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Shining Star B: Videoscript Unit 1, Journeys of Discovery

Native American Cultural Areas

To gain a fuller understanding of how the Native American civilization has evolved over the centuries, we can examine the geographic locations of different tribes. Let’s begin by going back in time.

According to historians, Natives migrated to North America across a land bridge between Asian and Alaska which disappeared centuries ago. Evidence of tools and artifacts from these ancient dwellings have led historians to conclude that Native

Americans made their homes, naturally enough, in locations with enough resources to hunt, gather, or farm. Archaeological evidence also exists that early populations cultivated maize, a type of corn, and cotton. America’s coastlines attracted large numbers of Native Americans. Here, fishing was available and food was plentiful. The

Saint Lawrence Seaway, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi River attracted Native

Americans, as well. In addition to fishing, these areas provided large supplies of furs, which were traded or used for clothing and shelter.

According to scientists, ten Native American cultural areas existed in North America before European explorers arrived in the 1500’s. These areas have geographic traits, which helped determine where and how groups of natives lived. Because the different areas uniquely affected the lifestyles of their inhabitants, different culture pockets evolved. For example, Eskimo Native Americans thrived in the culture area known as 1 Shining Star B: Videoscript, Unit 1 Copyright ©2004 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. the arctic. Due to the extreme weather conditions there, hunting and fishing were their only means of survival.

The California Culture Area provided a lush landscape for a tribe of hunter gatherers.

The protective terrain also spared them from invasions, with the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the east, forests to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

Located near the California Cultural Area, the Great Basin Area existed in Nevada and

Utah, including parts of surrounding states. The Great Basin Area was once a large, depressed area of the earth that, at one time, held ancient seas. When the seas evaporated, they left behind the flat areas which were formally sea floors. Death Valley, a well-known spot in the Great Basin Area, was the lowest point in this country. 280 feet below sea level, temperatures in Death Valley reached 140 degrees in the summer.

Because the Great Basin Area was so dry, Native Americans living there were hunter gatherers who ate reptiles, roots, seeds, and insects.

The Northeast Culture Area was located on the eastern seaboard from Canada down through the Great Lakes and into parts of the Midwest. The natives in this location were the first to meet European explorers in the 1500’s. By the 1800’s, many of the natives had fled west. Here, they tried to establish settlements away from the invading

Europeans. Algonquins and the Iroquois were the two main groups of natives in the northeastern culture area. Initially, the Algonquin hunted and traded with the French in a cooperative relationship. They sided with the French and later the Americans against the British. Iroquois were often recognized for their Mohawk hairstyle. Living in the New

2 Shining Star B: Videoscript, Unit 1 Copyright ©2004 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. York-Ontario region, it is thought that the Iroquois descended from an earlier woodland culture, separate from the Algonquin. The founding fathers of the United States, such as

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and the Benjamin Franklin, modeled their vision of the new government from the Iroquois form of government, which was known as the Iroquois league.

The Northwest Culture Area was very narrow and long. 150 miles wide and 2,000 miles long, this area was situated just north of California on the tips of submerged mountains.

Just off the North American coast, these islands enjoyed a mild climate due to the

Japanese ocean current which brought warm winds and waters to this northern location.

The natives here relied on fishing and marine life in the ocean and rivers and hunting and wildlife in forests, boasting some of the largest trees on earth.

The Plains Culture Area has an easily recognizable landscape thanks in part to movies and television adventures portraying natives in headdress galloping over the prairie on ponies. Buffalo and tee-pees survive longer in the plains, which is probably why we’re familiar with them. This way of life didn’t end until the 19th century. The plains covered a huge area. Sometimes referred to as a sea of grass, this area was flat with only a few highlands, rivers, and buttes interrupting the horizon. A unique contribution to the existence of the Plains Culture Area was made in the mid-1500’s when Europeans introduced the horse.

1700’s, many new tribes inhabited the land. These tribes had been uprooted and pushed west by white settlers. In the plains region, they searched for a new way of life and they slowly adapted to the unfamiliar terrain. Tribes began breeding horses to increase their population, which in turn, improved the natives’ lifestyle. Horses made it possible for Native Americans to quickly travel large distances and more easily trade with other tribes. They also established the natives nomadic lifestyle of hunting buffalo.