Family, Villages, and Government
For Kids
Family: The most important social unit among the people of the Plateau was the family. From birth to dead, people took care of their families, which included extended members like aunts and uncles and second cousins and elderly relations.
Independent Villages: After their family, their loyalty was to their village. Each village was independent of other villages. But people worked in a spirit of cooperation. They shared food and shelter. They helped each other and teamed up for the betterment of all.
Equality: All adults in a village – men and women and newcomers – automatically enjoyed the rights of citizenship in the village, membership in the general assembly, voting, holding office, and participating in all activities.
Government: Each village had a Council of elected men and women. Each village also had its own chief. The position of chief passed from father to son. If no son was available, a chief would be elected from the villagers. The Council heard all complaints and discussed solutions to problems. Their ideas or decisions were brought before the chief. Decisions on important issues were decided in a general assembly, where all the village people heard the issue(s) presented by the Chief, and then voted. The vote was final. On smaller issues, the Council could decide, but the Chief could override.
Division of Labor: There was a division of labor in a village based on gender. Men had certain jobs. Women had certain jobs. The men were responsible for hunting, fishing, warfare, and making tools. The women were responsible for gathering and preserving wild roots, nuts, vegetables and berries, cooking meals, child care, and making clothes, mats, and baskets. But this division of labor was not set in stone. People helped each other. If a man was injured and could not fish; until he healed, he might help the women make nets, with much laughter at his attempts to be helpful. If a woman wanted to make a tool, she could. People took great pride in making life for everyone in the village safe and pleasant, and all jobs were considered equally important.
Native Americans for Kids
Native Americans in US, Canada, and the Far North
Early people of North America (during the ice age 40,000 years ago)
Northeast Woodland Tribes and Nations - The Northeast Woodlands include all five great lakes as well as the Finger Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River. Come explore the 3 sisters, longhouses, village life, the League of Nations, sacred trees, snowsnake games, wampum, the arrowmaker, dream catchers, night messages, the game of sep and more. Special Sections: Iroquois Nation, Ojibwa/Chippewa, The Lenape Indians. Read two myths: Wise Owl and The Invisible Warrior.
Southeast Woodland Tribes and Nations - The Indians of the Southeast were considered members of the Woodland Indians. The people believed in many deities, and prayed in song and dance for guidance. Explore the darkening land, battle techniques, clans and marriage, law and order, and more. Travel the Trail of Tears. Meet the Muscogee (Creek), Chickasaw, Choctaw, Mississippians, Seminole Indians and Cherokee Indians.
Plains Indians - What was life like in what is now the Great Plains region of the United States? Some tribes wandered the plains in search of foods. Others settled down and grew crops. They spoke different languages. Why was the buffalo so important? What different did horses make? What was coup counting? Who was Clever Coyote? Meet the Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Comanche, Pawnee, and Sioux Nation.
Southwest Indians - Pueblo is not the name of a tribe. It is a Spanish word for village. The Pueblo People are the decedents of the Anasazi People. The Navajo and the Apache arrived in the southwest in the 1300s. They both raided the peaceful Pueblo tribes for food and other goods. Who were the Devil Dancers? Why are blue stones important? What is a wickiup? Who was Child of Water?
Pacific Coastal Northwest Indians - What made some of the Pacific Northwest Indian tribes "rich" in ancient times? Why were woven mats so important? How did totem poles get started? What was life like in the longhouse? What were money blankets and coppers? How did the fur trade work? How did Raven Steal Crow's Potlatch?
Inland Plateau People - About 10,000 years ago, different tribes of Indians settled in the Northwest Inland Plateau region of the United States and Canada, located between two huge mountain ranges - the Rockies and the Cascades. The Plateau stretches from BC British Columbia all the way down to nearly Texas. Each village was independent, and each had a democratic system of government. They were deeply religious and believed spirits could be found everything - in both living and non-living things. Meet the Nez Perce
California Indians - The Far West was a land of great diversity. Death Valley and Mount Whitney are the highest and lowest points in the United States. They are within sight of each other. Tribes living in what would become California were as different as their landscape.
Native Americans of the Far North: What trick did the Kutchin people use to catch their enemies? How did these early people stop ghosts from entering their homes? Why was the shaman so powerful? What is a finger mask? Play games! See and hear an old Inuit myth! Enter the mystical world of the people who lived in the far north in olden times. Algonquian/Cree, Athapascan/Kutchin, Central Canada, Inuit, The Shaman
Comparison Chart (Europeans & Indians)