November is National American Indian Heritage Month, so this week, Safe Harbor International Ministries will be highlighting Native Americans on our blog. A Native American (or First Nation person) is a person who is a member of any of the aboriginal peoples whose original territories were in present-day Canada and the United States. Here is some information about the culture of Native Americans, as well as some very famous folks with Native American blood that you might have heard of!

Native American Culture

There are many different groups of Native Americans all across the country. Because America is so large and there are so many different climates throughout the country, Native American groups and their cultures tend to differ by location and climate, since they lived off the land. Here are some different groups of Native Americans and their cultures based on where they lived.

The Arctic

Present-day Alaska, Canada, and Greenland were where the Inuit and the Aleut tribes lived. Some of these people, especially the Inuit, were nomads. The Inuit would follow seals, polar bears, and other animals they hunted as they migrated throughout the year. In the southern part of the region, the Aleut tribes were a bit more settled, living in smaller fishing villages year-round.

The Subarctic

The Subarctic covered much of inland Alaska and Canada. Traveling through these areas was not easy because of how wet and cold the climate was, so toboggans, snowshoes, and lightweight canoes were used frequently. Most Subarctic tribes did not gather in large permanent settlements. Instead smaller families would live and travel together and follow their food. They lived in small tents and lean-tos, and in the coldest weather, they lived underground.

The Northeast

There were two main groups in the Northeast: the Iroquoian speakers and the Algonquian speakers. The Iroquoian lived near rivers and lakes in permanent villages. The Algonquian speakers lived in permanent villages near the ocean where they fished and farmed crops like corn, beans, and vegetables.

The Southeast

The Southeast was where the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes, sometimes called the Five Civilized Tribes lived. These folks were farmers of crops like maize, beans, squash, tobacco, and sunflowers. Unfortunately, many Southeast Natives already lost many people to disease and displacement. In 1830, the federal Indian Removal Act called for the relocation of the folks that remained of the Five Civilized Tribes so that white settlers could take their land. This movement is often referred to as the Trail of Tears.

The Plains

These natives lived between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, from present-day Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. After European contact in the 18th century, the natives of the Great Plains became much more nomadic. Tribes such as the Crow, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Comanche, and Arapaho used horses to follow herds of buffalo. These tribes often lived in teepees, bison-skin tents that were extremely portable. Plains Indians are also well known for their feathered war bonnets.

The Southwest

In present-day Arizona and New Mexico (along with some of Colorado, Utah, Texas, and Mexico) natives developed two distinct ways of life. Hopi, the Zuni, the Yaqui, and the Yuma tribes grew corn, beans, and squash. These groups lived in permanent settlements, known as pueblos, built of stone and adobe. Other Southwestern natives, such as the Navajo and the Apache, were more nomadic. They hunted and gathered their food and raided other villages of their crops. Because these groups were always on the move, their homes were much less permanent than the pueblos.

The Great Basin

The tribes in The Great Basin foraged for roots, seeds, and nuts and hunted snakes, lizards, and small mammals. They were always on the move, and they lived in compact, easy-to-build wickiups. Their villages were impermanent, and they had informal communal leadership. After white prospectors discovered gold and silver in the region in the mid-19th century, the majority of the Great Basin’s people lost their land and often their lives.

California

There were many natives in modern-day California. It’s estimated that there were 300,000 in the mid-16th century. This group of natives was very diverse: there were more than 100 different tribes and 200 different dialects spoken. Despite this diversity, many natives lived very similar lives. These groups lived with their families rather than in large groups, and they established effective systems of trade.

The Northwest Coast

Natives from the Northwest Coast ate and used materials from salmon, whales, sea otters, seals, fish, and shellfish of all kinds. They built very large permanent villages, and they had a firm social structure where natives’ status was determined by their closeness to the chief of the village, and the number of belongings they owned. 

The Plateau

Natives living in present-day Idaho, Montana, and eastern Oregon and Washington resided in small villages near streams and riverbanks. They ate salmon and trout and hunted and gathered wild berries, roots, and nuts, and they spoke many different dialects.

Famous Native Americans Today

Recognizing the work of Native Americans is important as we shine a spotlight on this group this month. There are many amazing things that Native Americans have done, so we will be highlighting a few of them!

Jason Momoa

Jason Momoa is a descendant of the Pawnee group and has talked extensively about being a Native Hawaiian. He is most well known for being an actor, and playing the role of Aquaman. He identifies with his background a lot and has talked about wanting to bring more stories of indigenous peoples to tv shows and movies.

Jimi Hendrix

Many folks know of famous guitarist, Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was popular for releasing many famous rock hits. He is a descendant of the Cherokee group. In 2010, many of his belongings were lent to the National Museum of the American Indian after he had passed away.

Anthony Kiedis

Many people may not know him by name, but Anthony Kiedis is the lead singer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He is Mohican by way of his grandmother. While he’s often mistaken for being Haida because of his tattoo of a Haida thunderbird, he is very proud of his Mohican heritage. 

Challenges 

There are many challenges that descendants of these groups now face. Roughly 22% of America’s Native Americans live on reservations where they experience a low quality of life. Among other issues, Native Americans are subject to racial abuse, violence, and incorrect depictions in art. Many of these people also find themselves living in poverty, and without jobs, healthcare, and the resources they need to live happy healthy lives. Many Native Americans are less educated than other American citizens and have had problems exercising their rights to vote. For more information about these issues, check out this article. To help with these issues, check out this website. 

Conclusion

This isn’t by any means an exhaustive description of all Native American cultures. This is a wide topic, and so there is always more to learn, and educating yourself about these things outside of school and classrooms is so important. Click here and here to learn more about educating yourself. Reading books, websites, and articles about Native Americans is a great way to celebrate National American Indian Heritage Month, no matter what your heritage is! To learn more, click here for a timeline of Native American history over the years.

Written by Jackie Ebel, a blogger at Safe Harbor International Ministries. For more articles, visit our blog page at https://safeharborim.com/articles/.