Chapter 3

American Indian Cultural Regions

Think, Pair, Share

Why did the first Americans migrate to North and South America?

Where did they settle?

What type of environments did they settle in?

How did the Inuits adapt to the harsh Arctic environment?

How and why did American Indian cultural regions differ?

Objective (I can…) identify, compare and contrast seven (7)

American Indian cultural regions. analyze artifacts to identify which ones

American Indians may have used as they adapted to each region.

identify aspects of the ways of life of young American Indians from the different cultural regions.

define culture, nomadic, cultural region, artifact, mesa, gorge, and government.

How and why did American Indian cultural regions differ?

Look at your sheet of a PHYSICAL MAP. Why do you think it’s called a “physical” map?

Because it has the physical landforms on it (ex. mountains, rivers, etc.).

What sports equipment are pictured on this page? canoe, snow skis, and surfboard

Identify the areas where this sports equipment might commonly be used? Write a sentence to explain your answer.

How and why did American Indian cultural regions differ?

Now place a symbol on the map to show where each type of equipment might be used in the United States.

Create a key for your symbols of a canoe, snow ski, and surfboard. Be ready to share.

What’s the purpose of this activity??? Environmental factors such as climate, vegetation, and

physical land features affect culture, or the way people live.

In this lesson, you will learn how American Indians lived in SEVEN areas of North America.

1. How many areas, or sections, do you see on the map?

2. Why do you think the map shows pictures in each area?

3. What do you think the picture in each area represents?

4. Why do you think the map is divided in this way?

This shows the seven cultural regions of the American Indians.

We will use this map to understand the differences and similarities among the

American Indian groups.

How and why did American Indian cultural regions differ?

Look at the Historical Artifacts of Native Americans.

Artifacts are objects made and used by people.

You will use the information about the environment of each region to debate which artifacts are likely to have been created by an American Indian tribe from a certain region.

You must be able to defend your decisions!

Let’s read section 3.1 – page 29 in the textbook.

How and why did American Indian cultural regions differ?

Who are nomads? People who moved place to place for food.

Now lets read the first two paragraphs on pg. 30.

Look at the picture of the Northwest Coast: Identify some specific geographic features.

rocky beach, shoreline

What was main natural resource they had? forest/trees

American Indian Cultural Regions

In your notes using the heading above – for each section we read (ex. 3.2) take notes on:1. Cultural region (ex. Northwest Coast)2. Tribes (ex. Tlingits, Chinook, Kwakiutls)3. Artifacts (ex. Wood houses, waterproof cedar-bark

clothing, cedar/willow fish traps, etc.)

Why do you think these tribes made wood houses? Cedar bark clothes? Wood fish traps? And other artifacts made from trees???

Resources available for creating the artifact. Environmental factors that made the artifact

useful.

How and why did American Indian cultural regions differ?

From what we learned about the Northwest Coast, which artifact (home, clothing, miscellaneous) came from that region on Historical Artifacts handout 3A?

Let’s identify the other tribes/regions artifacts by reading the other sections.

Your table will be assigned a cultural region to read about in your textbook.

How and why did American Indian cultural regions differ?

EVERYONE must take notes on all of the tribes and artifacts from reading the section.

Determine the “Presenter” for your table and he/she should be ready to share your table’s notes.

Remember take notes on the:1. Name of the cultural region- (ex. Northwest Coast)2. Tribes found there- (ex. Tlingits, Chinook, Kwakiutls)3. Artifacts they made- (ex. Wood houses, waterproof

cedar-bark clothing, cedar/willow fish traps, etc.)

Northwest Coast

SoutheastEastern Woodlands

Plateau

Southwest

Great Plains

Californian-Intermountain

Native American Cultural RegionsDirections: Name each of the region. Use the key below and color each region on the

map and on the key. Draw the type of housing used in that region.

Closing - How and why did American Indian cultural regions differ?

What was the purpose of this lesson??? Learn about the environmental factors such as

climate, vegetation, and physical land features affect culture, or the way people live in the seven cultural regions of North America.

Why did some tribes make different artifacts???

Resources available for creating the artifact in their specific region.

Environmental factors that made the artifact useful.