Indigenous Peoples of North America (College Board AP® US History)

Summary

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• Indigenous communities were well established throughout the North American continent before the arrival of Europeans

• Approximately 5 million people lived in North America by the year 1491

• Indigenous peoples had adapted to the:

  • climate

  • geography

  • available natural resources

Maize communities across North America

• Cultivation of maize spread from the first domestication in Mexico approximately 9,000 years ago

• Maize communities spread from Central Mexico northward throughout North America

• Maize aided in the development of economic systems and trade between communities because:

  • maize had a high yield per acre

  • there was surplus crop

  • population and wealth increased as a result

• Communities used advanced irrigation techniques

• They had diverse societal structures

  • Maize cultivation led to permanent settlements and more complex hierarchies

  • Due to the surplus of food not all community members had to farm

  • Other roles developed including community leaders

• People lived in permanent housing

Southwest Tribes

• For tribes in the southwest, natural resources and fertile soil were scarce

• Major tribes included Apache, Navajo, and Pueblo

• Pueblo people lived in Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah

  • The Pueblo people built some dwellings on cliffs and ledges in canyons

    • Adobe was used in dwelling construction

  • They created trade markets

  • For clothing, they used buckskin, soft leather, and woven plant fibers

• Hohokam people lived in south-central Arizona and Mexico

  • Their settlements were along trade routes in the southwest

  • The Hohokam people establish significant markets

  • They developed a sophisticated irrigation system

  • Their canals to transfer water took advantage of the slope of the land

Great Basin and Great Plains Tribes

• Major tribes of the Great Basin and Great Plains included the Shoshone, Sioux, and Cheyenne

• They were located in modern day Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Idaho

• Settlements were East to West from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, North to South from Canada to Texas

  • The people lived in cone-shaped huts with wooden poles covered with dry grasses or Teepees

  • They ate fish, buffalo, edible plants and roots

  • Some tribes created earth mounds to bury the dead

  • Some tribes were nomadic; others lived in permanent settlements

  • Artisans made baskets, pottery, and jewelry

  • The tribes lived in social units that had several generations together

  • They used:

    • buffalo fur and deer skin for clothing

    • bows, arrows, spears and knives

    • dogs to carry their supplies

Northeast Tribes

• Major tribes in the northeast included the Iroquois and Mohawk

• Iroquois People were based from New England to the Gulf of Mexico

  • They lived in villages with several hundred people

  • Iroquois People built homes known as longhouses

  • They grew maize, squash, and beans

  • They made use of the forest to make tools, homes, and fuel

Southeast Tribes: Mississippi River Valley

• While several tribes lived in the region, the most highly developed and sophisticated were the Hopewell People

• The Hopewell People had fertile land for agriculture, they:

  • grew corn, beans, and squash – known as the “Three Sisters”

  • planted multiple fields, leaving some fields to recover

  • used shift farming – burning forests and then planting crops in the nutrient-rich soil that contains wood ashes

Atlantic Seaboard Tribes

• Several tribes lived along the East Coast of North America. Each tribe separated into smaller groups but maintained their individual culture and way of life. 

• Major tribes included Algonquian, Iroquoian, Pequot, and Powhatan

• The tribes:

  • were a mixture of agricultural tribes and hunters and gatherers

  • lived in permanent villages

  • had trading networks

  • made political alliances with neighboring tribes

Northwest and California Tribes

• Several tribes lived along the Pacific Ocean coastline. While each tribe had its unique cultural elements, they did share some commonalities.

• Major tribes included Tlingit, Chinook, Coos, and Chumash

• They were located in Canada, California, Washington and Oregon

• The tribes:

  • lived in permanent settlements along the ocean

  • built wooden houses where several families would live together

  • ate whale and salmon

  • used forest lumber for their wood houses and canoes

  • created totem poles made from trees to commemorate ancestors, historical events, and people