Native Americans

A

4

The Plains

The North American Plains are the grasslands from central Canada south to Mexico and from the Midwest westward to the Rocky Mountains. Bison hunting was always the principal source of food in this culture area, until the wild bison herds were exterminated in the 1880s. Most of the Plains peoples lived in small nomadic bands that moved as the herds moved, driving them into corrals for slaughter. From ad 850 onward, along the Missouri River and other rivers of the central Plains, agricultural towns were also built.

The customs of the Plains peoples have become well known as the stereotyped “Indian” customs—the long feather headdress, the tepee (also spelled tipi), the ceremonial pipe, costumes, and dancing. These peoples and their customs became well known during the 19th century, when European colonists invaded their lands, and newspapers, magazines, and photography popularized the frontier.

Among early Plains peoples were the Blackfoot, who were bison hunters, and the Mandan and Hidatsa, who were Missouri River agriculturalists. As European colonists took over the Eastern Woodlands, many Midwest peoples moved on to the Plains, among them the Sioux, the Cheyenne, and the Arapaho. Earlier, about 1450, from the valleys west of the Rockies, some Shoshone and Comanche had begun moving on to the Plains. After 1630 these peoples took horses from Spanish ranches in New Mexico and traded them throughout the Plains. The culture of the Plains peoples of the time thus included elements from adjacent culture areas.

A

5

The California Intermountain Area

This area comprises mountain ridges and valleys of Utah, Nevada, and California. An Archaic way of life—hunting deer and mountain sheep, fishing, netting migratory birds, harvesting pine nuts and wild grains—developed by 8000 bc and persisted with no radical changes until about ad 1850. Villages were simple, with thatched houses, and in the warm months little clothing was worn. Agricultural technology was sophisticated; basketry was developed into a true art. On the California coast, people fished and hunted sea lions, dolphins, and other sea mammals from boats; the wealth of resources stimulated a well-regulated trade using shell money.

The Paiute, Ute, and Shoshone are the best-known peoples of the Intermountain Great Basin area; the tribes of California include the Klamath, the Modoc, and the Yurok in the north; the Pomo, Maidu, Miwok, Patwin, and Wintun in the central region; and the “mission tribes” in the south, whose European-given names were derived from those of the Spanish missions that sought to convert them—for example, the Diegueño.

A

6

The Plateau Region

The plateau region comprised the evergreen forests and mountains in Idaho, eastern Oregon and Washington, western Montana, and adjacent Canada. As in the Great Basin, the Archaic pattern of life persisted on the Plateau, but it was enriched by annual runs of salmon up the Columbia, Snake, Fraser, and tributary rivers, as well as by harvests of camas (western United States plants with edible bulbs) and other nutritious tubers and roots in the meadows. People lived in villages made up of sunken round houses in winter and camped in mat houses in summer. They dried quantities of salmon and camas for winter eating, and on the lower Columbia River, the Wishram and Wasco peoples kept a market town where travellers from the Pacific Coast and the Plains could meet, trade, and buy dried food.

Plateau peoples include the Nez Percé, Wallawalla, Yakama, and Umatilla in the Sahaptian language family, the Flathead, Spokane, and Okanagon in the Salishan language family, and the Cayuse and Kutenai (with no linguistic relatives).

A

7

The Subarctic

The Subarctic region comprises the major part of Canada, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean west to the mountains bordering the Pacific Ocean, and from the tundra south to within about 300 km (200 mi) of the United States border. The eastern half of this region was once heavily glaciated, and its soil and drainage are poor. No agriculture is possible in the Subarctic because summers are extremely short, and so the region's peoples lived by hunting moose and caribou and by fishing. They were nomadic, sheltering themselves in tents or, in the west, sometimes in sunken round houses (as in the Plateau region). To move camp, they used canoes in summer and sleds in winter. Because of the limited food resources, Subarctic populations remained small.

The peoples native to the eastern half of the Subarctic region are speakers of Algonquian languages; they include the Cree, Ojibwa (also known as the Chippewa), Montagnais, and Naskapi. In the western half live speakers of northern Athabascan languages, including the Chipewyan, Beaver, Kutchin, Ingalik, Kaska, and Tanana. Many Subarctic peoples, although now settled in villages, still live by trapping, fishing, and hunting. In August 2003 the Canadian government signed over a large area of land (39,000 sq km (15,058 sq mi), north-east of Yellowknife) in the Northwest Territories to the Tlicho First Nation (also known as the Dogrib, an Aboriginal people). The Tlicho will form a government to oversee the territory, which will remain a part of Canada although owned by the Tlicho.

A

8

North-West Pacific Coast

The west coast of North America, from southern Alaska to northern California, forms the North-west Pacific Coast culture area. Bordered on the east by mountains, the habitable land is usually narrow, lying between the sea and the hills. The sea is rich in sea mammals and in fish, including salmon and halibut; on the land are mountain sheep and goats, elk, abundant berries, and edible roots and tubers. These resources supported a dense population organized into large villages where people lived in wooden houses, often more than 30 m (100 ft) long. Each house contained an extended family, sometimes with slaves, and was managed by a chief. During the winter, villagers staged elaborate costumed religious dramas, and they also hosted people from neighbouring villages at ceremonial feasts called potlatches, at which gifts were lavishly given. Trade was important, and it extended towards northern Asia, where iron for knives was obtained. The North-west Pacific Coast cultures are known for their magnificent wooden carvings.

The North-west Pacific Coast culture developed after 3000 bc, when sea levels stabilized and movements of salmon and sea mammals became regular. The basic pattern of life changed little, and over the centuries carving and other crafts gradually attained great sophistication and artistry. Peoples of the North-west Pacific Coast include the Tlingit, Tsimshian, Haida, Kwakiutl, Nootka, Chinook, Salish, Makah, and Tillamook.