EASTERN WOODLANDS ALGONQUIAN TRIBES By Sabey Smith

Region  My region is the Eastern Woodlands.  It is east to the Great Plains.  It is above the Southeast Region.  There are mostly woods in the Eastern woodlands as well as many streams and rivers.  This region’s climate is cold in the winter and hot in the summer.  There are four very different seasons here.

Tribe  Some of the tribes from my region are the Mohegan and the Delaware who speak Algonquian.  An origin story of the Algonquian tribes is “Chahnameed Squeezes The Stone” which is about a man who tricks another man that he can squeeze water out of a stone.  Three artifacts of the Algonquian are light canoes, wigwams, and a ceremonial cape.  They made the canoes out of birch tree bark. They made the wigwams also of bark of birch trees. The ceremonial cape is made out of turkey feathers.  The Algonquian used canoes to mostly go fishing.  They used wigwams for shelter.  They wore ceremonial capes for special occasions.

Survival The Algonquian ate animals such as turkeys and deer that roamed the forests. The Algonquian hunted animals in the woods. They also grew crops for food. The Algonquian probably ate mostly meat for the winter seasons because they can’t grow crops in snow.

Clothing The Algonquian tribes made ceremonial capes out of turkey feathers. They also made moccasins out of animal skins of the animals they hunted. When there were cold winters, they made thicker and warmer clothes. In the summer seasons they wore thinner and cooler clothing.

Homes  The Algonquian tribes lived in wigwams.  To make them they used small trees to form a dome-shaped frame. Then they covered the frame with mats made from the bark of birch trees.  Most of the wigwams the Algonquian made were permanent.

Fun Facts Hiwatha When Hiwatha was a small boy, he lived with his grandmother Nokomis. He always wanted to sing. "You must go the forest and listen to the birds and copy them", said Nokomis. Each morning, at sunrise, Hiwatha would go to the forest and listen to the birds singing, but he never could retain their songs. "You must try once more", said his grandmother. The following morning Hiwatha went back to the forest, he listened and listened to the birds, and tried to imitate their songs. Suddenly he heard some beautiful music and it came from afar. Walking slowly, he followed the echo. Then he came upon a high waterfall, it was a waterfall that gave forth music. At once Hiwatha started to sing, and he called his song the laughing waters. Out of the wood of alder he carved a flute, and played his song. Ever after, when Hiwatha went to the forest, he would take his flute along, and would play and sing the song of the laughing waters to the warbling of the birds. "And that is how the Indians obtained their music", said White Caribou Woman.  “Hiwatha” is one of the many Algonquian Legends.

I chose the Algonquian tribes for my project because I think they are the most important and common tribes in The Eastern woodlands region. Honestly, I chose these tribes also because it’s fun to say. I chose the Eastern woodlands because I think there are a lot of interesting facts about this region.

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