PART 1:AMERICAN INDIANS:STEREOTYPES AND

REALITIES

Colonial America

Here is a pop quiz.

Take out a sheet of paper and number it 1-10.

Make a list of things that you absolutely, positively know about Indians.

Be prepared to share a couple of your facts with the class.

Indians are all alike.

In land that makes up the U. S., there were at least 520 culturally distinct

tribes.

Indians are a vanished race.

In the last census taken in the

United States, there were at least 4 million

American Indians.

Indians had no civilization until Europeans came.

Many Indian tribes were very

civilized. They were just different

from European cultures.

All Indians were warlike and treacherous.

Most Indians fought to

defend their lands and way

of life.

Indians were conquered because they were an inferior people.

One of the biggest reasons they were conquered, was the fact that there was a lack of immunity to

various diseases like smallpox.

If Indians had united together, they could have defeated European

settlement.

Most Indian tribes were very culturally

different from each other, usually lived far

apart, and often hated their

neighboring tribes.

Indians had nothing to contribute to society.

Many contributions from Native

Americans have enriched the

world.

Indians did not value or empower women.

Women often wielded considerable power

in many tribes.

Indians are not very religious.

Many Indians are deeply religious. Their

religious beliefs are often just different from

traditional European, African, and Asian ones.

Indians know the histories, languages, and culture of their own tribe and others.

Few American Indians know all the

information about their own tribe, let

alone all of the others.

All Indians have an “Indian name”.

Most American Indians have European

sounding names. A few do use traditional

native names.

Indians are confined to reservations, live in teepees, wear braids, and ride horses.

Indians are not confined to reservations

anymore. Many of them are now urban or city dwellers. Few ride horses, wear braids, or

ride horses.

Indians have no reason to be patriotic.

Indians are one of the most patriotic groups of Americans when

you look at the percentage of them who are veterans of

the military.

Indian affairs are managed for them by the Bureau of Indian

Affairs.

Each tribe actually has its own

governmental structure.

Indians have a tendency for alcoholism.

They are no more predisposed to

having problems with alcohol than any other ethnic

group.

Indians are not capable of completing school.

Hundreds graduate annually from all kinds of colleges and universities, including tribal

colleges.

Indians cannot vote or hold office.

They are actually a powerful voting block, and hold local, state, and even national

positions.

Indians are stoic and have no sense of humor.

Often, they have a great sense of

humor.

Indians are all full bloods.

Most Native Americans today

have a mixed heritage.

“My grandmother was an Indian”.

Beware of Indian “wannabes”.

People will often claim Indian

heritage that really don’t have it.

These were the

major CULTURA

L REGIONS of North America.

Native American Diversity

By the year 1500, Native Americans had divided into

hundreds of cultural groups who perhaps spoke up to 2,000

different languages. Each group adapted to its ENVIRONMENT

whether in frozen ice fields, scorching deserts, or densely

forested woodlands.

Some native cultures based their economies on farming, while others

relied on hunting and fishing. Depending on where they lived, different groups had different technologies. For instance, on the coast, some Indians used tools made from shells. In the

desert, irrigation was used.Environment affected religion too.

Native Americans strongly believed that certain places were sacred—and that

animals, plants, and natural forces had spiritual importance.

Peoples of the North and Northwest Coast

In the far north, people like the Aleut and the Inuit, had to deal with snow and cold for much of the year. They were mainly hunters, and hunted things like whales, seals, and walruses.

They hunted these animals for food, and used skins to make clothing. Land animals like caribou were also hunted using weapons made from bones and antlers.

Further south, on the Northwest coast, people also hunted sea mammals. Fishing for salmon was very common. Living near

the forests, trees were often used for houses and boats. They sometimes traded

things like shells with inland Indians for things like furs.

Some tribes in the Northwest held a POTLACH or special ceremony where all

possessions were given away to claim social status or benefit the community.

They were held on special occasions such as the naming of a child or mourning the

dead.

Members of the Chilkat Tribe

Peoples of the Columbia Plateau, Great Basin, and California

These native people did not rely as much on the sea. They mainly hunted for or gathered food, and moved around a lot.

Men hunted deer, elk, antelope, rabbits, and birds. They also fished. Women gathered nuts, seeds, and berries. Many were also excellent weavers.

Many were very special, and had dances or ceremonies for various reasons.

Members of the Bannock Tribe

Peoples of the Southwest

One of the more well-known tribes here are the Pueblo. They used IRRIGATION for farming, and lived in many-storied houses made from adobe—dried mud bricks.

They raised corn, beans, and squash, as well as doing some hunting.

Other tribes such as the Navajo and Apache came after the Pueblo. They were HUNTER-GATHERERS.

Peoples of the Great Plains

The Great Plains is a relatively flat, grassy area between the Mississippi

River and the Rocky Mountains. These are often the Indians many people

STEREOTYPE all Indians as being like. Many picture them as always being horse riders. However, they had no

horses until the Spanish arrived in the Americas in 1500s.

Some Plains Indians were NOMADS or wanderers, while others lived in villages by rivers and farmed. The BISON or buffalo, was the most important animal to these

people. They not only used the animal for meat, but used their hides for shelter and clothing, and their bones for tools. Many Plains people lived in TEEPEES, and in

winter, some of the northern Plains Indians such as the Mandan and Pawnee lived in

LODGES that were partly underground and had earthen walls.

Peoples of the Southeast

The southeast region has mild winters and warm summers with plentiful rainfall. The long growing season allowed crops like corn, beans, squash, and pumpkins to be grown by tribes such as the Choctaw and the Chickasaw

Men did the hunting, while women usually farmed. Family ties were traced through the bloodlines of women.

Seminole

Indians

Peoples of the Eastern Woodlands

This region had plenty of fish, game, and rain, but the climate was colder with snowy winters. Some natives here practiced SLASH-AND-BURN

FARMING where trees are cut down and burned. Ashes from the fire

enrich the soil. When the soil was worn out, the land was abandoned,

and a new field was created.

Many natives of the region lived in LONGHOUSES, or bark-covered shelters that could house 8-10 different families. Some natives also lived in WIGWAMS

which were dome-like structures covered with deerskin and slabs of bark. Many

villages were protected by pole fences to ward off enemies. The Iroquois Indians of

this region gave women a lot of power. If a male leader did something wrong, women

of the clan could vote him out of office.

The Eastern Woodland

Indians were some of the first to be

affected by European

settlement. They were eventually

driven west of the Mississippi River, or killed.

As you can see, there is no “typical Indian”. There were many different cultural groups who lived very differently from each other,

usually based on their environment. Native Americans

played a large role in the history of the United States, and we will be

discussing them periodically throughout the year.