Sometime in the late 1300’s and early 1400’s groups of hunting and gathering Athabascan-speaking peoples began arriving in the Southwest from the far north in Canada. These were the ancestors of the Navajo and Apache peoples. While most scholars agree that the ancestors of the Navajo and Apache originally lived in western Canada, probably on … Continued
For the Indian nations of the Southeastern United States-Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Timucua, and others-corn (maize) was their single most important food. Therefore, corn also played an important part in their religious and ceremonial life. One of the important ceremonies among the people of the Southeastern Woodlands was the Green Corn Ceremony or puskita … Continued
Among the Indian nations of the Southeast (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Natchez, Seminole), there were two basic ball games which were played. These games had both social and ceremonial meaning. Stickball was played with two sticks per player. The ball sticks, made from hickory or pecan, were about two feet long and were bent … Continued
The Great Plains is a huge American Indian culture area which is generally sub-divided into the Northern, Central, and Southern Plains. Among the Indian nations of the Central and Southern Plains, the customs regarding names-their use as well as the naming process-varied greatly among the different cultures. Central Plains The Central Plains lie south … Continued
( – promoted by navajo) The Southern Plains is an area of rolling prairie grasslands with timbered areas along stream valleys. It lies south of the Arkansas River valley. It includes Oklahoma, Arkansas, portions of Texas, the eastern foothills of New Mexico, and portions of Louisiana. The Southern Plains were occupied by hunting and gathering … Continued
( – promoted by navajo) Personal names among the Indian nations east of the Mississippi River were quite different from European names. There was little concern for maintaining family wealth through inheritance and thus there were no surnames. The process of naming an individual varied greatly among the tribes, but the names tended to be … Continued
( – promoted by navajo) The Great Plains stretches from the Canadian provinces in the north, almost to the Gulf of Mexico in the south, from the Rocky Mountains in the west to the Mississippi River in the east. Plains Indians are those which are most often stereotyped by movies and other media as representing … Continued
( – promoted by navajo) Among the Cheyenne there are two sacred medicine bundles: The Sacred Arrows (Maahotse) and the Sacred Buffalo Hat (Esevone). The spiritual power of these bundles could be tapped ceremonially to help the tribe prosper. As long as the ceremonies were performed as taught by the culture heroes, the tribe would … Continued
( – promoted by navajo) When the Europeans first arrived in North America the Lenni Lenape were living on the east coast near Chesapeake Bay. The Europeans would later give them the name Delaware. The oral traditions of the Lenni Lenape-some of which were recorded pictorially on bark, a practice found among other Alongquian-speaking tribes-tell … Continued
( – promoted by navajo) The Plateau is the area between the Cascade Mountains and the Rocky Mountains. It is bounded by the Fraser River to the north and the Blue Mountains to the South. It is an area that covers eastern Washington, northern Idaho, western Montana, and parts of Oregon and British Columbia. The … Continued
