Unit 1 Native Peoples of North America

How do people adapt to where they live?

Native Peoples of North AmericaNative Peoples

of North America

Lessons

Lesson 1Settling the Americas

Lesson 2Native Americans of the West

Lesson 3People of the SouthwestLesson 4Native Americans of the Plains

Lesson 5People of the Eastern Woodlands

Native Americans had to adapt to their environment. In other words if it was cold outside, they would need to hunt animals that had fur so they could use it to keep warm. If they were in the desert climate, they would have to find a way to get water to their crops. As a result, these Native Americans had to use the natural resources and animals around them. They did not use more than they needed.

Big Idea

Settling the Americas PREVIEW

Lesson 1

Vocabularyarchaeologist

glacier

civilization

irrigation

adobe

How did early people adapt to life in North America?

Settling the Americas

FILL An archaeologist is a person who studies tools, bones, and remains of ancient people.

FILL A glacier is a large mass of ice.

Some archaeologists believe that these glaciers eventually formed a land bridge that connected Asia to North America.

Settling the Americas: hunter-gatherersThe first Native Americans arrived to North America by water routes and land routes created by glaciers

Hunter-gatherers came to America because they were following game that supplied their food and clothing.

SA A typical day for hunter-gathers would involve getting their food by hunting animals and gathering wild berries, mushrooms, and grasses for the long trips.

Settling the Americas: The Olmec

FILL A civilization is a population whose people share systems of trade, art, religion, and science.

MC 2 Some of the Olmec’s achievements were that they used chocolate for food, developed a calendar, and understood the idea of zero.

Settling the Americas: The Maya

MC 3 The powerful Mayan civilization declined because they could not produce enough food for everyone.

Settling the Americas: The Hohokam and Ancestral Pueblo

MC 4 Three crops that were important to the Hohokam and the Ancestral Pueblo were maize, beans, and squash.

FILL Irrigation is the method of supplying dry land with water through pipes and ditches.

FILL Adobe is bricks made from mud and straw.

Settling the Americas: The Mound Builders

Two factors that affect the way that cultures develop are climate and natural resources. 

The Hopewell used mounds for burials and religious ceremonies.

Mississippians used mounds for burial and to watch the sun and stars.

MC 1 The Mound Builders lived along the Mississippi River to be near a water source for their crops and for drinking.

Native Americans of the WestPREVIEW

Lesson 2

Vocabulary

totem pole

potlatch

How did the environments of the West affect the lives of Native Americans?

SA The Inuit and the Cahuilla ate different foods because they lived in different regions that provided different natural resources. (e.g. The Inuit hunted walruses, seals and fish.)

SA There were many more hunter-gathers in the Pacific NW because it was rich with natural resources.

Native Americans of the West: The Inuit and The Cahuilla

MC 8 The Inuit built igloos for temporary shelters.

Native Americans of the West: The Tlingit

•They got most of their food and goods from the sea.MC 9 The Tlingit traveled mainly by canoe to trade their surplus of goods.•Because of the mild, warm, and wet climate, it was easy for them to travel in order to get good food and wood.MC 7 The Tlingit had an extensive trade network that made them wealthy.•With a lot of free time they became skilled craftworkers making blankets and baskets.

Native Americans of the West: celebrations

TOTEM POLES•They are carved logs that are painted with symbols, called totems, of animals or people.•These poles often told stories of important family members or celebrated special events.•As a celebration at a potlatch families would raise a totem pole.

POTLATCH•A special feast at which guests, not hosts, receive gifts.•The host could give hundreds of gifts at the feast which could last for several days.•Potlatches bring people together for events such as a birth, death, or marriage of a family member.

ESSAY

People of the Southwest PREVIEW

Vocabulary

migrate

hogan

Lesson 3

How did the desert environment affect people’s lives?

People of the Southwest: The Pueblo

MC 11 The Pueblo built their homes out of adobe. Adobe protects homes from extreme heat or cold.

SA Because they lived in a dry desert environment, they came up with a system of dry farming. Dry farming uses tiny dams and canals to direct water to their crops.

People of the Southwest:

The Navajo

MC 12 Native Americans of the Southwest lived in the Four Corners. (see map)

•The Navajo lived in hogans which are dome-shaped homes made with logs or sticks and covered with mud or sod.

MC 15 Sheep meat provided food and the wool was used for clothes and blankets for the Navajos.

Native Americans of the Plains PREVIEW

Vocabularyteepee

lodge

travois

coup stick

Lesson 4

How did the natural resources of the Plains impact Native Americans?

Native Americans of the Plains

MC 16 The Great Plains is a vast, nearly flat region filled with plateaus and cliffs where you can see for miles.

•Because of the flat land, there are very powerful winds where the climate is blistering hot in the summer and bitter, cold winters.

Native Americans of the Plains: Housing

FILL & SA LODGES

•Homes made of logs covered with grasses, sticks, and soil

•permanent home

•Cone-shaped home made with long poles covered with animal skins

•Temporary home

FILL TEEPEES

Native Americans of the Plains: Life Skills for Children

MC 17 All children learned good listening skills by listening to stories and singing songs.

FILL coup stick – weapon used by the Lakota to show courage by touching, but not killing an enemy

Native Americans of the Plains: Horses

SA Horses changed the lives of Native Americans because they were able to hunt on horseback, and they could trade with faraway groups.

Native Americans of the Plains: Artifacts

FILL A travois was a sled-like device that was dragged by people or animals.

MC 18 The Lakota used painted picture symbols formed in a circle on bison skin as a calendar.

Vocabularyslash-and-burnlonghousewampumCreek ConfederacyclanIroquois Confederacy

Lesson 5People of the Eastern Woodlands

PREVIEW

How did the environment shape Eastern Woodlands cultures?

People of the Eastern Woodlands

FILL slash-and-burn - trees were cut/slashed and then the ground was burned to make the soil very fertile.

MC 19 & FILL longhouses – built with tree bark on tops of steep-sided hills (Iroquois)

FILL clans – groups of families that share the same ancestor

MC 21 Clan mothers chose the leaders of the Iroquois.

People of the Eastern Woodlands

Creek Iroquois

grew corn

celebrated Green Corn

Festival

played lacrosse

had huts for individual families

used wattle-and-daub

arranged around a council hut

stamped designs on pottery

had longhouses for several families

built of wood FILL wampum (polished beads made from shells)

Alike

People of the Eastern Woodlands

FILL Creek Confederacy - Divided towns into two types: war towns and peace towns.

War towns (red)—declared war, planned battles, and held meetings with enemy groups

Peace towns (white)—passed laws and held prisoners

Government in the Woodlands

People of the Eastern Woodlands

MC 20 & FILL The Iroquois Confederacy was formed to promote peace among the five Iroquois groups. This was led by Deganawida and Hiawatha.

Government in the Woodlands

Became known as Six Nations after the six Iroquois groups that formed it. It is still active today.

How do people adapt to where they live?Big Idea

Inuit of the Pacific Northwest

•Live in present-day Alaska

•Bitter-cold climate

•In the winter they built igloos when they went hunting. In warm weather, they made tents from wooden poles and animal skins.

•They hunted walruses, seals, fish, and whales. They used skins for clothing and bones were turned into weapons.

Navajo of the Southwest

•Live in present day Four Corners area

•Hot-dry climate

•They live in hogans which are dome-shaped homes, made with mud or sod and a smoke hole in the roof.

•They used dry farming to grow crops in the dry weather. Sheep provided food and wool so they could make clothes and blankets.

SA Native Americans had to use the natural resources and animals around them.

How do people adapt to where they live?Big Idea

Lakota of the Great Plains

•Area covered from present-day Montana and the Dakotas down to Texas and Louisiana

•The land has powerful winds, blistering summer heat, and cold winters because it is a vast, nearly-flat region.

•They would live in lodges for a long time or live in tepees if they were following their food.

•They hunted mostly bison and used the meat for food and the skin for clothing, blankets, and shelter.

Iroquois of the Eastern Woodlands

•Area covered from east of the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean.

•The land was thick with forests so they practiced slash-and-burn to clear the land for farming.

•They lived in a longhouse made of tree bark that provided shelter for several families and made high, log fences for protection.

•They hunted deer which provided food and clothing and planted the “Three Sisters” of maize, squash, and beans.

SA Native Americans had to use the natural resources and animals around them.

Native Americans had to adapt to their environment. In other words if it was cold outside, they would need to hunt animals that had fur so they could use it to keep warm. If they were in the desert climate, they would have to find a way to get water to their crops. As a result, these Native Americans had to use the natural resources and animals around them. They did not use more than they needed.

How do people adapt to where they live?

Big Idea

Two factors that affect the way that cultures develop are climate and natural resources.