 Natives
Tribes
Culture
Homes
Leaders |
A native is someone who belongs somewhere and who was born or originated from that place. Native Americans are native to the Americas. Because they have lived here for so long, no one knows America better than them. Some times these natives are called Indians, but that is not their name for themselves. When European explorers came to America, they thought they were in India. So they called the natives Indians, and the name stuck. Native Americans sometimes even call themselves Indians.
All across America, people lived up and down rivers. People who lived on the same river shared land, language, customs, rituals, and beliefs. They then form a grouping called a tribe. People of the same tribe shared the understanding of how things should be done correctly. Every tribe thought it was different than its neighbors. Tribal leaders traded and talked with each other. They shared special gifts and food from their own lands. In this way, shells from the ocean, copper from the Great Lakes, mica from the West, and obsidian from the Great Plains moved across America.
A culture is a combination of ideas, actions, and habits. Children learn their culture as they grow up in a certain place with certain people. Culture teaches people how to speak, act, pray, and live. The people of America have many different cultures. The biggest difference was between caretakers and the farmers. The caretaker hunted animals to feed their people, but they only took what they needed. The farmers would grow beans, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, sunflowers, and many kinds of corn. Farmers mostly lived in the East and in the South. Caretakers lived in the North and in the West.
Many Native Americans liked to travel during the year. However every tribe had a special place to spend the winter together. The type of house each tribe had told a lot about how they lived with nature and with each other. Did they use stone, skins, bones or wood? It all depended on where they lived. Men usually did the building, but not always and everywhere. Sometimes women built and owned houses.
Men were the leaders in each tribe, but that didn't mean that women didn't have a say in how things were done. Usually there were four leaders- the chief, the captain, the doctor, and the priest. Men usually filled these positions, but sometimes women did, too. The chief was mostly a kind man from a good family. He helped people decide when to hold gatherings and when to harvest plants. The captain was a warrior, or soldier, who defended the town and its people. When there was a war, he led the attacks on enemies. The doctor fasted and prayed to contact the spirits who gave him medicines and knowledge to help to heal the sick. The priest led his people in worship and rituals. Every year when the crops were ripe or the berries were ready to be picked, or the fish swam upstream, the priest held the ceremony to thank the spirits. When a boy or girl was given a name or some one died, the priest led the ceremony. These jobs usually were passed from father to son. So if your father was chief, you would be chief.
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