Native Americans of

North America

Vocabulary Terms

flint – a hard rock that tends to fracture before shattering.

Vocabulary Terms

sinew – animal tendons used by primitive cultures to make thread, string, and rope.

Vocabulary Terms

spirit – a supernatural being without physical form.

Vocabulary Terms

Teepee- a cone shaped tent with an outer covering of hides, bark, or furs, used by some Native American tribes.

Vocabulary Terms

Drought – an extended period of dry weather

Vocabulary Terms

Buffalo – a four-legged mammal with a shaggy mane and a humped back.

Vocabulary Terms

Reservation – an area of land set aside by the government for the use of Native Americans

Vocabulary Terms

medicine man – a man said to possess supernatural powers.

Vocabulary Terms

Migration – the movement of people or animals from one region to another.

Vocabulary Terms

Clan- a group of families who share the same ancestors.

Vocabulary Terms

Weave – interlace strips or strands of material

Vocabulary Terms

Mesa – a land formation having a flat top and steep walls

Vocabulary Terms

Wigwam- hut or lodge made from bent saplings and covered with bark or skins

Vocabulary Terms

Adobe – a type of clay traditionally used as a building material by Native Americans

Vocabulary Terms

Compromise – the settling of a dispute by each side agreeing to give up part of its demands.

Vocabulary Terms

Wampum – polished beads used in gift giving and trading by Iroquois and other Native Americans.

Vocabulary Terms

Longhouse – a home shared by several related Iroquois families.

Vocabulary Terms

Jerky – thin strips of sun-dried meat.

Vocabulary Terms

Coup stick – a special weapon used by Lakota Sioux soldiers to show his bravery by touching, but not killing, his enemy.

Vocabulary Terms

Travois – a sled like device constructed by Native Americans of the plains

Vocabulary Terms

Prairie – flat or gently rolling land covered mostly with grasses or wildflowers.

Vocabulary Terms

Kachina – in Pueblo religion the living spirit of an ancestor who brings rain and helps make crops grow.

Vocabulary Terms

Potlatch – a special feast giving by Native Americans on the Northwest Coast in which the guest, not the host, receive gifts.

Vocabulary Terms

Pueblo – a spanish word meaning village referring to apartment style homes of Native Americans of the Southwest.

Vocabulary Terms

Totem pole – a tall carved log used by Native Americans of the Northwest Coast to honor a special person or mark a special event.