Indigenous People Review

How did each of the indigenous tribes live and adapt to their environment?
Apart from their locations, what made each tribe unique?

​Lifestyle

Locations of the three main groups of Indigenous People:
- Eastern Woodland
- Great Plains
- Southwest (Pueblo)
Geographic features of each location

​Geography

Looking at a Compass

A compass is the best way to read directions on a map - a lifelong skill! A compass rose has the 4 cardinal directions:
- North - South
- East - West

​The Eastern Woodland tribes were on the EAST coast of the United States. They primarily lived in the woods, hunted deer (and other woodland animals) and fished, and were the best at using waterways.

Eastern Woodlands

​The Great Plains were best known for covering the Mid-West region of the U.S..
Its flat land made and extreme climate made it harder to survive, but the natives adapted.

​​Great Plains

​Named for being in the Southwest, these natives were best known for their unique pueblo houses and advancement in irrigation farming.

​​Southwest

• ​In the Eastern part of North America

• From the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River

• Includes areas that are today Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and more

Homes

• Made from wood, bark, and saplings

• Longhouses or wigwams depending on the tribe

Food

• Three Sisters crops: corn, beans, squash

• Hunting and fishing because forests and rivers were everywhere

Clothing

• Made from animal skins and plants

Transportation

• Canoes made from hollowed-out trees because of the many rivers

• The Plains tribes lived in the Midwest of the United States.

• The area is called the Great Plains.

• It's a huge, open, grassy land

• Extreme climate

• Proud warrior culture

• Masters of horses and buffalo

The Main Animal (Resource)

• The mot important resource was the bison (buffalo).

• The flat, grassy land was the perfect home for the bison.

• They used every part of the bison for food, clothing, and tools.

Their Home (Shelter)

• They were nomadic, which means they moved around a lot.

• They followed the bison herds across the flat land.

• They lived in tipis (or teepees) because they were easy to carry and set up quickly

​Their Home (Shelter)

• Problem: There were no large animal hides (like bison) or many tall trees for building. They also needed homes that stayed cool in the desert heat.

• Solution: They used earth and rock, mixed with water (adobe), to build strong, permanent houses called pueblos.

Problem: Since it was a desert, they needed clever ways to access water.

• They often had to live near rivers.

• They developed early methods of irrigation to get the water from the rivers to their farms and homes by building small ditches.

• "Irrigation" is a way of moving water from one to place to another where you need it to farm.