1. The First Americans During the Ice Age, the Bering Sea froze over. It is believed that the first Americans walked across this frozen land bridge called Beringia to reach North America.

2. After crossing over the land bridge, the First Americans migrated south and spread all across the Americas. It is believed that during the Ice Age, the ocean levels dropped 300 feet exposing more land further out from our shorelines of today. Historians believe when the Ice Age ended, the ice melted raising the level of our oceans and covering possible archeological remains of migration campsites along our west coast. The red line on the map indicates these routes.

3. The Northeastern Woodland Indians inhabited a wide area in the eastern part of the United States that extended eastward from the Mississippi River, through the Great Lakes region, to the Atlantic Ocean. Some of the tribes included the Iroquois Confederacy (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Tuscarora). Southeastern peoples included the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole.

4. The Northeastern Woodland Indians had their own farm plot and each member of the family had an important responsibility. The women of the family were responsible for gathering wild plants, such as berries, nuts, and edible plants and flowers. The men's responsibility was to hunt, fish, and fell trees to make canoes. Many of the Eastern Woodland tribes were not nomadic and relied on agriculture to provide food for the tribe. Being expert farmers, farming was the main focus of their lives. The Iroquois lived in areas that provided good farm land and the Powhatan also cultivated the land for food.

5. The Iroquois were the most fierce Indians located in the Northeast. Every tribe feared the Iroquois. The Iroquois was a Confederation of tribes which included the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and eventually joining the confederation was the Tuscarora. (who joined after they were kicked out of the Chesapeake area) The Mohawks were located at the east end of the Mohawk River Valley and the Seneca’s were located at the west end next to the Great Lakes. These were matriarchal based tribes.

6. The Northwest Coast Indians lived in the NW region of North America along the Pacific coast. Their shelter often consisted of long houses built out of wide red cedar planks. They were 20ft to 60ft wide and 50ft-150ft long, with the biggest houses reserved for the elite. Their main food source was the sea and included whale and salmon from the local rivers and streams. Potlatches were generally large ceremonies that included song, dance and the giving of gifts. Some historians think that potlatches are where we got the idea of potluck dinners.

7. Northwest Coast: Environment, Food, and Shelter Indians of the Northwest Coast lived between the ocean and rugged mountain ranges. The growing season was short, and the climate was too wet for much agriculture. There were plenty of fish, especially salmon. There were also deer and bears. There was wood to build houses and to make tools. If tribes could not get something by themselves, they could trade. People traveled by water. Northwest Coast Indians traveled in dugouts, or boats made from large, hollowed out logs. 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.

8. Each totem pole was beautifully carved with shapes of people and animals. The carvings showed each family’s ancestry, importance and the social rank of that family. Totem poles were more abundant after Europeans visited and left iron tools.

9. Hunting for whale was very dangerous. The tail of the whale could flip around and crush the hunters and their boat throwing them into the cold Pacific Ocean. The whale would be harpooned then floated to the village where every part of the whale was used. The skin and meat were eaten, the blubber, or fat, was used for oil, and the tendons were used to make rope.

10. The Plains Indians Indians known as The Plains Indians lived in the Great Plains. Buffalo was the most important natural resource of the Plains Indians. Indians of the Great Plains lived in tepees.

11. The Plains Indians were nomadic hunters who followed the buffalo herds. The buffalo provided these Indians with their basic needs, food, clothing, and shelter. To capture the buffalo, they would surround the herd or try to stamped the herds off cliffs or into areas where they could be killed more easily. Life for the Plains Indians was much easier after the arrival of horses. The Plains Indians also hunted such game as elk and antelope.

12. The Mississippian Culture also known as the Mound Builders – Largest mound was located at Cahokia located close to St. Louis, Illinois. The largest mound was 10 stories high.

13. Most of the mounds were used as temples. However some were used as burial mounds. The temple mounds are common and similar to the Mayan mounds except the Mississippian Mounds were made of dirt and wood. The Mississippian culture flourished from 400 AD to 1400 AD. The center of Mound Builders was the Caribbean culture of the Mayans and Aztec.

14. Body Tattooing was prevalent in the Mound Building society. Tattoo's were generally from the neck down the body to the wrist. Tattooing looked like a body suit. Another custom was wearing a feather mantle or robe made from the hummingbird. A good mantle would take about 10,000 hummingbirds. Spiro Mounds in eastern Oklahoma was part of this culture.

15. A later mound building culture was around Natchez, Mississippi. The Natchez People lived until the middle of the 1700s and were the last of the Mound Builders. The French explorer Robert de La Salle traveled from the Great Lakes down the Mississippi River in 1682 and gave us our first detailed description of these people. The Natchez People were undemocratic and had a cast system.

16. Natchez Society Pyramid Great Sun – one guy absolute power The Suns – the royal family The Nobles-nobility either born into family or marry into nobles. The Honored Men – the wise or brave - great warriors. Had to be born or marry into this group. The Stinkards – the bottom of society. This is everyone else. Everyone had to go to the Stinkards to find a mate. This was a matriarchal society so the Sun males had to marry a female from the Stinkards so any children from this union would be Stinkards. Female Suns had to marry Stinkards and their children would be Suns.

17. Southeastern Woodland Indian tribes were the Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole. These tribes became known as the Five Civilized Tribes. The Cherokee spoke the Iroquoian language and believed to have migrated from the North. The other four tribes spoke the Muscogee language.

18. The Southwest Native Americans come from the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Southern Colorado, and the northern part of Mexico. Most of the land is desert covered with cactus. The main tribes that come from the Southwest area are the Apache, Hopi, Navajo, Pueblo, & Zuni. They first lived in round underground homes called Kivas. From there they progressed to above ground unit houses.ApacheHopiNavajo PuebloZuni

19. The Anasazi’s first homes were underground. They were very small, and they exited by ladder through a hole in the roof. Their size was about 8 feet by 8 feet. All of the family slept in these homes. These were called Kivas. There was a Sipapu was located in every Anasazi home. It was about the size of a green bean can and it was believed to be the passageway from which their ancestors came to the earth from down under. It was also a passage way for spirits. Fire pit Storage Sipapu

20. Ventilation Hole into the home. They sat and slept on shelves or benches like these. Ventilation from the outside Anasazi underground home

21. Around 500 AD they moved to above ground homes called unit houses. These homes were two and three stories high. The underground Kivas became religious places. The posts holding up the second and third story floors were made of trees about the size of telephone poles. Notice the sharp angles. These were built prior to European arrival with metal tools.

22. Above are the ruins of Pueblo Benito the largest known Anasazi village. It is located in northwest New Mexico.

23. It took about 300 plus years to build Pueblo Benito. If you look closely you can see the early construction on the right and later years construction on the left. The left side shows the advancement of their masonry skills.

24. The Anasazi moved to cliff dwellings like the above. They would climb to the top to do their farming using hand holds in the sides of the cliffs.

25. They built their Unit Houses and Kivas into the sides and ledges of the cliffs. At the edge of the homes was a long drop. There were no guardrails to keep people from tumbling from the cliffs. Around the late 1200s the Anasazi abandoned the cliff dwellings. Historians speculate there was either a drought, disease, or attacks from enemies that caused them to leave these homes. Today’s Pueblo are ancestors of the Anasazi.

26. Exploration

27. In 1492 Spain had just won a 700 year war with the Moors. Because they had the largest navy in the world, they were considered the most powerful nation. They were so powerful there was a saying “When Spain walked the world trembled.” This was a testament to their power. Because of the war, Spain’s treasury was almost empty and they were in need of a source of income. They also needed jobs for their soldiers. The Spanish sanctioned explorers who were known as conquistadors. These explorers were looking for three things GOLD, GLORY, and GOD. Spanish Conquistadors

28. One of Spain’s explorers was Christopher Columbus. He was convinced by sailing west he could find a shortcut to the Orient. Instead of finding Asia, he discovered the Americas. Thinking he had landed in a remote part of the Indies. He named this new land the West Indies. Columbus made four trips to the Americas before his death. He never realized his discovery was a whole new land.

29. Columbus landed on the Island of Hispaniola. Columbus was also looking for gold. He returned to the King and Queen with what little gold he found, and captive Native Americans. He left behind men to establish a colony and continue searching for gold. Hispaniola Cuba

30. The Spanish conquistadors captured Native Americans and used them as slaves. A large number of the Native American population died because of European diseases and overwork. If the Native Americans were able to escape their captors, many were able to hide from their oppressors because this was their homeland and they knew the land.

31. Gold, Glory and God After Columbus’ discovery, the race was own to claim land for the European countries. The Spanish sanctioned Conquistadors to explore for their country. These men’s primary goal was fame and fortune. A Catholic priest accompanied these expeditions. This was Spain’s way of believing they were doing their religious duty by attempting to Christianize the heathens in the New World.

32. After Columbus’ discovery, Pope Alexander VI (a Spaniard by birth) acting as the great European arbiter of the day, issued a bull (decree) that divided the New World lands between Spain and Portugal by establishing a north-south line of demarcation 100 leagues* west of the Cape Verde Islands. Undiscovered non- Christian lands to the west of the line were to be Spanish possessions and those to the east belonged to Portugal. This was called the Treaty of Tordesillas and was signed in 1494. This treaty helped keep peace between Spain and Portugal.

33. John Cabot was Italian, but moved to England to sail for the English. He and his crew landed in northern North America around present-day Newfoundland in 1497. This was the first English claim in North America.

34. Juan Ponce de León, Spanish governor of Puerto Rico, discovered Florida in 1513, searching for the legendary Fountain of Youth. Landing near the St. Johns River, he claimed the region (and all of North America) for Spain. He named it Pascua Florida (“feast of flowers,” the Spanish name for Easter).

35. Vasco Nunez de Balboa (1474-January 15, 1519) was a Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador. He is best known for having crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513. Balboa was the first European to lead an expedition to reach the Pacific Ocean from the New World. Below he claims possession of the Pacific and all its lands for Spain.

36. Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese who obtained Spanish nationality to sail for King Charles the I of Spain. He was the first explorer to sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and around the world. The Strait of Magellan on the tip of South America was named for this explorer.

37. In search of gold, Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez led an expedition to Mexico. Aztec leader Montezuma sent emissaries bearing gifts of gold to welcome the newcomer. Cortez matched the description of the returning Aztec god Quetzalcoatl who according to prophecy was predicted to return this same year of 1519. The gifts of gold just fueled Cortez’s greed for fame and fortune. Cortez and his men made their way to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Hernando Cortez

38. At Tenochtitlan Cortez and his men were welcomed with open arms. After a few months of rich lavish treatment, Cortez took the Aztec King Montezuma hostage. At Montezuma’s unexpected death, Cortez and his men were forced from the Aztec capital. In 1521 Cortez returned with reinforcements to lay siege upon the city. Before Cortez arrived smallpox had ravaged the city killing thousands and weakening the Aztec military strength. Cortez demolishes the city and conquerors the Aztec.

39. Part of the Narvaez Expedition in 1528, Cabeza de Vaca was only one of four who survived the expedition. Separating from their ships in search of gold, the 200 plus man ground expedition became lost within the swamps and wilderness of the Florida coast. The survivors built rafts and followed the Gulf coast eventually two rafts landed near Galveston. There the survivors were captured by Native Americans and held as captives. They wondered east Texas and northern Mexico for close to eight years until finally reaching the Spanish city of Mexico City. One of the four survivors was a man named Esteban who will be asked to help led the Coronado expedition.

40. Vazquez de Coronado After Cabeza de Vaca arrived in Mexico City, he was asked if there was any evidence of gold. He reported that he had not seen any, but heard of the rich cities to the north referred to as the Seven Cities of Cibola. New Spain’s Viceroy asked Coronado to lead an expedition to seek out these rich cities. Esteban, one of the survivors with Cabeza de Vaca, agreed to be a guide for the expedition which left Mexico City in the spring of 1539. It was the largest expedition up to that point.

41. The fabled Cibola turned out to be an impoverished Zuni Indian village. Coronado sent out scouting parties from this location. One scouting party explored the country of the Pueblo Indians around today’s Albuquerque.

42. Another scouting party was the first Europeans to see the magnificent Grand Canyon. When the Indians were asked to guide them across, the Spaniards were told there was no way to cross. But the Indians did know of a crossing.

43. Coronado forced the Indians to use their meager food supply to feed he and his men. When food supplies became low, the Spaniards became very cruel to the natives. Coronado’s men torched entire villages and burned inhabitants at the stake. The expedition left the Zuni and traveled across the rest of New Mexico, into Texas and Oklahoma. In 1542 Coronado returned to Mexico without finding any gold or leaving any permanent Spanish settlements behind. However his expedition will be remembered for it’s legacy of cruelty to the Native Americans they encountered.

44. Hernando de Soto led an expedition that began in Florida in 1539. He traveled from Florida northward to North Carolina then westward. He was the first European to see the Mississippi River. From their he crossed into Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. De Soto had been with Pizarro in Peru and had seen first hand the riches of the Incas.

45. De Soto traveled from village to village looking for gold. The cruelty of de Soto and his men is legendary. The Spaniards frequently released their vicious dogs to attack the Native Americans. All along the route they continued to meet Native Americans who insisted that even though they did not have gold, other tribes farther on did. De Soto became ill and died in 1542, and was buried near the Mississippi River. The rest of de Soto’s expedition built rafts and traveled down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico and on to a Spanish settlement in Mexico.

46. Bartolome de las Casas was a 16 th Century Spanish Dominican Priest. As a settler in the New World he witnessed, and was driven to oppose, the horrifying treatment of the Native Americans by the Spanish colonists. He advocated before King Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor on behalf of rights for the natives. Originally he proposed to replace the slave labor of the natives with the importation of slaves from Africa. He eventually recanted this stance as well, and became an advocate for the Africans in the colonies. (November 1484 – 18 July 1566)

47. Jacques Cartier explored the northern part of North America giving France its first claim to land in North America. He made three expeditions between 1535 and 1542. He was the first European to sail down the St. Lawrence River.

48. In 1565 the first permanent Spanish colony, in what is today the United States, was established at St. Augustine, Florida. It was established as a defensive position to protect the Spanish shipping lanes off the eastern coast of Florida.

49. The first English Colony of Roanoke, originally consisting of 100 householders, was founded in 1585, 22 years before Jamestown. The colony was ill prepared and depended on the Native Americans for help. John White (the leader) returned to England to purchase supplies in 1587, but was not allowed to leave England due to the impending attack by the Spanish Armada. After the threat passed, White was allowed to leave and he returned to Roanoke. He found an abandoned colony. Roanoke's so-called "Lost Colony" of 90 men, 17 women and 9 children, was discovered to be missing in 1590. White and his men found nothing but the word "Croatan" carved on a post. Lost Colony of Roanoke Although both the English and the Spanish searched for many years for clues for the colony’s disappearance, the mystery has never been solved.

50. The Spanish Armada in 1588 sailed to England with intentions of overthrowing Queen Elizabeth I. They encountered a severe storm causing some ships to wreck and scattering other ships. The English used fire ships and smaller swifter ships to out maneuver and defeat the Spanish navy. The most powerful navy in the world had been defeated.

51. In 1607 the first permanent English settlement was established at Jamestown, Virginia.

52. The first permanent French settlement was established in 1608 at Quebec by Samuel de Champlain. Champlain introduced the Native Americans to modern weapons, guns.

53. Henry Hudson made several expeditions into North America for England. In 1609 he sailed into New York harbor and up the Hudson River. In 1610-1611 another expedition took Hudson into the Hudson Bay. It is reported that Hudson’s crew cast he, his son and eight crewmen adrift in a small lifeboat. They were never seen again.