Native Americans

Native American Geographic Groups Prior to the arrival of European settlers, many groups of Native Americans existed in America. Northeast: _____ dwellers; primarily _________________, also farmers and fishers Northeast Coast: ________ dwellers; ______; developed complex culture Plateau: ___________dwellers; primarily fishers; relatively ______ population Great Plains: _________ dwellers; nomadic buffalo hunters after introduction to the horse

Geographic Groups Cont. Great Basin: ___________dwellers; primarily gatherers because of barren surroundings; _____ population California: Desert, ________, river, or _______ dwellers depending on location; primarily gatherers and fishers Southwest: Canyon, _________, and desert dwellers; either farmers or nomadic hunters Southeast: ____________ dwellers; primarily farmers, but also hunter-gatherers and fishers

Native American Commonalities At the time of European contact, nearly all indigenous cultures in North America had developed coherent ___________ systems that included __________ myths Most native peoples worshiped an all-powerful, all-knowing Creator or "Master Spirit" as well as numerous lesser supernatural entities, including an _____ god The members of most tribes believed in the _________ of the human soul and an afterlife Sought assistance of their deity with prayers and offerings Called upon specially trained clergy, such as a Shaman, to assist them, particularly during times of crisis

Native American Mythology “A myth is a narrative projection of a given cultural group’s sense of its sacred past and its significant relationship with the deeper powers of the surrounding world and universe. A myth is a projection of an aspect of a culture’s soul. In its complex but revealing symbolism, a myth is to a culture what a dream is to an individual.”

Native American Literature Native Americans did not use ________ language Stories were passed from generation to generation through ________ and _______ Stories centered around a particular character, event, or element Most common stories center around the trickster, the gambler, the creation, abduction, and migration

The Oral Tradition These stories were reliant upon repetition – Used in ceremonial situations – __________ aided in memorization – Provided narrative cohesion – Participatory – Powerful and unifying

Creation Stories Similar to the account in The Bible Similar from tribe to tribe Used to explain how the world/universe was created Explained the origin of man – Sometimes had ________ characteristics – Sometimes non-gender, or only one gender (usually ________—mother earth) Contained what the tribe generally believed the relationships between people and nature Contained origins of tribal customs and structures

Creation Stories, cont. Creation occurs primarily in one of five ways: – From _______ or ____________ – From a cosmic egg or primal _________ mound – From world parents who are separated – From the process of _______ ________ – From several stages of emergence from other worlds, or states of being In every case, there is a sense of birth—both of the world and humans

Characteristics of Creation Stories A Creator, and the medium for creation, such as clay, fluids, and a supernatural power The trickster, sometimes a negative force, sometimes a cultural hero who dives to the depths of nothingness to find form The first man and woman whose job it is to continue to create both offspring, and plants and animals The flood hero who saves mankind from the great waters and begins again

Works Cited “Native Voices” unit, American Passages website Unit Overview Authors: Stories of the Beginning of the World Divining America: Religion and the National Culture Native American Religion in Early America