Objective: To examine the peoples of the North, the Northwest Coast, and the Great Plains. Inuit child; people of the Arctic Sacajawea, Shoshone tribe; people of the Great Plains Chief Anotklosh of the Taku Tribe, ca ; people of the Northwest Coast

Peoples of the North The Inuits live in the Arctic, a land of frozen icy seas and treeless plains. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Traditionally, the Inuits made their homes out of driftwood. An iceberg floats by an Inuit village on the coast of East Greenland.

(left) Here are homes of Inuit living in Indian Point, Siberia in (right) This photograph, from around 1899, shows an Inuit summer hut. It is made of animal skins stretched over a frame. Traditionally, Inuit lived in huts like these during the warmer summer months.

In the winter, many lived in igloos, which are houses of snow and ice. (right) This picture shows several Inuit constructing an igloo with blocks of snow. Traditionally, Inuit lived in igloos during the coldest months and tent like huts during the warmer months. (left) Eskimo (Inuit) family inside an igloo lit by a kudlik (soapstone oil lamp).

Total indigenous populations of the Arctic The proportion of indigenous people (orange) within the Arctic portions of the countries in the early 1990s.

The Inuits traveled each season to new locations in order to find food. Examples: winter – hunted seals and fish near the sea

spring – used kayaks, or small skin boats, to hunt seals and whales Hunter with a Killing Lance and Club

summer – moved inland to hunt caribou and fish inland lakes and rivers Inuit caribou hunt, Alaska, 1936 caribou

This Inuit woman is carrying her baby on her back, the traditional Inuit way to carry a baby. The hoods of women's parkas were made extra large to fit an infant if needed. (1906)

These three little Inuit girls are each carrying a puppy. Dogs were, and continue to be an important part of Inuit life. For example, dogs provided the energy and strength to move sleds across the snow and ice. These little puppies may have grown up to pull a sled! (Nome, Alaska, 1904)

This portrait of an Inuit man wearing a fur jacket with hood was most likely taken at the beginning of the 20th century. Traditional Inuit clothing is made from animal skins. Large thick warm coats with big hoods called parkas are worn as an outer layer.

This man in Alaska is carving ivory, an Inuit tradition. (1912)

Peoples of the Northwest Coast The peoples of the Northwest Coast lived in an area filled with resources. Examples:trees - wood used to make houses - inner bark used to make baskets, rope and clothes Gabe Gobin, an Indian logger, in front of his home. Tulalip Reservation, Washington. Photographed by Lee Muck, 1916.

fish – the area is abundant with salmon animals - deer, moose, and bear were hunted for their meat and hides "Spirit of the Sockeye“ (pen & ink / acrylic 11x13) Salmon are very important to the cultures of the Northwest coast tribes and figure prominently in their lives, their history, and their legends. Natives believed the salmon to be a separate people, living beneath the ocean. Video: Salmon Hunt

Because food was plentiful the peoples of the Northwest Coast built permanent villages. Within each village, the more families owned, the more they were respected. Haida Village in the Queen Charlotte Islands

Families held potlatches, or ceremonial dinners, where they showed off their wealth by giving gifts to the guests, such as canoes, animal skins, and jewelry. Potlatch figure welcoming guests

Items lined up for a potlatch near Victoria, British Columbia, 1865

Potlatch gift Chest with Cover

Peoples of the Great Plains Original range of the Plains Indians

Because there were few trees, the people of the Great Plains made homes out of sod, or thickly matted grass. Apparently deserted sod house, but in relatively good shape, showing door, two windows and stove pipe. It is built in two sections with two different roof lines. To left in background is a windmill. Kansas, early 1900’s

They also used buffalo hides to make cone-shaped tents called tepees. Tepees of the Shoshone tribe.

Plains men hunted animals such as buffalo, antelope, elk, deer, and bighorn sheep. Plains women planted crops such as corn, beans and squash. BUFFALO HUNT, UNDER THE WOLF SKIN by George Catlin 1830's

The people of the Great Plains used dogs, and later horses, to haul supplies on a sled known as a travois. Lakota Woman And Dog Travois, Rosebud Reservation

Horse Pulling Travois

Horses, introduced to the people of the Great Plains in the 1700’s, made hunting easier and decreased their reliance on agriculture. "Assiniboine hunting buffalo", painting by Paul Kane ( ). Oil on canvas, Painted between 1851 and 1856.