Ch. 1 Sec. 2

THE WEST  Mesoamerican civilizations helped shaped Natchez society.  By the time Europeans arrived in the Americas, Native Americans were fragmented into many different groups.  The different groups were scattered across many different regions throughout the Americas.  The fragmentation of the American west was especially severed due to the extreme variations in climate and geography.

THE SOUTHWEST  Were descendents of the Anasazi and the Hohokam.  These groups included the Zuni, Hopi, and other Pueblo peoples.  Depended mainly on corn for food, but also planted squash and beans.  When a man and a women got married, they went to live with the mother in her home.

THE SOUTHWEST  Work between men and women was separate among the Indians of the American Southwest.  Men farmed and herded sheep, performed ceremonies, made moccasins, and wove clothing.  Women took care of the home, crafted pottery, and hauled water.

THE SOUTHWEST  When boys turned six, they joined the Kachina cult.  The Kachina cult was responsible for bringing in good messages from the gods.  The Kachina cult would visit towns wearing mask and performed ceremonial dances that were supposed to represent “good spirits.”

THE PACIFIC COAST  Groups included the Tlingit, Haida, Kwakiutls, Nootkas, Chinook, the Pomo and the Salish.  Lived in areas bordering the Pacific Ocean stretching from southwestern Alaska to Washington state and California.  Pacific Coast Indians didn’t practice agriculture. The relied mainly on fish and hunting animals like deer.  Pacific Coast Indians are most famous for their ceremonial mask and totem poles.

THE GREAT PLAINS  Included the Kansas, Pawnee, Sioux, and Iowa peoples  Great Plains Indians were influenced by the Hopewell and the Mississippi cultures.  Before the Europeans came to the Americas, most of these native cultures were nomads because they were forced to abandon their villages due to war.  The most well known of the Great Plains group was the Sioux.

THE GREAT PLAINS  The life of the Sioux changed dramatically after the arrival the Europeans because the Spanish introduced them to horses.  The Sioux were able tame and train the newly introduced horses and became some of the fiercest mounted warriors ever to exist.  The Sioux were very well known for scalping the heads of the enemy the defeated in battle.

THE FAR NORTH  The Inuit and the Aleut made their home in the far north areas of the Americas (Alaska, Greenland, and the Aleutian Islands).  Depended heavily on hunting (seals, walrus, polar bears, and caribou).  Invented a wide variety of things to help them deal with the harsh cold environment (harpoon, kayak, dogsled, ivory spikes, and snow goggles).

THE EASTERN WOODLANDS  Located East of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes.  Provided for themselves by combining hunting, fishing, and farming.  Also planted corn, beans, and squash.

PEOPLE OF THE NORTHEAST  Divided into two major groups, those who spoke Algonquin and those who spoke Iroquoian.  Algonquian speaking people lived in present- day New England, and in areas around the Delaware and Ohio River Valleys.  Succotash, hominy, moccasin, and papoose are all words that come from the Algonquin language.

PEOPLE OF THE NORTHEAST  Stretching west from the Hudson River, southern Ontario, and the north Georgian Bay.  Included the Huron, Neutral, Erie, Wenro, Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk.  Practiced slash and burn agriculture.  Lived in longhouses and wigwams

PEOPLE OF THE NORTHEAST  All of the Iroquoian people lived in kinship groups that were led by the elder woman of the family.  Iroquois women were in charge of harvesting crops of up to 10 related families that lived together.  Separate Iroquois tribes began to fight one another and started killing each other off.  In an effort to prevent the Iroquois from dying off, tribal leaders got together put together The Constitution of the Five Nations.

PEOPLE OF THE NORTHEAST  The Constitution of the Five Nations was an alliance among all Iroquoian people that was later named the Iroquois League.  Under the Iroquois League, Iroquois tribes followed the Great Binding Law that defined how the alliance worked.  Women selected the tribal chiefs, and would get rid of appointees if they felt they did a bad job.

PEOPLE OF THE SOUTHEAST  Included the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Natchez, and Creek.  People of the Southeast divided themselves into two groups.  War Towns were where war leaders lived and men trained for war.  Peace Towns were where political leaders lived.

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