1. Traditional Methods of Social Organization,
PP# – BLM 1.3.1

2. Kinship communities
-FP`s lived in social groups based on a variety of genetic connections
- the basic social group was the extended family
-many thought that included children, aunts, uncles, and grandparents
- clans were based on common ancestry, human or animal
- extended family clans could be based on patrilineal (father), matrilineal (mother)
-the Haudenosaunee had 6-10 clan families living together in a longhouse

3. Community size -Community size related to available resources
-Populations could not grow to the extent that they would exhaust the resources of a territory
-Only the Great Lakes and Pacific Coast region saw large settlements develop
- When food supplies were wide and varied communities were very small, although larger gathering would occur at different times of the year
- The Blackfoot and Dene had these types of gatherings annually

4. Roles and contributions
-Many communities relied on a system of mutual support although there were also specific roles
- Young men worked as hunters and defenders
-women organized the camps, prepared food, and tended to crops
- There was some flexibility within these gender roles
- Elders recognized as having knowledge and wisdom
- Elders teach by example; kindness, humility, patience, in this way they were natural leaders

5. Traditional education
-Education used to promote worldview
- mentored and taught by the whole community, not just parents
- taught the history, spiritual beliefs and practical skills for their community
- learning by doing was common
- dreaming and visioning was also part of some cultures, vision quests would see children isolate from a community and fast before receiving a teaching (vision)
- education was holistic and accomplished through storytelling – people were expected to interpret meanings and infer

6. Justice and conflict resolution
-rules were not usually broken because individual needs were not separate from the community and most goods were freely shared
-in cases of conflict people were allowed to present their perspective
- offending individuals were encouraged to make amends with those they hurt
- a person who broke hunting rules may be banished from the community
- in Inuit communities elders would council and those who committed serious offences would be monitored by community members