Native Americans of North America

Vocabulary Terms flint – a hard rock that tends to fracture before shattering.

Vocabulary Terms sinew – animal tendons used by primitive cultures to make thread, string, and rope.

Vocabulary Terms spirit – a supernatural being without physical form.

Vocabulary Terms Teepee- a cone shaped tent with an outer covering of hides, bark, or furs, used by some Native American tribes.

Vocabulary Terms Drought – an extended period of dry weather

Vocabulary Terms Buffalo – a four- legged mammal with a shaggy mane and a humped back.

Vocabulary Terms Reservation – an area of land set aside by the government for the use of Native Americans

Vocabulary Terms medicine man – a man said to possess supernatural powers.

Vocabulary Terms Migration – the movement of people or animals from one region to another.

Vocabulary Terms Clan- a group of families who share the same ancestors.

Vocabulary Terms Weave – interlace strips or strands of material

Vocabulary Terms Mesa – a land formation having a flat top and steep walls

Vocabulary Terms Wigwam- hut or lodge made from bent saplings and covered with bark or skins

Vocabulary Terms Adobe – a type of clay traditionally used as a building material by Native Americans

Vocabulary Terms Compromise – the settling of a dispute by each side agreeing to give up part of its demands.

Vocabulary Terms Wampum – polished beads used in gift giving and trading by Iroquois and other Native Americans.

Vocabulary Terms Longhouse – a home shared by several related Iroquois families.

Vocabulary Terms Jerky – thin strips of sun-dried meat.

Vocabulary Terms Coup stick – a special weapon used by Lakota Sioux soldiers to show his bravery by touching, but not killing, his enemy.

Vocabulary Terms Travois – a sled like device constructed by Native Americans of the plains

Vocabulary Terms Prairie – flat or gently rolling land covered mostly with grasses or wildflowers.

Vocabulary Terms Kachina – in Pueblo religion the living spirit of an ancestor who brings rain and helps make crops grow.

Vocabulary Terms Potlatch – a special feast giving by Native Americans on the Northwest Coast in which the guest, not the host, receive gifts.

Vocabulary Terms Pueblo – a spanish word meaning village referring to apartment style homes of Native Americans of the Southwest.

Vocabulary Terms Totem pole – a tall carved log used by Native Americans of the Northwest Coast to honor a special person or mark a special event.