Peoples of the Northeast Chapter 3 PDF

Chapter 3 Peoples of the Northeast The Eastern Woodlands The next The Framing stop in your journey back in time Question is the Northeast, also called the...

Chapter 3 Peoples of the Northeast The Eastern Woodlands The next The Framing stop in your journey back in time Question is the Northeast, also called the What were the key Eastern Woodlands. This region characteristics of stretches from the Great Lakes to the nations of the Northeast? the Atlantic coast. For peoples living hundreds of years ago, it was a place of abundance. Wooded lands provided plenty of food and water for all forms of life—as well as lots of wood to use to build homes, boats, tools, furniture, and other useful items. The people living in this region created a thriving, unique culture. By 1500 CE, many different Native peoples were living in the Northeast region. Although there were many different nations, we can think of them as making up three groups based on language: those who spoke Algonquian languages, those who spoke Iroquoian languages, and those who spoke Siouan languages. The peoples of the western part of the region, such as the Ojibwe, spoke Algonquian languages. 28 LABB_G5_U03_Civilizations in North America_SR.indb 28 13/10/23 2:43 PM  The Eastern Woodlands offered much to the people living there, including plenty of wood for building. 29 LABB_G5_U03_Civilizations in North America_SR.indb 29 13/10/23 2:43 PM  The Northeast nations lived around the Great Lakes and as far east as the Atlantic coast. The peoples of the eastern nations spoke Iroquoian and Siouan languages. For example, the Haudenosaunee spoke Iroquoian languages, and the Ho-Chunk spoke Siouan. The landscape of the Northeast region at the time was mostly forest. This provided wood for building and fuel, as well as roots, berries, and nuts for food. The forest was also home to animals, such as deer and bears, that people hunted for food and fur. Most people lived in clearings that were near creeks, rivers, lakes, or ponds and between forested areas. The lakes and rivers provided an almost year-round supply of fish. The shallows around the edges of the Great Lakes also provided wild rice, which was gathered rather than farmed. 30 LABB_G5_U03_Civilizations in North America_SR.indb 30 13/10/23 2:43 PM  The Three Sisters Besides eating the food that was available just outside their homes, the peoples of the Northeast grew crops. The soil was rich, though in some areas the growing season was short. In some areas, the soil was also very rocky. Corn, beans, and squash were the main crops. One Northeast people, the Haudenosaunee, called these main crops the three sisters because they provided good overall nutrition and could be grown together in a way that benefited Vocabulary all three plants. nutrition, n. the nourishment people There was a very specific way of planting get from food that the three sisters. Corn seeds and beans helps them grow and stay healthy were planted in little mounds, one step wigwam, n. a domed apart. The beans could climb up the dwelling built by corn stalks as they grew taller. Squash peoples of the Northeast, made of was grown in the low areas between the poles tied together mounds. The broad leaves of the squash and covered plants provided shade to stop weeds from growing and to keep the ground from drying out in the sun. All three plants helped each other grow well in the rich soil. Home, Family, and Society The peoples of the Northeast lived in villages. They built their houses out of forest materials. Nations that lived around the Great Lakes, such as the Ojibwe and Ho-Chunk, built wigwams, also called wickiups. A wigwam had a framework of poles set into the ground in a circle. The poles were tied together at the top to make a dome. 31 LABB_G5_U03_Civilizations in North America_SR.indb 31 13/10/23 2:43 PM  Bark, reeds, or mats were used for the walls. Fires were built in the middle of the floor, and smoke escaped through a hole at the top. Wigwams usually housed a single family. The people of other Northeast nations Vocabulary who lived near the coast of the Atlantic longhouse, n. a Ocean, including the Mohawk and Cayuga, rectangular house lived in longhouses. Longhouses also made of bark panels on a frame of wooden used a frame of wooden poles, but poles the framework was covered with bark. Longhouses get their name from their shape: a long rectangle with a door at each end. Like wigwams, longhouses had fire pits in the center of the room and holes in the roof that allowed smoke to escape. Longhouses were about twenty feet (6 m) wide and could be long or short, depending on how many families lived in them. A typical longhouse held ten families who lived around five fire pits. 32 LABB_G5_U03_Civilizations in North America_SR.indb 32 13/10/23 2:43 PM  All of the societies of the Northeast were structured around clans. Most of these clans were based on the mother’s family, but some, such as the Ho-Chunk, used a system based on A longhouse served as a home to many families. the father’s clan. Clan groups occupied their own longhouses. Many generations of women, along with their husbands and young children, would live in a longhouse together. In the Ojibwe nation, clans were associated with dodems, or symbols such as Crane and Bear. Each dodem was associated with a particular trait. Crane and Loon clans were leaders, while Catfish clans were teachers and philosophers. People were expected to behave in the way of their clan and work together for the good of their people. Many nations lived in the same place all the time, but others, such as the Ojibwe, moved throughout the year. The Ojibwe spent the winter living in small family groups in their own hunting areas. The groups gathered together in larger villages in spring and summer. The Mahican people lived in the valley of the Hudson River. Their name comes from muh-he-cn-nuk, meaning great water that is always moving. Stories passed down for many generations tell how the Mahican people crossed over the water that gave them their name. This water, says the legend, was far in the north. 33 LABB_G5_U03_Civilizations in North America_SR.indb 33 13/10/23 2:43 PM  There, two lands were nearly connected. Then the Mahican traveled east and crossed many rivers. Finally, they found a place to settle near the Hudson River. For years, the Mahican fought against neighboring nations, including the Mohawk, their most bitter enemy. Both groups eventually became known as great fighters due to their continued battles. Government and Politics One Eastern Woodlands legend tells the story of an Onondaga man named Hiawatha. Distressed by all the fighting he observed among Northeast nations, he left his home and wandered in the wilderness. During his wanderings, he met a Huron man named Deganawida. Together, Hiawatha and Deganawida developed the idea of a confederacy that would unite the nations and create peace. They succeeded in leading the formation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which Haudenosaunee villages such as this one were sometimes built on hilltops. This location provided a natural defense, was made up of the as did the palisades surrounding the village. 34 LABB_G5_U03_Civilizations in North America_SR.indb 34 13/10/23 2:43 PM  Mohawk, the Onondaga, the Seneca, the Oneida, and the Cayuga. Most of these peoples lived in what is now the state of New York. This unified group is also known as the Iroquois Confederacy. The goal of the confederacy was to Vocabulary keep the peace among themselves and sachem, n. a chief of unite against enemies. They agreed that a Northeast nation each nation would keep its own chiefs, or sachems. These sachems would also be the members of the League Council, which governed the confederacy. This meant that each nation in the confederacy still ruled itself independently; matters affecting all nations were decided by the League Council. The confederacy’s form of government was so effective that it is still in use today. It is sometimes said that the Haudenosaunee Confederacy influenced how the structure of government is described in the United States Constitution. Religious and Spiritual Beliefs Like many other nations, most peoples of the Northeast believed in animism. They believed that every living thing, object, and place had a spirit. The Ojibwe developed a religious society known as the Grand Medicine Society, or Midewiwin. This society is made up of priests of varying levels of knowledge and ability. Priests go through years of training and sacred rites to achieve their ranks. They perform religious rituals and serve as spiritual leaders for their people. They also serve as healers. The Ojibwe also value the seven teachings, sometimes called the seven grandfathers. 35 LABB_G5_U03_Civilizations in North America_SR.indb 35 13/10/23 2:43 PM  These are values they believe every person should try to practice: wisdom, love, respect, bravery, truth, humility, and honesty. The Ojibwe think these values should guide every action a person takes. One of the core values of the peoples of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy was the Hiawatha left his home and wandered in the wilderness. seventh generation principle. This principle held that everyone has a responsibility to the people of the seventh generation after them. In other words, a person owes responsibility to the children born to their grandchildren’s grandchildren’s grandchildren. This principle still guides people to make decisions that preserve the natural world and keep their cultures and languages alive. Most Northeast nations celebrated festivals that centered on foods and the harvest. Today, people of the Haudenosaunee nations celebrate a midwinter festival, a strawberry harvest ceremony, and a corn harvest festival. 36 LABB_G5_U03_Civilizations in North America_SR.indb 36 13/10/23 2:43 PM  Art, Clothing, and Trade Generally, the nations of the Northeast did not consider art separate from other aspects of life. Art was part of everyday objects, traditions, and even games and sports. An important art form was wampum, a Vocabulary bead made from clamshells. The beads wampum, n. a bead were very difficult to make, so wampum made from clamshells was extremely valuable. Wampum beads were strung together and sometimes woven into belts. The designs of these strings and belts had great significance. A wampum string or belt could symbolize a person’s standing in their clan or nation, as well as stand for peace and truth during meetings. People in the nations of the Northeast wore clothing made of animal skins for warmth because the region is cool or cold for much of the year. In warmer weather, men wore loincloths. This wampum belt was made in the 1700s. It may have been designed to be worn on a person’s wrist. 37 LABB_G5_U03_Civilizations in North America_SR.indb 37 13/10/23 2:43 PM  Women wore skirts or dresses. People wore moccasins as well. Clothing might be decorated with beads and porcupine quills. An important article of clothing for men was the gustoweh. This was a hat decorated with beads and feathers. The arrangement of the feathers showed which nation the wearer belonged to. For example, Mohawk men wore gustowehs with three feathers pointing up, while Onondaga The position of feathers on a gustoweh varied among nations. men’s gustowehs had one feather pointing up and one pointing down. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, trade among the nations of the Eastern Woodlands was relatively simple. The land provided so much that each nation’s needs were well met. Groups traded with each other for exotic goods that they did not have locally. The most valuable items were shells used to make wampum. 38 LABB_G5_U03_Civilizations in North America_SR.indb 38 13/10/23 2:43 PM  PRIMARY SOURCE: EXCERPT FROM THE HAUDENOSAUNEE GREAT LAW OF PEACE 1. I am Dekanawidah and with the Five Nations’ Confederate Lords I plant the Tree of Great Peace.... I name the tree the Tree of the Great Long Leaves.... 2. Roots have spread out from the Tree of the Great Peace, one to the north, one to the east, one to the south and one to the west. The name of these roots is The Great White Roots and their nature is Peace and Strength. If any man or any nation outside the Five Nations shall obey the laws of the Great Peace and make known their disposition to the Lords of the Confederacy, they may trace the Roots to the Tree and if their minds are clean and they are obedient and promise to obey the wishes of the Confederate Council, they shall be welcomed to take shelter beneath the Tree of the Long Leaves. We place at the top of the Tree of the Long Leaves an Eagle who is able to see afar. If he sees in the distance any evil approaching or any danger threatening he will at once warn the people of the Confederacy. 39 LABB_G5_U03_Civilizations in North America_SR.indb 39 13/10/23 2:43 PM