Native Americans

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Native Americans

• SS4H1 The students will describe how early
  native American cultures developed in North
  America

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Native Americans
SS4H1 The student will describe how early
Native American cultures developed in North
America. a. Locate where Native Americans
settled with emphasis on the Arctic (Inuit),
Northwest (Kwakiutl), Plateau (Nez Perce),
Southwest (Hopi), Plains (Pawnee), and Southeast
(Seminole). b. Describe how Native Americans
used their environment to obtain food, clothing,
and shelter. SS4G2 The student will describe
how physical systems affect human systems. a.
Explain why each of the Native American groups
(SS4H1a) occupied the areas they did, with
emphasis on why some developed permanent villages
and others did not.
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Kwakiutls
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Where did the Kwakiutl Live?

• Pacific North West
• They lived along the Pacific coast in California
• The climate was rainy and mild. The land was
  covered with forests and lakes so wildlife and
  food were abundant. Like the Inuit the Kwakiutl
  did not farm.
• Unlike the Inuit they had lots of food available.
  The area they inhabited was very rich in natural
  resources.
• http//player.discoveryeducation.com/clickDirector
  .cfm/type/video/action/download/guidAssetID/D8A0B7
  7D-3CA6-4F7F-8BA7-E797F8692B1C/strRealname/Native_
  American_Cultures_of_the_Pacific_Region.asf

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How did the Kwakiutl Survive?

• The Kwakiutl Indians were fishing people.
  Kwakiutl men caught fish such as salmon and sea
  mammals from their canoes. They also hunted deer,
  birds, and small game.
• Kwakiutl women gathered clams and shellfish,
  seaweed, berries, and roots.
• The resources in this region were plentiful. The
  Kwakiutl had much leisure time as a result.

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What were the Kwakiutl homes like?

• The Kwakiutls lived in coastal villages of
  rectangular cedar-plank houses with bark roofs.
  Usually these houses were large (up to 100 feet
  long) and each one housed several families from
  the same clan (as many as 50 people.)
• Here are some pictures of American Indian houses
  like the ones Kwakiutl Indians used.

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Kwakiutl Plank Houses
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What type of transportation did the Kwakiutl use?

• The Kwakiutl Indian tribe made large dugout
  canoes by hollowing out cedar logs. The Kwakiutl
  tribe used these canoes to travel up and down the
  sea coast for trading, fishing and hunting, and
  warfare.
• Their war canoes were more than sixty feet long
  and could withstand ocean storms.
• These canoes were bought from the Haida tribe,
  who had access to the best cedar trees and were
  considered the best canoe-makers by the other
  Northwest Coast tribes.

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What type of transportation did the Kwakiutl use?
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What type of tools did the Kwakiutl use?

• Kwakiutl fishermen used harpoons, nets, and
  wooden fish traps. Hunters used bows and arrows.
• In war, Kwakiutl men fired their bows or fought
  with spears and war clubs. Some Kwakiutl warriors
  wore bulky armor made of wooden rods lashed
  together to protect themselves from enemy
  archers.

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What was Kwakiutl art like?

• Kwakiutl artists are known for their fine
  basketry and woodcarving arts, including wooden
  masks and totem carvings.
• Dance mask pictures

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What are Totem Poles?

• Totem poles celebrated legends, events, or simply
  the wealth crest of the family for whom it was
  created.
• The poles were neither worshipped nor had any
  religious significance.
• They are records of a past culture that had no
  written language.

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Who made them?

• The Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest
  Coast created carved images of spirits,
  mythological animals, and mythological people. 
• These carved images were called totems.

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How were Totem poles made?

• These totems were also made into poles, which
  used various different carved totems to tell a
  myth or to show the history of a particular
  clan.  The wood used to make these poles was very
  important.  The totem poles needed to be made
  from either the sacred red or yellow cedar.

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What did they look like?
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What did they mean?

• Bat Transition
• Dog Companionship
• Elephant Strength
• Horse Stability
• Mouse Innocence
• Lion Strength
• Owl Wisdom
• Rabbit Faith
• Serpent Health
• Wolf Protection

•      Each clan had a totem that was used as a
  crest, which was like a symbolic family tree. 
  This totem crest decorated the homes of the
  family members.  Some of the major clans had
  raven, eagle, bear, and wolf totem crests, but
  there were also many other clans with lots of
  different animals for crests.     

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What was a Potlatch?

• Within the tribal groups of the Pacific
  Northwest, individuals hosting a potlatch give
  away most, if not all, of their wealth and
  material goods to show goodwill to the rest of
  the tribal members and to maintain their social
  status.
• Gifts often included blankets, pelts, furs,
  weapons. Gifts were given by the person or people
  giving the potlatch. Not the people coming to the
  party.
• Food was shared for everyone over many days
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vN_gYjQw9Bf4

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Thinking Question.
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Based on how the Kwakiutl survived and lived

• Do you think the Kwakiutl had permanent villages
  or did they have to move to find food?