Native Americans in North America
by Linda Azzarella - Pacoima Middle School - Los Angeles USD
Native American is the term some historians use to identify the descendants of the people who inhabited the North and South American continent prior to the arrival of the Europeans. The ancestors of Native Americans crossed the Bering Strait from Asia over 14,000 years ago and eventually settled throughout the North American continent. Historians refer to this type of movement as “ migration ”. This migration occurred over a long period.
By the time the Europeans arrived in the 15th century, Native Americans had developed distinct cultures. Some had settled in the Great Lakes area, others in the deep south of what are now Georgia , Alabama and Florida . Still others settled in the southwest area of the United States . Just as each region of the United States has distinct geographical and cultural characteristics (for example, the Rocky Mountain region is very different from the Great Lakes area) so too Native Americans developed distinct cultures from each other depending on the area they settled. Geography and climate strongly influenced development. In this museum exhibit we are going to explore the social and historical backgrounds of three Native American cultures.
You can learn about the Nez Perce of the northwest, the Native American Plains culture, and the Cherokee Nation of the southeast by visiting museum displays here in this exhibit.
Nez Perce - Northwest Indians
The traditional homeland for the Nez Perce culture was in the breathtakingly beautiful Wallowa Valley of what is now the state of Oregon . They traveled across Oregon , Washington and Idaho, living the life of a nomadic Indian tribe.
Animals of the region were used for food and a source of clothing. Tipis, tent-like structures made from animals hides, provided shelter from rain and cold. Tipis were also dismantled and constructed into a travois – a cart used to move belongings – that was pulled behind a horse.
Too often the image of Native Americans is to be a war-like people. This is not true of the Nez Perce. The Nez Perce welcomed Lewis and Clark , fur trappers, and missionaries like Marcus and Narcissa Whitman. It is to be noted that Marcus Whitman and his wife were killed by Native Americans who lived in the Wallowa valley, but the Nez Perce did not participate in this tragedy.
The most well renowned leader of the Nez Perce is Chief Joseph . When gold was discovered on Nez Perce land they were forced to move to a reservation that did not include the Wallowa Valley , the ancient land of their people. Chief Joseph led the Nez Perce on a tragic flight from the army that ended just forty miles from the Canadian border and safety. At the time of their capture Chief Joseph told the American general, “I will fight no more forever.”
The Native Americans Plains Culture
The Lakota Sioux inhabited the geographical area known as the Great Plains ; because of this they are sometimes referred to as “ Plains Indians ”. The Great Plains stretch east from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River .
The Lakota Sioux originated in what is now Minnesota . Due to the horse, they became a mostly nomadic people who moved from area to area hunting buffalo for food. However some Lakota Sioux would settle from time to time in one area, and then women would plant crops such as corn while the men hunted buffalo.Lakota Sioux lived in tipis that protected them from the weather and could also be used for transporting their possessions when dismantled into a travois.
There are approximately thirty groups that belong to the Native American plains culture. The Lakota Sioux, the Crow , and the Blackfeet are all part of the Plains Indian culture.
Cherokee Nation - South Eastern Indians
The Cherokee Indians originally lived in the Southeast region of America . They lived in wood homes and their culture was based on hunting and agriculture.
The Cherokee are part of the “ Five Civilized Tribes ” which also included the Choctaw, the Creek , the Seminole, and the Chickasaw. The Cherokee developed a democratic form of government and Sequoyah invented a system of writing the Cherokee language which led to the Cherokee Phoenix, a newspaper. The term “Five Civilized Tribes” was used by European Americans who mistakenly thought that the cultural characteristics of Native Americans had been influenced by Europeans.
The time of peace was not to last. Gold was discovered on Cherokee land. President Jackson ordered that the land of the Native Americans was to be taken and they were moved to the west in what is now the state of Oklahoma . The Cherokee fought this move in the court system, but lost the case. 14,000 Native Americans were forced to move to Oklahoma , losing all their property. The journey took several months, some during the winter, when people were forced to sleep on the cold ground. Over 4,000 people died. This tragedy is known as the " Trail of Tears ".