The First Americans

Cultural Regions of North America Tribes We Will Study: Northwest Coast: Chinooks Makahs Southwest: Navajos Great Plains Mandans Kiowas Eastern Woodland Iroquois Cherokees Cultural Regions

Northwest Coast The Northwest Coast Indian Culture was in what is today the states of Washington, Oregon, and northern California. Many small tribes such as the the Nez Perce and the Chinook lived in this cultural area. The tribes in this culture were much smaller than the other cultures. Northwest Coast

Northwest Coast: Environment, Food, and Shelter It was too wet to grow any crops. There were plenty of fish, deer, and bears. There was wood to build houses and to make tools. Travelled in dugout canoes. Outside each house stood a wooden pole called a totem pole. Each totem pole was beautifully carved with shapes of people and animals. The carvings showed each family’s history and importance. Northwest Coast

Southwest The climate of the Southwest is very dry. Much of the land in the southwest is desert. The Southwest has very few animals because of the desert. Southwest

Navajos The Navajos settled in the area of the Southwest known as the Four Corners. The Four Corners is where the four states of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado meet. The Navajos lived in small houses usually made of adobe. Adobe is a type of mud brick that retains heat. Keeping the houses cool in the heat and warm in the cold evenings. They are known for their beautiful pottery and jewelry. Southwest

Great Plains Indians known as The Plains lived in the Great Plains. Buffalo was the most important natural resource of the Plains Indians. Indians of the Great Plains lived in tepees. The Plains Indians were hunters. Buffalo provided these Indians with their basic needs, food, clothing, and shelter. Great Plains

Sioux Tribe Lived: Dakota’s, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, and Wyoming. They were nomads who moved frequently and lived in teepees following the buffalo. No matter how often they moved they were a united tribe.

3 Interesting Facts On Sioux Sioux means “Little Snake” Refer to themselves as Dakota Social activities included powows, rodeos, and races

Cheyenne Tribe Lived- Great Plains west of Rocky Mountains west of Mississippi River, Settled in Montana and Wyoming. They lived similar to the Sioux, although they didn’t have to move nearly as much due to the abundance of deer, and bear in the region.

Eastern Woodlands The Eastern Woodlands region covered the east coast of what is today known as the United States, west to the Mississippi River. Because these Indians lived in the forests, they were called the Eastern Woodland Indians. Eastern Woodlands

The Iroquois The Iroquois were not one tribe, but a group of five tribes that lived near each other and spoke similar languages. The five Iroquois were the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk. In 1570, the five tribes formed the Iroquois league. This league was formed because the Indians were tired of fighting and wanted to work together. Each tribe made their own laws, except for matters that were important to all the tribes, like trading. The Iroquois lived in longhouses. Longhouses were wooden framed houses with many families living together. Eastern Woodlands

The Cherokees The Cherokees lived in the river valleys of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Cherokees were farmers and hunters. They grew corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, sunflowers, and tobacco. They hunted squirrel, rabbit, turkey, bear, and deer. Cherokee families had two houses covered with earth. Their summer house was a larger, box shaped house covered with grass or clay walls, and bark roofs. Several families of the same clans shared the same house. The Cherokee were known as one of the 5 Civilized tribes because after white men showed up, they started acting like them. Eastern Woodlands