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Our last Instruction told you a little about The First Americans. By
1492, there were more than 10 million of them. They spoke over 2,000
different languages.
They had a rich history. They lived in different cultures. A culture is a group of
people who share the same language, food, clothing and beliefs.
A thousand years before Christ, the Zuni and Hopi lived in terraced
villages. They used irrigation canals. They made ceramics, wove baskets
and wove cloth from cotton. By the time of Christ, the Mound Builders
had built thousands of huge earth sculptures. Many were shaped like
birds or serpents. One was over 3-1/2 miles long.
The Iroquois organized other tribes into an alliance. It included
Mohawks,
Oneidas,
Onondagas,
Cayugas and
Senecas. Land was owned and
worked in common. Private property was unknown.
Women were honored and respected. They gathered and farmed and they
also took care of village affairs.
Men hunted and fished. When a man married, he joined his wife's family.
To get a divorce, a woman put her husband's possessions outside the
door.
Tradition
The First Americans had no written language, but they had their own
laws, poetry and history. They passed information, beliefs and customs
down from generation to generation. How? By word of mouth or example.
That's called tradition.
They told stories to teach their children values, culture and
spirituality.
Many groups had complex oral vocabularies, plus their own songs, dances
and dramas.
They held Pow Wows to get together with family and friends.
Some parts of America were as full of people as Europe. Relationships
among men, women, children and nature were carefully defined.
Here are a few examples:
Southwestern Pueblo Culture
Corn, beans and squash were the "three sisters" of the Pueblos.
The
people organized their lives around agriculture. This included elaborate
rituals to bring rain. 
There were no temples. But people built kivas (circular underground
rooms) for ceremonial purposes. Non-Indians were not allowed inside.
Religious rites included curing ceremonies. Most involved elaborate
costumes, body paint and dancing. Many of these ceremonies are still
performed today.
Pottery is the best-known Pueblo art form. Today, pots can cost hundreds
of thousands of dollars.
The Northwest Coast Area
This economy was based on salmon fishing, whaling, sea fishing and
hunting. Ceremonies accompanied all these activities.
Unlike most other Natives, North Coast Indians owned private property.
They also made class distinctions, with chiefs and nobles at the top.
These chiefs competed at Potlatches (ceremonial feasts) to see who could
give the most elaborate gifts. Gifts included robes, furs, baskets,
masks, wooden armor and helmets.
Northwest Coast art was highly symbolic. You've probably seen pictures
of the totem poles that guard the entrance to many villages. They
represent the histories of the families who live there.
On the Plains
Plains Indians were both farmers and nomads. There were so many tribes
that they came into conflict from time to time. They spoke different
languages, so they developed sign language to help them communicate.
This prevented some bloodshed but not all.
Many Plains groups had a warrior culture.
Bravery was highly prized.
One example was the system of coup.
A warrior would try to get close to an enemy, close enough to touch him
with a stick. The stick was called a coup. The object was to not to draw
blood but to prove bravery. The shorter the coup stick, the braver the
warrior. The style and pattern of each coup came from the visions and
dreams of the warrior who owned it.
Many Plains Natives fasted to induce visions. They also played games.
There are a couple of these games at the end of this Instruction.
Plains art included elaborate feather work and beadwork,
as well as
decorated hides. These objects are highly prized today.
Eastern Woodlands
We've already told you about the Iroquois alliance. But there were other
tribes in this area too. In some, men painted their faces and
 bodies.
They shaved their hair on both sides of their heads. You've probably
seen pictures of a Mohawk haircut. Or had one yourself.
The myth of the Manitou was central to many societies. It tells
of a hero who remade the world from mud after a deluge. A deluge is a
long, heavy rain storm.
There were also temples for sun worship. These temples had altars with
perpetual fires. The fires were extinguished and rekindled each year.
This ritual was called the New Fire Ceremony.
Iroquois society treated all people as equal. But some southern Woodland
groups made class distinctions.
The Museum of the American Indian
Many modern tribes have museums which document their histories. They
also display the art of their ancestors. These museums are fun to visit.
The most important national museum is the Smithsonian Museum of the
American Indian. It showcases both art and
artifacts. It is currently located in lower Manhattan. But an entirely
new Indian Museum will open on the Mall in Washington DC in September
2004.
for Students, Parents and Teachers
Now let's do Practice Exercise 1-2 (top). Choose
printer friendly or online exercises. Printer friendly version requires
the Adobe Acrobat Reader 5. Click
HERE to obtain a free copy.
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