NATIVE AMERICANS

Native Americans in the United States

are composed of numerous,
distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups,
many of which still exist today.
They refer to themselves as American
Indians or Indians

 Many Native Americans lived as huntergatherers

women cultivated a variety of staples:
maize, beans and squash.

 There were laws (Indian Removal Act)

which authorized the government to
relocate Indians to the deep South
Today Native Americans may be a
member of a tribe or nation and they have
independence from the government of the
United States.

Animal introductions
With the meeting of the two worlds(Old
and New World) animals and plants were
exchanged.
Sheep, pigs, and cattle were all Old World
animals that were introduced to Native
Americans who never knew such animals.
The most useful animal, for them, seemed
to be the horse which they hunted to
extinction and got reintroduced.

 Horses had the role

of carrying goods
for exchange with
other tribes, to hunt
and to conduct
wars.
With the adoption of
new animals their
culture changed
and they started to
extend their
territories.

 Native Americans began slowly to adopt

white culture and shared some
experiences with Africans, during the
period when both were enslaved.
Some Native American tribes practiced
slavery but it wasnt practiced on a large
scale.
They used slaves mostly to replace
warriors killed during warfare or to repay
their debts for a crime committed.

Music and art

Traditional Native
American music
often centers
around drumming.
They also used
flutes which were
made of woods and
, sea snail shells
(used as a kind of
trumpet).

 Musical
instruments
were
inseparable
from religious
festivities
Visual arts
include:

Pottery

Jewelry

Weavings

Sculptures, Carvings

Basketry

Beliefs
Native American beliefs are deeply rooted
in their culuture. They believe
EVERYTHING is sacred from the largest
mountain to the smallest plant and
animal.
To sum up Native Spirituality is about
HONOR, LOVE, and RESPECT

 Native American religion is closely

connected to the land on which they live
and to supernatural powers.
They mostly believe in an invisible
universal force, in spirits, visions, and
shamans. Communal ceremonies are also
part of their religion.

 Most Indians do
not see their
spiritual beliefs
and practices as a
"religion";
they see their
whole culture and
social structure as
infused with
'spirituality'

 The 4 commandments from the Great

Spirits:
1.Respect Mother Earth
2.Respect the Great Spirit
3.Respect our fellow man and woman
4.Respect for individual freedom

Ghost Dance Religion

This religion spread
to many tribes on
reservations in the
West
It was hoped that
the world will come
to an end and it will
be restored to a
pure state where
will be no suffering
and even the dead
would become
resurrected.

Dream Dance
The Dream Dance, evolved out of the
Ghost Dance.
It involved the power of dreams and
visions of the dead.

Rain Dance

Feathers and turquoise (or any sort of blue

jewelry) are worn during the ceremony to
symbolize wind and rain.
Praying for rain.

Shamanism
Shamans were
thought to be the
messengers between
human worlds and
spirit worlds
treat illnesses
obtain solutions to
problems
may visit other
worlds/dimensions

 With the arrival of

foreign European settlers and colonial admi
nistration, the practice of shamanism was
discouraged.
In the 19th century there was a mass
movement in Ghost Dancing
The belief was that through practicing the
shamanic dance a great flood would come
and all the invading foreigners would die.

Scalping
Scalping is the act of removing another
person's scalp or a portion of their
scalp, either from a dead body or from
a living person.
Scalping was practiced by Native
Americans, colonists, across centuries
of violent conflict
Certain tribes of Native
Americans practiced scalping, up until
the 19th century.

Houses
There were many different types of
American Indian houses in North America.
Each tribe needed a kind of housing that
would fit their lifestyle and their climate.

Wigwam Homes

Tepees

Wattle House

Brush Shelters