American Indian Culture Regions

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American Indian Culture Regions
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American Indians are diverse!

• When Europeans first arrived in America, they
  noticed that the Natives were very diverse
• Different cultures were developed by Native
  peoples, based on their environment
• Scholars group Native Americans who shared
  similar cultures into culture regions (or culture
  areas)

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What is a culture region?
Culture Region a geographic region which shares
similar physical terrains, natural resources, and
cultural characteristics
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Three Characteristics of Culture Regions

• Physical terrain
• Natural resources
• Culture

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Physical Terrain
Climate Landforms
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Natural Resources
Plant and animal life
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Cultureeverything that makes up the way of life
of a people

• Shelter
• Tools
• Language
• Clothing
• Arts
• Religion
• Government

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10 Culture Regions

• Arctic
• Subarctic
• Northwest Coast
• Plateau
• Great Basin

6. California 7. Southwest 8. Great Plains 9.
Northeast 10. Southeast
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Arctic

• Physical Terrain
• Large, treeless plains, called tundra,
• Frozen and snow-covered
• Winters are long and severe
• Blizzards

• Natural Resources
• Little vegetation
• Dogs, used for hunting and hauling
• Sea mammals major food source (seals, sea lions,
  sea otters, walruses, and whales)
• Other game (polar bears, musk oxen, mountain
  sheep, wolves, wolverines, foxes, rabbits
  squirrels, and waterfowl.

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Subarctic

• Physical Terrain
• Mostly interior (except Hudson Bay Pacific
  coast)
• Thick pine forests
• Thousands of lakes, ponds, swamps, rivers, and
  streams
• Long winters with deep snow and thick ice
• Short summers

• Natural Resources
• Caribou
• Large game (moose, deer, musk oxen, mountain
  sheep, bison)
• Small game (beaver, mink, otter, porcupine,
  rabbit, squirrel, and waterfowl)
• Seeds, berries, bark

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Northwest Coast

• Physical Terrain
• Narrow coastal region
• Cool damp climate with mild wet winters and
  cool summers
• Thick forests
• Many rivers
• Mountains
• Evergreen forests
• Natural Resources
• Lots of food source seals, sea lions, and fish
  (salmon, halibut, herring, cod, and flounder)
• Hunted whales
• Hunt deer, elk, bear, and mountain goat
• They learned to dry their meat and fish with
  smoke

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Plateau

• Physical Terrain
• High plateau region, surrounded by desert
  mountains
• Rivers
• Natural Resources
• Small game
• Wild plants (berries edible roots)
• Fish (Salmon)
• Large game in the mountains (elk, deer, mountain
  sheep, bear)

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Great Basin

• Natural Resources
• Sparse vegetation
• Very little resources
• Small game
• Foragers

• Physical Terrain
• Very dry
• Surrounded by mountains, plateaus, deserts

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California

• Physical Terrain
• Mountain ranges Pacific coastal regions
• Forest deserts
• Mild climate, with many warm days
• Varied rainfall
• Natural Resources
• Acorns from oak trees
• Wild plants (berries, nuts, seeds, roots)
• Fish, seafood, small game, birds, deer

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Southwest

• Physical Terrain
• Mesas and canyons, Mountains, deserts
• Few rains
• Natural Resources
• Evergreens (mountains), cactus
• Small game (rabbits, birds, and rattlesnakes)

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Great Plains

• Physical Terrain
• Large inland region
• Rolling, fertile tall-grass prairies
• Summers are typically hot and dry, and winters
  are long and harsh.
• Natural Resources
• American bison (buffalo)
• Farmers
• Berries

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Northeast

• Physical Terrain
• Temperate humid climate
• Hundreds of rivers, creating rich soil for
  agriculture.
• Widespread forests
• Sometimes the area is grouped with the
  Southeast culture area and referred to as the
  Eastern Woodlands.

Natural Resources Animals (a variety of game,
large and small fish, deer, rabbit, squirrel,
beaver, and various birds, such as turkey,
partridge, duck, and goose also hunted moose,
elk, and bear)
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Southeast

• Physical Terrain
• Semitropical
• Humid and well-watered
• Saltwater marshes, grasses, rich soils,
  swamplands, rounded hills, high grass, and
  rolling mountains
• Natural Resources
• Forests of pine trees
• Animals (deer, squirrel, birds, fish)

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