Transcript Native Americans - Spring Branch ISD

 Native Americans had a strong connection to their
surroundings
 They viewed themselves as a part of the community of
plants, animals, and other natural objects
 “From Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, there came a
great unifying life force that flowed in and through all
things – the flowers of the plains, blowing winds,
rocks, trees, birds, animals – and was the same force
that breathed into the first man.”
- Sioux
 Believed each part of nature had its own spirit
 Natives attempted to maintain balance with these
spirits
 Did not believe land could be owned as property
 Natives adapted to the land to suit their needs
 Woodlands people set fires to clear heavy forest growth
 Berries could grow
 Deer could graze
 Southwest farmers built ditches to carry water to dry
fields
 “We dug our clams here, caught our salmon over there,
got… seagull eggs on another island… By the time we
came back here, this place had replenished itself.”
 “When we… kill meat, we eat it all up. When we dig
roots we make little holes… we shake down acorns and
pine nuts. We don’t chop down trees.”
 Natural resources
 Deer, bears, beavers, fish, birds, syrup
 Thick forests, lakes, rivers
 Shelter
 Sturdy log framed houses
 Covered in elm bark
 20 feet wide 100 feet long
 LONG HOUSES
 Tribes found here:
 Algonquin
 Iroquois
 Built homes by rivers
 League of 5 Nations
 Food/Culture:
 Women farmed
 THE THREE SISTERS!
 Used deerskin for skirts, capes, moccasins
 Also farmed tobacco and sunflowers
 What do you think influenced tobacco farming?
 Natural resources
 Coastal plains, river valleys,
mountains, swamps
 Shelter
 Used young trees woven into a
rectangular shape then
plastered the frame with clay
 Their roofs were made of leaves
and constructed at a point
 Homes were built around
burial mounds
 Food/Culture
 Grew the three sisters!
 As well as pumpkins
 Hunted squirrels, turkeys and
rabbits
 Didn’t spend a lot of time on
their clothing
 Instead spent their time
constructing jewelry
 Natural resources
 Flat grassland
 Little to no trees
 BUFFALO
 Shelter
 Buffalo skins fastened around tall cone shapes to make a
tipi
 Food/Culture
 Ate buffalo (duh!)
 Women cut up buffalo meat with knifes made from animal
bones
 Anyone want to guess what animal?
 Items made from buffalo
 Clothing
 Softened by rubbing with bone scrapers, brains and fat
 Rope/bow string (buffalo hair)
 Shields/bedding (skins)
 Spoons/bowls (horns and hooves)
 Or boiled to become glue
 Even using excretion to fuel fires
 THE HORSE – how do we know this helped the natives?
 Which natives in Texas do we KNOW were found in the Great
Plains?
 Natural resources
 Canyons, mountains, mesas, deserts,
rivers
 What are the two major rivers??
 Shelter
 Made of sun-baked clay
 ADOBE
 Houses were apartment like buildings
called pueblos
 Which Texas natives lived in the
SOUTHWEST?
 Some were nomadic
 Since in areas of the
Southwest food was
scarce
 Along the rivers some
farmed
 The three sisters!
 Farmed on the tops of
high flat areas
 What land form??
 Natural resources
 Coast, coastal foothills, valleys, trees
 SALMON, shellfish, deer
 Shelter
 Simple cone shaped homes
 Food/Culture
 Rabbits, deer
 Used plant material to weave
 Used animal parts for tools
 When it was cold they used animal hides to keep them
warm
 Natural resources
 Plants that didn’t need a lot of water
 Lies between Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Rocky
Mountains
 Mostly desert
 Shelter
 Temporary homes
 Moved a lot to find food
 So they are what vocabulary word???
 Natural resources
 Mountains, dense forests, SALMON
 Shelter
 Built along rivers
 Sturdy wooden homes
 Food/Culture
 Fish, plants
 Natural resources
 Fir, spruce, cedar – TREES/FORESTS
 Seafood
 Shelter
 Sturdy wooden homes
 Created cedar shingles on the roofs
 Food/Culture
 Seafood
 Hunt seals, whales, deer, moose, bear, elk