Native Life Before Contact

Native American culture before European invasion

​11.1.21

​I can understand how environment and geological factors helped shape Native societies

Key Terms

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Term	Definition
Three sisters	"Three sisters" refers to corn, squash, and beans. Farming all three plants together helped to establish more permanent and larger settlements.
Corn (Maize)	A major crop in the Americas that contributed to the development of large and complex settlements for Native Americans.
Irrigation	The process of redirecting bodies of water through channels to supply farmland.
Pueblos	A tribe of Native Americans who settled in the present-day American Southwest.
Mississippians	Native American peoples who lived in modern-day Missouri and Illinois.
Algonquians	Native American peoples of the east coast who spoke related languages.
Hunter-gatherer	A person who obtains most or all of their food by hunting, fishing, and foraging.

​Native societies in North America developed strong regional distinctions based on their environments.

Core historical theme

Impact of environment on Native settlement patterns: Geographical and environmental factors shaped the development of Native American societies, including their migration and settlement patterns throughout the United States. Some Native societies created innovations in agriculture, like irrigation, to help sustain permanent settlements.

Open Ended

Review question

How did environment and geography determine migration and hunting patterns for Native societies?

​Native American Culture of the South West

​I can understand Native life in the South West

​10.32.21

​Geographic and temporal setting: the Pueblo desert

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  • Many distinct Native American groups populated the southwest region of the current United States, starting in about 7000 BCE.

  • The Ancestral Pueblos—the Anasazi, Mogollon, and Hohokam—began farming in the region as early as 2000 BCE, producing an abundance of corn. Navajos and Apaches primarily hunted and gathered in the area.

  • These groups deserted the area around 1300 CE, probably due to crop failures; European colonists encountered people partially descended from the Ancestral Pueblos in the mid-1500s.

Open Ended

Do you think the Ancestral Pueblos should have continued hunting and gathering for their main source of nourishment? Why or why not?

Native American culture of the West

​11.3.21

​I can understand how environment and geological factors helped shape Native societies

​Over View

​Many different groups of Native Americans, with distinct cultures based on their resource allocation and climate, inhabited the western region of North America.

• Hunting, gathering, and fishing supplied most of the food for indigenous people throughout the West, especially along the Columbia and Colorado Rivers.

• Although hunting and gathering could be challenging and unpredictable, the bountiful West provided ample food and trading goods, which allowed Native Americans to establish sedentary villages.

Open Ended

How did proximity to natural resources determine social position in the West?

Open Ended

What do you think would happen to the societal structure of a large village near the river if natural resources were depleted, by overfishing or natural disaster? How would the group’s lifestyle and social organization change?

Designing our own native tribe

​11.4.21

​I can understand how environment and geological factors helped shape Native societies

​How to design

​Name your village on a piece of poster paper

• ​1. Draw a map of the land where your group will live (on your poster paper)

• ​2. pick a place where your village will hunt, fish and farm

• ​3. Use color to shade in

• ​4. think about how many men, women and children your group will need to survive

• ​5. what parts of animals would you use to create tools for your society.