Who were the Native Americans?
How did they get here?
If you look at a map of today's world, it would be difficult to believe that someone could walk to North America from any other continent except South America. However, the continents looked quite different when the first people to inhabit North America walked over from Asia thousands of years ago! In fact, the first people to inhabit both North and South America traveled from the west by both land and sea about 40,000 years ago. They continued to arrive and could even walk over up until about 10,000 years ago.
Native American Culture
To explore specific regions and tribes on your own, check out this site. You can explore by region and from there, you can explore of that region. Furthermore, you can read stories original to the Native Americans, learn about their religion, see how they built canoes and totem poles, and discover more about their culture!
Native American Influence on Modern America
Native American influence can be seen everywhere from the Massachusetts state flag, the names of states, including Massachusetts itself, and cities, as well as in the United States Constitution and even names of universities and colleges. Can you think of any other influences Native Americans have in our daily lives?
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Where did they go?
Native Americans settled in six different regions. Those who settled in the Northwest (purple) relied on the sea for food by fishing in canoes, and they built totem poles as a way to tell stories. After Natives of the Great Basin and Plateau (orange) received horses from the Plains Natives, they became famous for raising horses and traded with Natives of the Plains and California. Europeans introduced Plains Natives (yellow) to the horse in the 18th century which enabled them to more easily hunt buffalo, instead of trying to sneak up on them dressed as wolves. The Anasazi, or ancient Pueblo people, lived in the Southwest (pink) and were referred to as Basket Makers. The Algonquin tribe of the Northeast (green) shared corn with the European settlers, and the Wampanoag celebrated Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims. The Seminoles of the Southeast (blue) fought three wars to preserve their land from the European settlers and never surrendered; they still live on their land in Florida.
Native Americans portrayed in Modern Day Sports
Is it moral to use Native American culture in modern day sports? Are these portrayals accurate? Do you think Native Americans find these portrayals offensive?
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