Native Americans of the Northeast - 3.9Di

We will identify the central idea and key details that support it.

I will complete activity 8.2 independently.

TEKS:3.9Di, 3.6G

Multiple Choice

The central ideas is -

• specific details or facts that support an inference or idea

• picture or other image within a text

• the main point of a piece of writing

The journey for some Native peoples took them to the northeastern part of America, to the abundant, leafy woodlands and deep, dark forests that stretched from Canada and the Great Lakes south to the Carolinas, and from the Atlantic Ocean on the East Coast west to the Mississippi River. This was a time long before Europeans came and made their mark upon the land. This was a time when some Native peoples made the forests their home and lived in long-term balance with their environment.

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​Wet woodland environment

After hundreds of years of migratory existence, other groups of people, bound by family connections, formed themselves into tribes. In fact, the Eastern Woodland Indians were made up of numerous tribes. Some of these tribes included the Iroquois, Mohican, and Powhatan. Over time these tribes established their own cultural identities, which included a range of languages spoken throughout this large area.

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Eastern Woodland Iroquois village

​ Because the winter months were generally cold, with deep snow covering much of the ground, many Eastern Woodland Indians—including the Iroquois—constructed wigwams and longhouses. Wigwams were rounded structures that looked similar to wooden igloos and were homes in which individual families lived. The longhouse and the wigwam were made almost entirely from wood. In the colder regions of the North, especially around the Great Lakes, Native peoples constructed wigwams that could be easily dismantled so that the tribes could, for part of the year, live a migratory life. During this time of the year they followed the herds they hunted for their survival.

Single-family wigwam

Longhouses were much larger than wigwams and were home to several families that were related to each other. The Iroquois considered themselves to be related to each other through the mothers in the tribe. This extended family group was called a clan. Each clan had an animal name. When a young couple married, they went to live with the bride’s family. Some longhouses ranged in size from 50 feet to 150 feet long and housed as many as fifty people.

Longhouse with multiple families

Multiple Choice

What is the central idea of the text?

• Some longhouses ranged in size from 50 feet to 150 feet long and housed as many as fifty people

• The Iroquois considered themselves to be related to each other through the mothers in the tribe

• Longhouses were a type of home that housed many families related to eachother.

• When a young couple married, they went to live with the bride’s family