DOCUMENTRESUME ED 028 871 RC 003 367 Indians of the Eastern Seaboard. Bureau of Indian Affairs (Dept. of Interior), Washington, D.C. Pub Date 67 Note-32p. Available from-Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,Washington, D.C. 20402 (0-276-039, $0.15). EDRS Price MF-$0.25 HC Not Available from EDRS. Descriptors-*American History, American Indian Culture, *AmericanIndians,Anthropology, Archaeology, *Conflict, *Cultural Interrelationships, Culture, *Demography, GeographicDistribution, Migration Patterns, Rural Population Identifiers-Algonquins, Iroquois, Muskhogees, Sioux, Timucuans A brief history is presented of Indian tribes living alongthe eastern seaboard of the United States from the time ofcontact of these tribes with the first European settlers to the present day. Early Indian-white relationshipsare discussed, as well as relationships established between thevarioustribesthemselves. An historical presentation of earlyIndiancultures and migration patternsisgiven on a state-by-state basis for each of .12 stateson the Atlantic seaboard. These early histories are then contrasted with modern seaboardtribes. The presentation is concluded with a list of historical and cultural Indiansites. (DA) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROMTHE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT,POINTS Of VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE Of EDUCATION 1?:.7.14 POSITION OR POLICY. \ 4 944.41-44. PliP -11 5 S idctat /all Sme4'1.iV 'gr'sfiew CHAlt1.1:5 ST-1,Joki)s; Bay , ! 1. "111 A statue of Massasoit, who celebrated the first Plymouth Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims, overlooks Plymouth Rock. PHOTO: MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF COM- MERCE AND DEVELOPMENT Ak. Ade Ilia 1 14, ANC THE VERY NAME "INDIAN" was first applied to Indians of ir the Atlantic seaboard. Columbus, who landed in the West Indies, wrote of the "Indios" he had with him in a letter dated February 1493. It was the general belief of the day, shared "Jhe by Columbus, that in his voyage across the Atlantic he had reached India. He found, instead, a rich land made richer by the heritage handed down to the Europeans by his "Indios." Every American schoolboy knows the story of Pocahontas and Captain John Smith of Jamestown; of Squanto, the Indian rroha who showed the New England Pilgrims howto grow corn by putting . a fish in the earth with their seed. Atlantic seaboard Indians are the Indians who helped the European settlers get a toehold in a new and forbidding land. ° 1 t4 te tv Pa, AIA phawop COVER Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan,as she appeared in 4.k ortaiyoni eo London, the wife of John Rolfe. Pocahontaswas 21 years ./Viren old at the time this portraitwas Painted, and died a year itra2. later. PHOTO: NATIONAL PORTRAITGALLERY, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION Iame$ owne ti ricnnes ant do4.2. Indians of the EASTERNSEABOARD The Indians of the eastern seaboard were the first to comemeanings that designate our cities, mountains, lakes, and into contact with Europeans. Although tradition puts therivers; and Indian words to grace our language. time of this first meeting at the arrival of Columbus, it isnow All of the Atlantic seaboard Indians belonged to the cul- conceded that the Norsemen were in New Englandsome 500tural division known as the Woodland People. Theywere years before. Long before the settlers' coming, these Indiansprimarily a hunting, fishing, or an agricultural peopleor a were familiar with the exploring and fishing vessels of distantcombination of all three. countries. They were sometimes kidnapped by thecrews of The homes they built suited the reather and theircus- these vessels and sold into slavery in other lands. toms. In the north houses were conical shaped bark and These stone age people belonged to small tribes looselyround bark-covered wigwams. In the centralarea they were joined in confederations dominated byone strong group. Thelong in shape and also bark-covered. Each housewas occu- family stocks stretching from Maine to Floridaon the east-pied by a number of families. Large villageswere fortified ern seaboard at the time of Columbus included the Algon-and surrounded by stockades. In the warmer climate, houses quian, Iroquoian, Siouan, Muskhogean, and Timucuan. were open shelters with thatched roofs. Many eastern tribes arenow decimated or dispersed, but In the far north, Indians originated the light birchbark they left a rich legacy for the people thatfollowedfood, canoe. Other boats were made from logs charred on one side implements, and custom; hundreds of names with beautifuland then expertly gouged out and shaped with sharp-edged 2 stones, horn, or strong shells. For winter travel over deep 4 73-z14 snow the northern Indians invented the snowshoe and the Fit. e toboggan. 44e1.- '- Except in the Deep South, little pottery was made and ' none of that noteworthy. Materials for implements and _ olr:`. utensils consisted of wood, bark, and stone. Baskets were :11. *. fashioned from bark or splint-woven. :mala*f. With only a primitive drill, northern tribes formed clam shells into tubular beads called wampum by European 3A.W- , traders. Wampum, important in ceremonial use, had no monetary value until Europeans began to use the beads as currency. lot The seaboard Indians lived on the regional game, fish, seafood, wild fruits, nuts, and berries. In addition, they r cultivated corn, beans, squash, and pumpkins. In the North they made maple sugar. In the central and southernareas . they grew tobacco. Corn was their greatest contributionto the world at large, but tobacco, too, was to havea profound e effect on it. Arlielew41.1.1-.., Diorama of northern Indians of the eastern seaboard at 0.1eklk the time the white man visited the New World quarrying '4;1: . «....exisetee.A4i Ait._****/'', _ & and chipping stone beside their mat-covered wigwam. The Pes .7-434 TV,V.V4r*.70 man quarrying has the shaved head and scalp lock of the Z .4;71 warrior. PHOTO: SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 4.. 3 Seaboard Indian chiefs were acknowledged leaders inOntario and Erie, the southern shore of LakeHuron, all of their own tribes but were neither rulersnor kings and hadNew York (except the lower Hudson region),central Penn- no power, privileges, or rights above others. Titles of royaltysylvania, the shores of Chesapeake Bay, andparts of Ten- were bestowed upon Indian chiefs by colonists to the New nessee, Virginia, and the Carolinas. The Six Nations and the World. Most tribes had a clan system which determinedCherokees were Iroquoian. kinships. Next in size to the Algonquiancame the Siouan. The On the eastern seaboard the Iroquois alone hada formal-eastern members of this family lived in the Carolinas and ized government worthy of thename, but theirs was aparts of Virginia. The Catawbas and the Biloxisare Siouan. remarkable one. Certain chiefswere nominated by the The Muskhogean family, another important familygroup, women and confirmed by the tribal and league councils. Noroamed and hunted through parts of Tennessee,Georgia, action could be taken without unanimous consent. The struc-Florida, and the Carolinas. The Creeks,Choctaws, Semi- ture of the Iroquois government influenced American leaders noles, and Chickasaws are important Muskhogeangroups. such as Benjamin Franklin who soughta plan of representa- The Timucuan family was comprised ofa number of tive government for the colonies. Florida tribes which dwindled under the attacksof the English and their Indian allies from the Carolinas. Itis be- FAMILY STOCKS lieved survivors were taken to Cuba by the Spaniards. The Algonquian was the largest family stockon the sea- board, stretching from what isnow Maine to Virginia and straddling the Canadian borderto the Rockies. Belonging An artist's conception of three Cherokees from the head of to this family were the Wampanoags, Pequots, Narragansets, the Savannah River who visited London in 1762. The In- Shawnees, and Delawares. dians by then wore clothing almost entirely of European The Iroquoian family, probably the.most powerful, occu- materials but distinctly Indian in cut. Theman, left, carries a trade ax and a wampum belt, center, a day pipe. PHOTO: pied most of the St. Lawrence Valley,the basins of Lakes SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 4 c2-7, ;;."- Ate , - 111:1541f, TW..17.4.1"r4-411-*fig'illf*.k _ lI ' 1. _171 : 'i_1 =, ,1-' _ ;i.4,,,,, :,;141"4., .:.iL., ,-;,-- - s ' ..;',....,,,,,,,,k\eIWAW,V.,\Akk,, ,,,,.'t,..07.;,\,,,,'- oe,,,, -sk 40. \ ,- Fi ...,,,,::.:Vik- :,,':-., ' :,....k.,,,1,1}\, VAAVis4.\-.._:",..,:kv,,,, ,-. , '11.14fLt.A..4;-,E7t31:417.4,0411,4:8 .1, 1". - '- L fr'e ,'S ' \,`" " * -01i11,wid TT 4 ,111:::,,t, '71 -;,71,;i: e "; United States in the early 16th century. The French began to trade in furs with Indians along the St. Lawrence River somewhat later. In 1565, the Spanish founded St. Augustine EARLY INDIAN-WHITE RELATIONSHIPS among the Timucua Indians. Indians of the Atlantic seaboard did not live in harmony The first permanent English settlement in America was in their original state. Lands were tribally held and de-finally made at Jamestown, Va., in 1607 among tribes of the fended. Every tribe had its No. 1 enemy or set of enemiesPowhatan Confederacy. The Dutch established their colony against whom feelings ran deep. Many of the smaller Algon- on Manhattan Island among a Wappinger tribe, and the quian tribes were wiped out in the raids of the Iroquois, andPilgrims colonized Plymouth in the Wampanoag Indian ter- bitter were the wars between the