Native American Society

Native American Society before European Contact

Anthropologists can divide the North American Native people into ten separate groups called "cultural areas." These were places where the people shared similar habitats and cultural characteristics.

1. The Arctic - The Arctic area is cold, flat, and treeless. Due to these conditions, the Natives who inhabited these areas (Alaska, Canada, and Greenland) were small, scattered groups that followed the migration of seals and polar bears. One of the major groups in this area was the Inuit.
2. The Subarctic - The Subarctic area is mainly swampy, forested land that sits inland of Alaska and Canada. Like the Inuit, those who inhabited the inner areas of the land were also nomadic and followed the migration patterns of the caribou. Small family groups moved together via toboggans, snowshoes, and lightweight canoes. Two of the major groups from this area were the Cree and the Ojibwa. Fig 1: This map shows the different Native American cultures by region.
3. The Northeast - The Northeast was much more sustainable for agriculture and the groups who lived in this area grew beans, corn, and vegetables. They lived in small farming or fishing villages along the coasts of North America. These groups were also the first to come into contact with the European settlers. Having both the Iroquois and the Algonquin often in conflict with each other made these Native people much more aggressive regarding the Europeans.
4. The Southeast - The Southeast lands were humid and packed with fertile soils for agriculture. The people who settled here were expert farmers, growing staple crops like maize, beans, squash, tobacco, and sunflower. They were able to be sedentary people and lived in small villages called "Hamlets". The "Five Civilized Tribes" of the area were the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole people.
5. The Plains - The Plains were made up of the Crow, Blackfoot, Cheyanne, and more. Before European contact, the people here were settled, hunters and farmers. However, once the Spanish colonists introduced horses, the tribes became more nomadic.
6. The Southwest - The Southwest was made up of both sedentary (Hopi and Zuni) and nomadic peoples (Navajo and Apache). The settled farmers, such as the Hopi, grew corn, beans, and squash. These are also known as the "Three Sisters". Their permanent settlements are referred to as "Pueblos"
7. The Great Basin - The Great Basin is made up of brackish lakes, salt flats, and deserts, forcing the people who inhabited the area to be foragers for roots, seeds, and nuts. The people also hunted snakes, lizards, and other small mammals. Examples of the tribes here were the Bannock and Ute.
8. California - The temperate lands of California were made up of the largest numbers of Native American groups on the continent, with an estimated 100 tribes and around 200 different dialects. Despite the amount of diversity, the tribes lived quite peacefully alongside one another.
9. The Northwest Coast - The abundance of natural resources in this area, such as salmon, sea otters, and seals, enabled the people to create large settlements of hundreds. They had implemented rigid social structures that were extremely sophisticated; with social statuses being shown via blankets, shells, and animal skins.
10. The Plateau - The majority of the Plateau people lived in small, peaceful villages alongside the streams and rivers. They gathered wild berries, roots, and nuts while also fishing for salmon and trout.

Before the arrival of the Europeans, most native tribes had become expert agriculturalists. With their populations growing rapidly due to higher amounts of food, Indigenous peoples began to create large, thriving, and civilized cities (despite European belief).