Native American Region Cultural Characteristics Artic Northwest Coast Plateau Great Basin California Southwest Great Plains Northeast Woodlands Southeast

TODAY YOU DO NOT NEED BELL RINGER OR NOTEBOOKS! GET OUT HOMEWORK: REGION CHART AND MAP.

Native Americans Native Americans were the people who lived in America before people from other countries came here.

Native Americans respected nature. They took care of the earth and only used what they needed.

Native Americans used natural resources to meet their needs. trees water stones buffalo Natural resources are things in nature that people can use.

Native Americans lived in culture groups. The people in a culture group have the same way of life. A culture group is a group of people who live in the same region.

Each region had different physical surroundings. Some regions had forests. Others were mostly desert.

Still others had oceans nearby.

Each region had different natural resources. Each culture group used the natural resources in its region to meet its needs.

For this reason, Native American culture groups had different homes. Those who lived near deserts used clay or stones to build their homes. Those who lived on the Plains used buffalo skins to make their homes. Still others lived near forests. They built their homes of wood.

Plains and Southwest Indians got horses from Spanish explorers. Physical surroundings affected how the Indians traveled, too. All Indians walked. Plains and Southwest Indians got horses from Spanish explorers. Indians in the Eastern Woodlands, Northwest Coast, and California Intermountain regions used canoes.

What is present-day Arizona was home to the Hohokam people What is present-day Arizona was home to the Hohokam people. They were geniuses in the way they were able to squeeze water out of the sunbaked soil.

These are the remains of an ancient Anasazi cliff village. Many Native American culture groups built their homes in villages or cities. These are the remains of an ancient Anasazi cliff village.

Anasazi AD 1 TO AD 1300 Built great stone dwellings called pueblos. Pueblo Bonito- 4 stories high and hundreds of rooms. Complex roads connecting Pueblo Bonito with other villages.

The Intuits lived in the Artic and are thought to be the last migrants that came across the land bridge into North America. Inuit built igloos. Their clothing is made of furs and sealskins which were both warm and waterproof.

Other culture groups, like the Great Plains, were nomadic. They could not live in one place. They had to move around to follow the buffalo.

Used the buffalo for everything food, clothing, shelter, tools, etc Used the buffalo for everything food, clothing, shelter, tools, etc. Spaniards brought horses to Mexico in 1500s eventually made their way north and they adapted horses to their lifestyle.

The Plains Indians had special ceremonies before big hunts The Plains Indians had special ceremonies before big hunts. They danced to the music of drums. They thought this would bring them good luck on the hunt.

The physical surroundings of each region also affected how each culture group got its food. Native Americans in the Northeast Woodlands were very lucky. That region had forests, lakes and rivers, a nearby ocean, and good climate. These Native Americans could farm, hunt, and fish for food.

These are all over Mount Sterling!!! Mound Builders lived in the Northeast Woodlands and were the Adena and Hopewell. They built huge mounds used as burial chambers. These are all over Mount Sterling!!!

Cahokia was a huge settlement that was part of the Mound Builders Cahokia was a huge settlement that was part of the Mound Builders. Over 16,000 people lived here!! Dominated by a great pyramid shaped mound.

There were no forests in the Southwest region There were no forests in the Southwest region. The land was rocky and uneven. There were many mesas, or large rocks with flat tops. The Indians who lived in this region were farmers. They planted their crops on the tops of mesas.

The physical surroundings of the regions affected each culture group’s way of life in other ways, too. There was much clay in the Southwest. Native Americans that lived in this region used the clay to make beautiful pottery.

Hopi, Acoma, Zuni – 1,000 of years Made homes out of dried mud brick called adobe. Raised corn as their basic food

Apache and Navajo – Pushed here by Europeans. Originally hunters and gatherers but began to settle down into communities.

Native Americans in the California region were known as gatherers.

There were few natural resources in this region There were few natural resources in this region. These Native Americans gathered acorns, seeds, and fruits. They also dug up plant roots to eat for food.

Native Americans in the California region were expert basket weavers. They made beautiful baskets out of grasses and plants.

Indians from the Northwest Coast hunted sea animals in the Pacific Ocean. There were many salmon in the rivers for them to eat. They also hunted animals in nearby forests.

The carvings on each totem pole told about a family’s history. The Northwest Coast region had many forests. The Native Americans in this region used wood from the forests to carve tall totem poles. The carvings on each totem pole told about a family’s history.

Great Basin This area east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is in present day Nevada. It received little rainfall and was very dry. People were subsistence farmers (they produced only enough to feed their families) and hunters and gatherers.

Plateau The Plateau Indians lived in parts of present day Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. They also lived in a dry environment where they lived by hunting and gathering.

Grew corn, tobacco, squash, and other crops. The Southeast was a wooded area but with warmer climate. The Creek, Chicksaw, and Cherokee lived here. Grew corn, tobacco, squash, and other crops.

Let’s review. We know: Native Americans were the first Americans. Native Americans respected nature. Native Americans used natural resources. Native Americans lived in different regions. Native Americans had different homes. Native Americans got food in different ways. Native American culture groups had different ways of life due to their different physical surroundings and natural resources.

What Region?