fish and sea mammals from their canoes. They also hunted deer, birds, and small game. Kwakiutl women gathered clams and shellfish, seaweed, berries, and roots.

37. Kwakiutl food gathering and hunting cont…
In Kwakiutl villages, the houses usually faced the sea. Members of the same clan lived together in large houses. A clan is a group of related families. Each village also had houses that were used for special celebrations.
In the spring, summer, and fall, the Kwakiutl left their villages to settle near good fishing grounds. During these months, the men fished and the women gathered roots and berries, which they dried to eat in later months.

38. Kwakiutl food gathering and hunting cont…
In the winter, the Kwakiutl returned to their villages. During these cold months, they lived off of the food they had dried, and used the time for carving, weaving, or holding celebrations such as potlatches.

39. Two Important Resources for the Kwakiutl Indians
Salmon and wood were two important resources for the Kwakiutl Indians.

40. How did the Kwakiutl trap salmon?
The Kwakiutl set up a wooden fence across the stream to stop the salmon. Fish that did not get speared were swept by the current into traps on either side.
Salmon Fish Trap

41. What type of homes did the Kwakiutl Indians have?
The Kwakiutls lived in coastal villages of rectangular cedar-plank houses with bark roofs. The Kwakiutl decorated the houses with wooden carvings and/or paint. Usually these houses were large (up to 100 feet long) and each one housed several families from the same clan (as many as 50 people.)

42. Kwakiutl Houses

43. Kwakiutl Indian Transportation
The Kwakiutl Indian tribe made large dugout canoes by hollowing out cedar logs. The Kwakiutl tribe used these canoes to travel up and down the sea coast for trading, fishing and hunting, and warfare. Their most impressive war canoes, which could be more than sixty feet long and withstand ocean storms, were bought from the Haida tribe, who had access to the best cedar trees and were considered the best canoe-makers by the other Northwest Coast tribes.

44. Kwakiutl Canoes
Kwakiutl War Canoe
Kwakiutl Canoe

45. Special Skills and Talents of the Kwakiutl Indians
Kwakiutl artists are known for their fine basketry and woodcarving arts, including wooden masks and totem carvings.

46. Kwakiutl Masks and Costumes

47. What did the Kwakiutl Indians wear?
The Kwakiutl did not farm or herd animals, therefore, they did not have cotton or wool. Instead, people made clothing from bark. They shredded cedar bark to make skirts, aprons, and waterproof capes and hats.

48. Potlatch – A large feast that could last for several days that was given to celebrate important events such as marriage or the building of a house.
The hosts of a potlatch gives valuable gifts to guests. The picture above is a picture of potlatch blankets.

49. Hopi (Southwest)Indians
Indian Chief J. Kevahemah
Hopi Indian Girl

50. How do you pronounce the word Hopi? What does it mean?
It's pronounced "hope-ee," and it means "peaceful person" or "civilized person" in the Hopi language.

51. Where do the Hopi Indians live?
The Hopi are among the oldest Indian groups in the Southwest. They began living in present-day Arizona before They are one of several groups known as Pueblo Indians. Pueblo means “town” in Spanish.

52. What were Hopi Indian homes like in the past?
Hopi people lived in adobe houses, which are multi-story house complexes made of adobe (clay and straw baked into hard bricks) and stone. Each adobe unit was home to one family, like a modern apartment. Hopi people used ladders to reach the upstairs apartments. A Hopi adobe house can contain dozens of units and was often home to an entire extended clan.
Unlike most old-fashioned Indian shelters, traditional Hopi houses are still used by some people today.

53. Hopi Homes

54. Hopi Homes cont…

55. How did the Hopi Indians travel? Did they paddle canoes?
No--the Hopi Indians weren't coastal people, and rarely traveled by river. Originally they just walked. There were no horses in North America until colonists brought them over from Europe, so the Hopis used dogs pulling travois (a kind of drag sled) to help them carry heavy loads. Once Europeans brought horses to America, the Hopis could travel more quickly than before.

56. How did the Hopi Indians gather food?
The Hopis were expert farming people. They planted crops of corn, beans, and squash, as well as cotton and tobacco, and raised turkeys for their meat. Hopi men also hunted deer, antelope, and small game, while women gathered nuts, fruits, and herbs. Favorite Hopi recipes included hominy, baked beans, soups, and different types of cornbread.
Please Note: Hopi Indians used irrigation and other methods to grow beans, squash, and corn in a dry climate with very little rainfall.
*Irrigation- a method of channeling water in order to grow crops in dry land.

57. What was the staple for the Hopi Indians?
Corn was the staple for the Hopi and part of every meal. The Hopi grew yellow, blue, red, white, and purple corn. They grew enough for the year and kept it in storage rooms in their pueblos.
A staple is a main crop that is used for food.

58. What did the Hopi Indians do with the resources available to them?
Hopi people used the resources available to them to make containers to store their food and water. They dug clay and shaped it into large and small pots. The Hopi were some of the first people in the world to fire their pottery with coal. Firing pottery makes it strong and hard.

59. What were Hopi Indian tools and weapons like?
Hopi hunters used bows and arrows. The Hopis did not go to war often, though Hopi warriors did sometimes have to defend their territory against the Spanish and Navajos. When this happened, they normally fired their bows or fought with spears. Hopi tools included wooden farm implements, spindles and looms for weaving cotton (and later wool), and pump drills for boring holes in turquoise and other beads.

60. What were Hopi Indians wear
What were Hopi Indians wear? Did the Hopi Indians wear feathered headdresses and face paint?
Originally, Hopi men didn't wear much clothing-- only breechcloths or short kilts (men's skirts). Hopi women wore knee-length cotton dresses called mantas. A manta fastened at a woman's right shoulder, leaving her left shoulder bare. Missionaries didn't think this dress style was modest enough, so in the 1900's many Hopi women started wearing blouses underneath their mantas. This style is still in use today. Men and women both wore deerskin moccasins on their feet. For dances and special occasions, women painted their moccasins white and wrapped white strips of deerskin around their shins as leggings.

61. Hopi Clothing cont….
The Hopis did not traditionally wear featherwarbonnets. Hopi men usually wore cloth headbands tied around their foreheads instead. Most men wore their hair gathered into a figure-eight shaped bun called a hömsoma, though some Hopi men began cutting their hair to shoulder-length during the early 1900's. Umarried Hopi women wore their hair in elaborate butterfly whorls, while married women wore theirs in two long pigtails. The Hopis also painted their faces for special occasions. They used different patterns for war paint, religious ceremonies, and dances. Today, many Hopi people still wear moccasins or mantas, but they wear modern clothes like jeans instead of a breechcloth... and they only wear legging wraps or kilts on special occasions like a dance.

62. Hopi Clothing
Deerskin Moccasins
breechcloth
leggings

63. Hopi Clothing cont…
Butterfly Whorls
Feather Warbonnets

64. Arts and Crafts for Hopi Indians
Hopi artists are famous for their intricately carved kachina dolls and fine pottery and baskets. All of these art forms are still flourishing today.
Hopi basket maker and pottery decorator

65. Hopi Indian Kachina Doll
Arts and Crafts cont…
Hopi Indian Kachina Doll
Hopi Indian Basket

66. Arts and Crafts cont….

67. What were the roles of men and women in the Hopi tribe?
Generally, Hopi women were in charge of the home and family. Hopi clans are matrilineal, which means Hopi people trace their family through their mothers. Hopi men were in charge of politics, agriculture and war. Hopi political leaders and warriors were traditionally always men. Both genders took part in storytelling, music and artwork, and traditional medicine.

68. Hopi Indians and Religion
Religion was at the center of many Hopi customs. They believed that their creator had led them to the Southwest. The Hopi felt that they were meant to be caretakers of the land.

69. Hopi Indians…Caretakers of their land
As caretakers, the Hopi tried to keep their land healthy. If the land was healthy, they would have good harvests and enough rainfall. For the Hopi, caretaking included prayer and a yearlong calendar of ceremonies.
A ceremony is a special event at which people gather to express important beliefs. For example, at a ceremony called the Bean Dance, the Hopi danced and prayed for a good harvest.

70. Hopi Ceremonies
Hopi Indian Dancers

71. Hopi Indian Harvest Dance
Hopi Ceremonies cont…
Hopi Indian Harvest Dance
Hopi Indian Dancer

72. More pictures of Hopi Indians

73. Pawnee (Plains) Indians
Pawnee Army Scout

74. How do you pronounce the word Pawnee? What does it mean?
It's pronounced "paw-nee”.
This was an English form of the Sioux name for the tribe.

75. Where do the Pawnee Indians live?
The Pawnee Indians are original people of Nebraska and Kansas. The Pawnee tribe was forced to move to a reservation in Oklahoma during the 1800's, and most Pawnee people are still living in Oklahoma today.
Kansas
Nebraska

76. How was the Pawnee Nation organized?
The Pawnees live on a reservation, which is land that belongs to them and is under their control. The Pawnee Nation has its own government, laws, police, and services, just like a small country. However, the Pawnees are also US citizens and must obey American law. In the past, each Pawnee band was led by a chief and a tribal council. Pawnee chiefs were always men, but they usually passed their position on to their sister's children, not their own children. Today, the Pawnee tribe is governed by council members who are elected by all the tribal members.

77. What were the roles of the men and women in the tribe?
Pawnee men were hunters and sometimes went to war to protect their families. Pawnee women were farmers and also did most of the child care and cooking. Only men became Pawnee chiefs, but both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine.

78. Pawnee Homes
Most Pawnee Indians lived in settled villages of round earthen lodges. Pawnee lodges were made from wooden frames covered with packed earth. When the Pawnee tribe went on hunting trips, they used buffalo-hide tipis (or teepees) as temporary shelter, similar to camping tents. Here are some pictures of lodges, tipis, and other Indian houses.

79. Pawnee Homes cont…

80. What did the Pawnee Indians wear?
Pawnee women wore deerskin skirts and poncho-like blouses. Pawnee men wore breechcloths and leather leggings. Men did not usually wear shirts, but warriors sometimes wore special buckskin war shirts. The Pawnees wore moccasins on their feet, and in cold weather, they wore long buffalo-hide robes. A Pawnee lady's dress or warrior's shirt was fringed and often decorated with beadwork and painted designs. Later, Pawnee people adapted European costume such as cloth dresses and vests.

81. Pawnee Indian Clothing cont…
Pawnee Indian leaders sometimes wore the long warbonnets that Plains Indians are famous for. More often, Pawnee men shaved their heads except for a scalplock (one long lock of hair in back) and wore a porcupine roach on top. Pawnee women wore their hair either loose or braided. The Pawnees also painted their faces for special occasions. They used different patterns for war paint, religious ceremonies, and festive decoration.

82. Pawnee Clothing
Deerskin Moccasins
breechcloth
leggings

83. Pawnee Clothing cont…
Porcupine Roach Bow
Warbonnets

84. Indian dancers wearing porcupine roach bows and warbonnets
Pawnee clothing cont…
Indian dancers wearing porcupine roach bows and warbonnets

85. How did Pawnee Indians travel? Did they paddle canoes?
No--the Pawnee Indians didn't live near the ocean. When they traveled over land, the Pawnees used dogs pulling travois (a kind of drag sled) to help them carry their belongings. There were no horses in North America until colonists brought them over from Europe.

86. How did the Pawnee Indians gather food?
The Pawnees were farming people. Pawnee women raised crops of corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers. The men worked together to hunt buffalo and antelopes. Originally, Pawnee hunters would drive buffalo onto marshy land where it was easier to shoot them, but once they acquired horses, they hunted buffalo from horseback.
bison
antelope
buffalo

87. How was farming for the Pawnee Indians?
Rainfall on the Eastern Plains made it possible for American Indians such as the Pawnee and the Omaha to farm successfully. Because they were farming, they settled in permanent villages near rivers and build earth lodges.
Earth Lodge

88. Why was the Pawnee Earth Lodge important?
A lodge is a home that Plains Indians made using bark, earth, and grass. Lodges protected people from cold and stormy weather.
Earth Lodge

89. Did the Pawnee Indians live in a permanent village?
The Pawnee nation was made up of four bands, or groups. These groups lived in permanent villages in the river valleys of present day Nebraska and Kansas. Unlike many other Plains Indians, the Pawnee had 2 different economies. They farmed for half of the year and hunted for the rest of the year.
In the spring and fall, the Pawnee stayed in their villages and raised crops such as corn, squash, and beans. In the summer and winter, they hunted buffalo on the Plains. They were mainly agricultural people.

90. What tools and weapons did the Pawnee Indians use?
Pawnee hunters used bows and arrows. In war, Pawnee men fired their bows or fought with war clubs and spears.

91. Pawnee arts and crafts
Pawnee artists are famous for their pottery, woven baskets, and hide paintings.
hide painting
woven baskets
Pawnee pottery

92. Pawnee Indians

93. Seminole Indians

94. How do you pronounce Seminole? What does it mean?
It's pronounced
"Seh-minn-ole."
It comes from a Spanish word meaning "wild."

95. How did the Seminole tribe form?
In the 1700's, many Indians from Georgia and Florida tribes joined together for protection. These tribes originally had unique cultural identities, but they soon merged into a unified Seminole nation. Over the next century, Native Americans from other tribes and African-Americans who escaped from slavery crossed the border into Florida to join the Seminoles too.

96. Where did the Seminole Indians live?
The Seminoles lived in Florida. They started out in northern Florida, but when the Americans attacked them, the Seminole tribe retreated further south, into the Everglades. Some Seminole people were forced to move to Oklahoma in the 1800's along with other eastern tribes. Other Seminole people still live in southern Florida today.

97. Where did the Seminole Indians live? cont….
Florida Map

98. Where did the Seminoles build their villages?
The Seminoles built their villages along rivers or streams. Each village was made up of about 30 families.
Seminole Village

99. How did the Seminole Indians gather their food?
The Seminoles were farming people.
Seminole women harvested crops of corn, beans, melons and squash.
Seminole men did most of the hunting and fishing such as hunting birds, game such as deer, wild turkeys, rabbits, turtles, and alligators. The Seminole men also caught fish.
Seminole Indian dishes included cornbread, soups, and stews.

100. How is the Seminole Indian Nation organized?
There are two Seminole tribes today. The Florida Seminoles live on a reservation, which is land that belongs to the tribe and is under their control. The Oklahoma Seminoles live on trust land. Each Seminole tribe has its own government, laws, police, and services, just like a small country. However, the Seminoles are also US citizens and must obey American law.

101. What were the roles of men and women in the Seminole tribe?
Seminole men were hunters and sometimes went to war to protect their families. Seminole women were farmers and also did most of the child care and cooking. Both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine. In the past, the chief was always a man, but today a Seminole woman can participate in government too.

102. What type of home did the Seminoles have?
The Seminole people lived in houses called chickees. Seminole chickees were made of wood and plaster, and the roofs were thatched with palmetto fiber. Here are some pictures of chickees like the ones Seminole Indians used. Originally, the Seminoles lived in large villages of chickees arranged around a town square with central buildings in it, like a meeting hall and a sports field. But as the Seminoles moved south, they began living in smaller groups in remote areas of the Everglades. They also began building their houses on wooden stilts that raised the floor two or three feet off the ground. This protected their homes from flooding and swamp animals. Today, most Seminoles live in modern houses and apartment buildings, just like you.

103. Chickees

104. What was Seminole clothing like?
Seminole men wore breechcloths. Seminole women wore wraparound skirts, usually woven from palmetto. Shirts were not necessary in Seminole culture, but men and women both wore poncho-style mantles in cool weather. The Seminoles also wore moccasins on their feet. In colonial times, the Seminoles adapted European costume into their own characteristic styles, including turbans and long colorful tunics for men and full patchwork skirts for women. The Seminoles wore elaborate tribal tattoos, but rarely painted their faces.

105. How did the Seminoles travel? Did they travel by paddling a canoe?
Yes--the Seminole Indians made flat dugout canoes from hollowed-out cypress logs. They steered these boats with poles rather than paddles, and sometimes used sails made from palmetto fiber. Over land, the Seminoles used dogs as pack animals. (There were no horses in North America until colonists brought them over from Europe.)

106. How did the Seminole Indians travel? cont
Seminole Indians making canoes

107. What types of tools and weapons did Seminole Indians use?
Seminole hunters used bows and arrows. Fishermen usually used fishing spears. Traditionally, Seminole warriors fired their bows or fought with tomahawks. But by the time the Seminole tribe had united in the 1700's, they also fought with guns.
tomahawk

108. Seminole Arts and Crafts
The Seminoles are known for their baskets, woodcarvings, beadwork, and patchwork designs.
woodcarvings
Beadwork on pouch
basket

109. Chief Osceola (pronounced AHS-ee-OH-huh)
In the 1800’s, the United States Army wanted to remove the Seminole from their land in Florida. Chief Osceola refused to give up his land and convinced many Seminole to join his fight. He and others fought back with surprise attacks. After Chief Osceola was tricked into coming out of hiding to discuss peace, soldiers put him in jail.

110. Chief Osceola continued... (pronounced AHS-ee-OH-huh)
Osceola died in prison several months later, but other Seminoles carried on his fight. The struggle of American Indians to keep their homes continued for decades.

111. What do Seminoles of today look like?