The Fourth Grade TeachersPresent

Native American Cultures

• The Hopi• Inuit• The Kwatiutl• The Nez Perce• The Pawnee• The Seminole

The Fourth Grade TeachersPresent

Native American Cultures

The Hopi Indians

How do you pronounce the word "Hopi"? What does it mean?

It's pronounced "hope-ee," and it means "peaceful person" or "civilized person" in

the Hopi language.

• How is the Hopi Indian nation organized?

• The Hopis live on a reservation, which is land that belongs to them and is under their control. The Hopi Nation has its own government, laws, police, and services, just like a small country. However, the Hopis are also US citizens and must obey American law.

• What language do the Hopi Indians speak?

• Almost all Hopi people speak English today, but most of them also speak their native Hopi language. Hopi is a complex language with long words. It isn't related to other Pueblo languages at all, but is actually a distant relative of the Aztec language. If you'd like to know an easy Hopi word, "ha'u" (sounds a little like hah-uh) means "hello" in Hopi.

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• How do Hopi Indian children live, and what did they do in the past?

• They do the same things all children do--play with each other, go to school and help around the house. Many Hopi children like to go hunting and fishing with their fathers. In the past, Indian kids had more chores and less time to play in their daily lives, just like colonial children. But they did have dolls, toys, and games to play. A Hopi mother traditionally carried a young child in a cradleboard on her back--a custom which many American parents have adopted now.

• What was Hopi transportation like in the days before cars? Did they paddle canoes?

• No--the Hopi Indians weren't coastal people, and rarely traveled by river. Originally they just walked. There were no horses in North America until colonists brought them over from Europe, so the Hopis used dogs pulling travois (a kind of drag sled) to help them carry heavy loads. Once Europeans brought horses to America, the Hopis could travel more quickly than before.

• What were Hopi weapons and tools like in the past?

• Hopi hunters used bows and arrows. The Hopis did not go to war often, though Hopi warriors did sometimes have to defend their territory against the Spanish and Navajos. When this happened, they normally fired their bows or fought with spears. Hopi tools included wooden farm implements, spindles and looms for weaving cotton (and later wool), and pump drills for boring holes in turquoise and other beads.

Clothing

Inuit Indians made clothing out of lots of things such as caribou and seal skin.

They had summer clothes and winter clothes. Their clothes were made out of trees and other materials.

• What are Hopi arts and crafts like?

• Hopi artists are famous for their intricately carved kachina dolls and fine pottery and baskets. All of these art forms are still flourishing today.

• How do I cite your website in my bibliography?

• Our names are Laura Redish and Orrin Lewis and the title of our site is Native Languages of the Americas. The site was first created in 1998 and last updated in 2009.

Thanks for your interest in the Hopi Indian people and their language!

The Inuit/Canadian Eskimos

Food

The Inuit Indians ate primarily fish, sea mammals, and a few land mammals. They also hunted seal, especially ring seal. Most of the Inuit were fisherman so fish was very common.

Shelter

The Inuit Indians lived in igloos during the winter months. They also lived in tents and cabins made with driftwood covered with soil during the summer months.

Igloos are extraordinary houses. They are really hard to make. An igloo takes about 12 steps to make. One of them is that the Eskimos would have to lift heavy ice/ snow blocks ranging in weight from 18-24 pounds! (Try lifting that!) If you had not been building for a long time, it would take you several hours. If you were skilled at building, it would take only one hour! It took many years to become a skilled builder.

Arts The Inuit Indians were all great craftsmen. They believed

that the ivory they carved with had some sort of animal inside that when they finished the figure, the animal was free from its prison.

Ivory was one of the main materials used for carving. The other two were soapstone and driftwood.

The Shamen, medicine men, would also carve and wear masks to use them as shields to ward off evil spirits. Most masks would be friendly looking, while others were fearsome and evil looking.

Kwakiutl

The Kwakiutl natives were very smart. They lived in the Northwest region of the United States. They were great hunters and crafters. They also made their own clothes, from nature.

Food

The Kwakiutl usually hunted otters, weasels, mink, marmots, and squirrels which were caught in baited traps. The Kwakiutl ate anything that they could catch, which included lots of fish.

Clothing The Kwakiutl had a certain way to dress. Mats for

floors were also used as clothing. During cold and wet weather, warm and water resistant clothing was mandatory. The most common dress was a dress made from cedar bark.

The cedar bark was sometimes woven together with wool from mountain goats. They also raised wooly dogs so they could shave their thick coats. The clothing was then rubbed in fish oil to increase water resistance.

Shelter

The Kwakiutl lived near the Pacific Ocean. The houses were built by cedar wood. Each house had a totem pole in front of it to identify each member of the tribe. The clan symbol was on the top of it. The beds were on each side inside the house. There were also holes in the center of the roof so the smoke would exit without setting fires.

Pawnee

Location

The Pawnee previously lived in Central North America where Nebraska and Kansas are right now. Today, many Pawnee people live in far away villages in Oklahoma.

Climate

The climate in the area where the Pawnee live ranges from 23 degrees to 76 degrees. The highest temperature recorded was 118.

Food

The Pawnee ate corn, beans, and squash in the spring and fall.

They hunted buffalo in the summer and winter.

Clothing

The Pawnee used animal skins for clothing. It took about 40 hours of hard physical work to prepare a hide properly so it could be used for clothing. The hide was carefully removed from the animal, scraped of flesh, and preparations rubbed into it to prevent

it from rotting.

Pawnee Clothing

Shelter

The Pawnee tore off the animals hides. Carefully they stretched the hides on sticks. The sticks held the house. The hide was the cover. They also used bark, earth, and grass to make permanent houses.

Interesting Facts

The Pawnee sacrificed a young girl each year.

The Pawnee nation was destroyed in 1850 by smallpox, cholera, and Sioux attacks.

The Pawnee were excellent hunters. The Pawnee thought the stars were gods. There about 2,000 Pawnee left today.

The Nez Perce

Environment

The Nez Perce lived in the scattered villages in the plains around Idaho, Oregon, and Washington State.

FoodThey ate salmon, wild berries , plants, and kouse (roots). They stored the fish in a ice cave for winter use . The Nez Perce boiled and ate raw kouse.

Shelter The Nez Perce lived in the scattered villages in the plains around Idaho, Oregon, and Washington State. The Nez Perce lived in earth shelters that were round or long. When they went hunting they slept in tepees.

Clothing The woven bag was a style for the Nez Perce. The women often made and wore dresses of deer skin. The weaving always was done by women. They wore moccasins with their loin cloths.

Animals

The Nez Perce hunted moose, deer, elk, and bear. If they killed a buffalo they would use every part of it for toys, food and other things.

Interesting FactsThe Nez Perce made spoons out of mountain sheep. They got their name when the French explores arrived and saw shells in their noses.

The Seminole Indians

It's pronounced "SEH-minn-ole." It comes from a Spanish word meaning

"wild."

In the 1700's, many Indians from Georgia and Florida tribes--Creeks, Miccosukees, Hitchitis, and Oconees--joined together for protection. These tribes originally had unique cultural identities, but they soon merged into a unified Seminole nation.

Over the next century, Native Americans from other tribes and African-Americans who escaped from slavery crossed the border into Florida to join the Seminoles too.

What were men and women's roles in the Seminole tribe?

Seminole men were hunters and sometimes went to war to protect their families. Seminole women were farmers and also did most of the child care and cooking. Both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine. In the past, the chief was always a man, but today a Seminole woman can participate in government too.

What was Seminole transportation like in the days before cars? Did they paddle canoes?

Yes--the Seminole Indians made flat dugout canoes from hollowed-out cypress logs. They steered these boats with poles rather than paddles, and sometimes used sails made from palmetto fiber. Over land, the Seminoles used dogs as pack animals. (There were no horses in North America until colonists brought them over from Europe.) Today, of course, Seminole people also use cars... and non-native people also use canoes.

How do Seminole Indian children live, and what did they do in the past?

They do the same things all children do--play with each other, go to school and help around the house. Many Seminole children like to go hunting and fishing with their fathers. In the past, Seminole kids had more chores and less time to play, just like early colonial children. But they did have palmetto dolls and wooden toys, and teenage Seminole boys liked to play ball games like stickball, similar to the Iroquois game of lacrosse. Like many Native Americans, Seminole mothers traditionally carried their babies in cradleboards on their backs--a custom which many American parents have adopted now.

What are Seminole arts and crafts like? The Seminoles are known for their baskets,

woodcarvings, beadwork, and patchwork designs.

What were Seminole weapons and tools like in the past?

Seminole hunters used bows and arrows. Fishermen usually used fishing spears. Traditionally, Seminole warriors fired their bows or fought with tomahawks. But by the time the Seminole tribe had united in the 1700's, they also fought with guns.

How do I cite your website in my bibliography?

Our names are Laura Redish and Orrin Lewis and the title of our site is Native Languages of the Americas. The site was first created in 1998 and last updated in 2009.

Thanks for your interest in the Seminole Indian people and their language!

We hope that you enjoyed our

presentation about the

Native American Cultures.

The Fourth Grade Teachers