1. Coach Kuntz United States History
Native Americans
Coach Kuntz
United States History

2. Native Americans Prior to 1492
-Prior to European “discovery”, the Americas were not empty. Estimates say that there could have been 10 million Native Americans living north of present day Mexico in in 1492
-These groups were all very different: they had their own cultures and their own languages
-Native American groups can be divided into culture areas, which are regions where people share a similar way of life
-Each culture area contains several Native American tribes

3. Culture Areas
North America is broken into seven different culture areas:
Arctic/Subarctic
Northwest Coast
California/Great Basin/Plateau
Southwest
Great Plains
Eastern Woodlands
Southeast

4. Arctic/Subarctic

5. Arctic/Subarctic -Tribes found in present day Alaska and Canada
-These people lived as nomadic hunters and gatherers due to the cold climate
-Housing consisted of pit houses

6. Northwest Coast

7. Northwest Coast
- Located in present day northern California into southern Alaska
-Better weather allowed these tribes to stay in one place and set up villages
- Main housing type was permanent plank houses
-The Northwest Coast tribes were able to use resources from the nearby ocean as well as from the dense forests
-Engaged in potlatches as a way to celebrate and show wealth

8. California/Great Basin/Plateau

9. California/Great Basin/Plateau
-Located in present day California, Nevada, and Utah
-Lived as hunters and gatherers and ate primarily fish, berries, and acorns
-Lived in smaller family groups rather than in large communities
-Primary housing choices were tepees or tule-mat lodges

10. Southwest

11. Southwest
-Located in present day New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado
-Lived in structures made out of adobe
-Most tribes lived in villages, but some nomadic tribes existed
-These groups developed irrigation systems to collect rain water to grow crops (primarily corn, beans, and squash).

12. Great Plains

13. Great Plains
-Located in the central United States, in present day Texas up through Montana
-These tribes survived through a combination of hunting and farming; men hunted and women farmed
-Buffalo were a precious resource to these tribes
-Tepees were the primary form of housing

14. Eastern Woodlands

15. Eastern Woodlands
-Location stretched from present day Illinois into Maine
-These tribes benefited from abundant resources (thick forests, rivers, and the ocean)
-They hunted deer and other game, fished, and grew corn, tobacco, and other crops
-The primary forms of housing were wigwams and longhouses

16. Southeast

17. Southeast
-Located from present day Louisiana to Florida and into the Carolinas
-Relied on hunting game such as rabbits and deer, fishing waterways such as the Mississippi River, and growing crops like corn, beans, squash, and tobacco
-Lived in wattle/daub houses