Indians Essay, Research Paper

Indians Of Early America

Long before Columbus discovered America their were a lot of people living here. Their tribes lived in many different regions. Each region had a different environment that helped explain the cultures of the tribes that lived in each region. I am going to describe these cultures and show how they had differences and similarities.

The first region is Eastern Woodlands. The people in the Eastern Woodlands got their food in many ways. They got it by hunting, farming, and fishing. The deer and bear were the best animals for them because that was food and clothing. They made their clothing out of deer skin and bear skin. They farmed corn, squash, and beans, also fished in lakes and rivers. They hunted deer?s and bears. They lived in shelters called long houses. The long houses were made out of wood that they cut from the trees. Their was a society named False Face Society. The purpose was to cure people who were ill and people who were dealing with evil spirit because they thought that the evil spirit was making them sick. They danced so that they can tell the evil spirit to leave them alone. Their was a chief leader for each group. The women elected the chief leaders.

The second region was the Plains. The Plains people didn?t hunt a lot of animals. They hunted only buffalo?s. These people made their clothes out of buffalo skin. They made their homes of sod, chunks of thickly matted grass. They also used buffalo hides. Their homes were called tepees.

The third region is southWest. These people only farmed. They farmed corn, beans, and squash. Their clothes were made from cotton. These people didn?t have enough material. They live in pueblos made of adobe. The one good thing is that women did craftwork. The beautiful craftwork the women made is pottery.

The fourth region is northwest coast. These people had enough food and clothing. They fished for their food. They hunted deer and bear for food and clothing. They also made their clothing out of shredded bark that they got from the trees. Families gain status according how much they own. They sometimes competed for a high record. To improve their standing they held ceremonial dinner called a potlatch. The purpose was to show off their wealth to the other chiefs. Families gave many presents. The more families gave away the more respect they got. Gifts included canoes, brass, elk skins, silver, and blankets. Each item was given up 5,000-33,000 meaning like someone got 5,000 blankets from families.

Similarites among and between regions. Eastern woodlands and South West had something in common. The Eastern Woodlands farmed squash, beans, and corn. So did the southwest farm beans, squash, and corn. The Eastern Woodlands and Northwest Coast had shelters made out of wood. Another one for them is they hunted bear, deer, and also used bear skin to make their clothing. They both fished too.

Differences among and between regions. The Plains and the South West a difference. Southwest only farmed and the Plains only hunted. All four regions had a different kind of shelter. In eastern Woodlands they had False Face Society and in the SouthWest they had horses for transportation. In Eastern Woodlands the women elected a chief leader, but the women in SouthWest made beautiful pottery.

This is the end of the essay. I hope you enjoy reading it. I think the four regions had a lot of difference?s and similarities. I think Eastern Woodlands and Northwest Coast had a lot of materials. They a lot for living. I think the other two will live too.

By: Pratik Patel