The Important Thing About Native Americans of Long Ago

1. The Important Thing About Native Americans of Long Ago A BIG BOOK by Nadine Allen and Sheila Trunkey adapted from the book by Laurie Bulson with Heather Burtts

2. This is a satellite image of the Northwest coast of North America. • The Pueblo used the dry land to carve out homes (called cliff dwellings) in the rock, as there was little wood available. • Notice how much water there is. This watery environment caused the Haida to build canoes so they could travel and harvest sea life. The Apache used clay from the dry ground to make beautiful pottery.

3. The Navajo used clay from the dry ground mixed with straw to make bricks for adobe homes. • This is a satellite image of the southwestern United States and part of Mexico. Notice how brown it is. There is not much water here, and not many trees. • This is a satellite image of the Northeastern United States and part of Canada. • This is what it might look like on the ground.

4. Introduction 2 • Northeastern Woodlands 3-4 • Southeastern Woodlands 5-6 • Southwest 7-8 • Plains 9-10 • Northwest Coast 11-12 • Glossary and Index 13

5. Introduction • Table of Contents • Northeast Woodlands • Southeast Woodlands • Southwest • Plains • Northwest Coast

6. Look at this satellite image of North American taken from space in 2009. • Notice where there is blue, indicating bodies of water. This image shows lakes, rivers, and oceans. • Notice where it is brown, indicating little precipitation. This is where the deserts are.

7. Notice where the image is green, indicating lots of precipitation. This shows plant growth. • Now imagine living in each of these places 700 years ago—no modern buildings, streets, schools, hospitals, telephones, or supermarkets. What would you use for shelter? How would you get from place to place? What would you eat?

8. The important thing about Native Americans of long ago is that the environment shaped their culture and they shaped their environment. • This is a satellite image of the Northeastern United States and part of Canada. • This is what it might look like on the ground.

9. When the Seneca built a village, they found a plateau and cleared it of timber. They also farmed outside the village. After 10 to 20 years, the soil was depleted of its nutrients so crops did not grow well, and the firewood was less plentiful in the surrounding forest. At that point, the tribe abandoned the village, and built another a few miles away.

10. Here is a picture of a Cayuga longhouse. You can see how much wood was used. Tribes also chose to live near rivers, enabling them to travel by canoe. Below is an example of a Mohawk canoe, also built using trees from the forest. The important thing about Northeastern Native Americans of long ago is that the environment shaped their culture, and they shaped their environment.

11. The important thing about Native Americans of long ago is that the environment shaped their culture, and they shaped their environment. • This is a satellite image of the Southeastern United States. This is what it might look like on the ground.

12. Tribes such as the Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw built shelters using the abundant reeds, grasses, and wood supplied by the environment. Structures such as chickees were built off the ground in order to keep possessions dry, and to keep inhabitants safe from animals. The important thing about Southeastern Native Americans of long ago is that the environment shaped their culture and they shaped their environment.

13. The important thing about Native Americans of long ago is that the environment shaped their culture and they shaped their environment. • This is a satellite image of the southwestern United States and part of Mexico. Notice how brown it is. There is not much water here, and not many trees. • On the ground it might look like this.

14. The Navajo used clay from the dry ground mixed with straw to make bricks for adobe homes. The Apache used clay from the dry ground to make beautiful pottery. • The Pueblo used the dry land to carve out homes (called cliff dwellings) in the rock, as there was little wood available. The important thing about Southwestern Native Americans of long ago is that the environment shaped their culture, and they shaped their environment.

15. The important thing about Native Americans of long ago is that the environment shaped their culture, and they shaped their environment. • This is a satellite image of the Midwestern United States. As you can see from this picture, the Great Plains are somewhat dry, with lots of grasslands and few trees. The Mandan and Osage tribes built earth lodges for shelter.

16. Tribes such as the Crow, Arapaho, and Cheyenne were nomadic; that is, they moved from place to place throughout the year following buffalo herds. Nearly everything they needed was provided by the buffalo, or bison. Even the walls of the tipis they built were provided by its skin. The important thing about the Plains Native Americans of long ago is that the environment shaped their culture, and they shaped their environment.

17. The important thing about Native Americans of long ago is that the environment shaped their culture, and they shaped their environment. • This is a satellite image of the Northwest coast of North America. • Notice how much water there is. This watery environment caused the Haida to build canoes so they could travel and harvest sea life.

18. Can you see where there are forests and rainforests? They provided natives tribes such as the Chinook, Tlingit, and Salish with wood and bark for canoes, plank houses, totem poles, mats, baskets, and clothing. • The important thing about Northwestern Coastal Native Americans of long ago is that the environment shaped their culture, and they shaped their environment.