THE NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBE GUIDE

 

North America is very big, so there were lots of different groups of Native Americans living there before the European settlers arrived. Their way of life varied as dramatically as the landscape – from the icy tundra in Alaska to the swamps of Florida. Here’s a brief guide to a few of them.

SIOUX

There were various groups of Sioux Native Americans – Sitting Bull was a member of the Hunkpapa division of the Teton Sioux tribe. They lived in teepees (a kind of tent made of animal skins and wooden poles) which they could move very quickly as they followed the herds of buffalo across the American plains. The Sioux were famous for their feathered war headdresses.

BEOTHUK

The Beothuk were the original people of Newfoundland in Canada. No one knows for sure, but it was probably the Beothuk who met the Vikings when they landed in North America. They lived in wigwams, cone-shaped wooden houses, and fished off the Newfoundland coast and hunted caribou and seals. They painted their bodies and clothing with red ochre. The last member of the Beothuk tribe died in 1829.

CHEROKEE

The Cherokee lived in the south-eastern states of Georgia, Tennessee, and western North and South Carolina (and some still do). They were farmers, living in small towns in log cabins. They traded with the settlers, adopted similar systems of government and customs, and helped the settlers to fight against other tribes. In 1838, after gold had been discovered in Georgia, tens of thousands of Cherokee Native Americans were forced from their homes and marched almost 1,300 kilometres to Oklahoma. Thousands of them died on the way. The march became known as the ‘Trail of Tears’.

 

APACHE

The Apache lived in the south-western states of Colorado, New Mexico and Texas, and today they live in Oklahoma and New Mexico. There are Western and Eastern Apache tribes, each with different divisions. In the past the Apache farmed and hunted, and lived in small brush shelters or wooden-framed tents. They were one of the fiercest Indian tribes, resisting colonisation by the Spanish settlers from South America and the European settlers from the North. Geronimo, who fought against both the Mexicans and the US army, was one of the most famous Apache warriors. It’s said he was so tough that he attacked a group of Mexican soldiers armed with only a knife, even though the soldiers were armed with guns.

 

 

 

 

Find out more about when Vikings met the Beothuk here.