Native American Culture Presentation

By: Liz PugmireAmmon SchaferLyndsey RavstenCamille PetersonKellen Hinckley

Native American Immigration

• One common belief is that America was originally peopled by wanderers from Northeast Asia about 20,000 years ago. These wanders were believed by some to be the founding population of today’s Native Americans.

NATIVE AMERICAN CUSTOMS

Dance • Dance played a very important

role in Native American tribes. People danced for many occasions and ceremonies. Weddings, were usually very festive and many tribes in many regions celebrated the harvest. One of the most important crops was corn, so the corn harvest was often celebrated through dance.  Usually people danced and chanted to the beat of the drum. Dance was also used in many ceremonies such as the Sun dance and the Rain dance. During these festivals the people painted their faces white to represent happiness.

Kachina Dolls • Pueblo thought Kachinas were spirits who returned with the clouds

and rain to help their people. Pueblo Indians believed that these spirits once lived among the people, but people did not pay enough attention to them so they got mad. When they left they taught people to dance. So, Pueblo held ceremonies in which they asked the Kachinas to bring rain and make their crops grow. They used drums and rattles in the dances during the ceremonies. They often danced in masks and chanted.  

Great Spirits• The Plains Indians believed in the Great Spirit. The Indians believed

the Great Spirit had power over all things including animals, trees, stones, and clouds. The earth was believed to be the mother of all spirits. The sun had great power also because it gave the earth light and warmth.

Potlatch• Potlatch was a party where the host would cater for hundreds of

people in a show of wealth, gave them with food and gifts. The potlatch was such a huge event that organizing it could often ruin the host, and he would often be left with nothing and the potlatch ceremony could last up to 10 days!

Legends• Native Americans were great storytellers. They had many legends.

They told stories that taught lessons and were passed from one generation to another. These legends help save the culture and traditions of many tribes.

Pottery • Indian pottery is a very old art. Some remains of ancient pottery

were found to be as old as 300 B.C. This was found in Arizona. Indian pottery was glazed in fire and covered with clay strips. Indian pottery is usually made of clay that is dug out from the earth. Then the clay is put on tin sheets and left to dry. After it dries it is soaked in water and strained through the big screen.

Jewelry• Native Americans made beautiful jewelry. Before the Europeans arrived,

many tribes had alike jewelry. This was because the things used for making jewelry was also used for trading. They traded beads, shells, silver, turquoise and amber. There are two types of jewelry: beadwork and metalwork.

Native American’s Beliefs

Eagle Staff

• The Eagle staff is a significant symbol of respect for all of life and for the Creator. The Eagle Staff depicts the supernatural.

• "Thunderbird Spirits" who look after the physical world population. The eagle has the qualities of vision, energy, swiftness, dignity, and kindness.

Animal Totem Poles• Totem poles are an

ancient tradition of the Indian tribes.

• In times past, a totem was raised for several reasons:-to show the great number of rights a person had acquired over their lifetime-to record an encounter with a supernatural being-to symbolize the generosity of a person who sponsored a Potlatch ceremony

Animal spirit elders

• Native Americans believe that upon birth an animal's spirit enters into that person.

• http://www.phoenixarises.com/spirits/spiritspg1.htm

Indian Reservations• An Indian reservation is an

area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. Because Native American tribes have limited national sovereignty, laws on tribal lands vary from the surrounding area. These laws can permit legal casinos on reservations, which attract tourists.

• There are about 310 Indian reservations in the United States, meaning not all of the country's 550-plus recognize tribes have a reservation — some tribes have more than one reservation, while others have none.

There is hope for today!NIEAKeeping the commitment to American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians

• The Mission of the National Indian Education Association is to support traditional Native cultures and values, to enable Native learners to become contributing members of their communities, to promote Native control of educational institutions, and to improve educational opportunities and resources for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians throughout the United States.

Imagination TimeActivity

Sit with your eyes closed and imagine a Native American Person. Where do they live? What do they eat? What do

they look like?

Is this what you imagine?

What about this?

Stereotypes

• “Sit like Indians”• “You act like a bunch

of wild Indians”• “I’m dressing like an

Indian for Halloween”• “You’re an Indian

giver”• “Too many chiefs, not

enough Indians”

Native I.Q.

http://understandingprejudice.org/nativeiq/