Indigenous Inhabitants of CNE PDF

Indigenous inhabitants of CNE Week 9.1 Agenda for today Assignment: Environmental Problems Research Paper (Nov 22) Wrap up discussion of archaic period (9,000-3,700 BP) Begin to talk about indigenous inhabitants in New England Discuss indigenous storytelling and the enviro...

Indigenous inhabitants of CNE Week 9.1 Agenda for today Assignment: Environmental Problems Research Paper (Nov 22) Wrap up discussion of archaic period (9,000-3,700 BP) Begin to talk about indigenous inhabitants in New England Discuss indigenous storytelling and the environment as a tool in storytelling. What is the power of environmental storytelling?  Archaic Period (9000-3700BP) - Archaic people more sedentary than their predecessors - Allows for deeper understanding of the environment and the life-systems that exist in the region across seasons and over time. Adaptation throughout this era shows innovation and changing environmental conditions that drove a need for new tools to survive. - Early Archaic period (9000-8000 BP): adzes, drills, axes, chisels, bone fish hooks and lines, harpoons, nets, needles for sewing clothes, baskets, traps, snares - Middle Archaic period (8,000-6,000 BP): characterized by warming temperatures, greater opportunity for fishing up rivers; more deciduous trees. Tools: canoes, and plant processing tools (griding, milling, boiling, storing). The nature of hunt- caribou, swordfish, seals, large marine mammals required teams of coordinated hunters, so likely lived in large communities. - Late Archaic period (6000-3,7000 BP): continued warming trend which saw great expansion of diverse life (deer, small game, fish) as well as humans in the New England region. - Three cultures: - Lake forest - Mast Forest - Maritime Archaic Maritime archaic people Relied on sea coastal environments. From Nova Scotia through Maine, and down the coast, as sea levels rose shallow sea shores emerged and overtime tidal systems brought new life into this area. Hunted large mammals like Caribou and deer but also aquatic mammals like- porpoises, dolphins, walruses, seals, killer whales. Also relied upon shellfish and sea birds for sustenance- a diverse and adaptable diet Lake Forest People Lowland between the mountains and the coast, western boundary of the Great Lakes Hunted deer, elk, moose, beaver, bear, and small animals and freshwater fish. Mast Forest People Comes a little after teh Lake Forest people, from further south and inhabit regions where mast bearing trees (that is, nut bearing trees) were common (e.g., oaks) Small stemmed hunting tools and processing tools (mortars and pestles) for nut bearing trees, Susquehanna People (3,700 - 3,500 BP) Establish in New England from the south following anadromous fish, nut bearing deciduous trees, and deer as they spread northward. Have distinct tools, different from those of previous cultures. In the midst of this period, a cooling trend happens and archeological evidence of the Susquehanna disappear Early Woodland People (2,700- 2000 BP) Two critical environmental changes: Boreal Forests force human migration to the coast Change in the coastal plain ecosystem, creation of estuaries, marshes, and barrier beaches. Fresh and saltwater mix creates environment for abundant and diverse lifeforms with several ecological zones. Woodland people created settlements in the “ecotones” Two important adaptations Use of clay Bark canoes Timeline construction Indigenous People and Agriculture in New England (1,300 BP) Why did the people begin to cultivate agricultural food growth in New England? Population pressure Interaction with other cultures who were farming Greater understanding of the land Seasons of Want and Plenty “A central fact of temperate ecosystems like those of New England is their periodicity: they are tied to overlapping cycles of light and dark, high and low tides, waxing and waning moons, and especially the long and short days which mean hot and cold seasons. Each plant and animal species makes its adjustments to these various cycles, so that the flowing of sap in trees, the migration of birds, the spawning of fish, the rutting of deer, and the fruiting of plants all have their special times of the year. A plant that stores most of its food energy in its roots during the winter will transfer much of that energy first to its leaves and then to its seeds as the warmer months progress. Such patterns of energy concentration are crucial to any creature which seeks to eat that plant. Because animals, including people, feed on plants and other animals, the ways they obtain their food are largely determined by the cycles in which other species lead their lives. Just as a fox's summer diet of fruit and insects shifts to rodents and birds during the winter, so too did the New England Indians seek to obtain their food wherever it was seasonally most concentrated in the New England ecosystem. Doing so required an intimate understanding of the habits and ecology of other species, and it was this knowledge that the English discovered they lacked. ” (Changes in the Land: Seasons of Want and Plenty) “Seasons of want and plenty” What is meant by this phrase? How did indigenous life in New England reflect the changing seasons? What were the values about land and human relationship with it that were reflected the seasonal practices described in the chapter? Do we have aspects of this (seasons of want and plenty, that is) that we still practice today? Or has modernity created such conditions that it is always (seemingly) a season of plenty? What are the repercussions of this way of thinking? How do we adjust our ways of living to the seasons today? Do we change our lifestyles with the rhythms of the seasons in New England? In what ways? Gendered divisions of labor in agriculture How was agricultural production gendered? What did that mean for the importance of gender in these early societies? Do we still see gendered roles and responsibilities in agricultural production today- What other kinds of divisions do we see in agricultural labor today… in the US? Globally? Sustainable land use practices Multi-cropping (“Three sisters”: Maize, beans, squash) brings nutrients back to the soil and protects against pests. Fallow land practices- but this required more control over land/territories which brought conflict between cultures as agriculture became increasingly practiced. Native Land Map Follow this link: https://native-land.ca/ Enter in the zipcode or town name of your hometown into the search. Who were the indigenous people who once inhabited that land? What do you know about them and their relationship to the land? What do you know about the history of those people? What do you know about the indigenous stories and knowledge held by these people? What do you know about the activities, organizations, confederations of these people today? Native Land Maps, continued. Now, do this same exercise for Keene, NH. Who were the indigenous people who once inhabited that land? What do you know about them and their relationship to the land? What do you know about the history of those people? What do you know about the indigenous stories and knowledge held by these people? What do you know about the activities, organizations, confederations of these people today? Indigenous peoples in the Vermont/New Hampshire region Abeneki - relationship to the water: xazbsdjn_mhnebicc-16x9-1080p_257.m3u8 How does the speakers in this video relate to the land? How does the speaker shave relationships through the land? How is this displayed at the Lake Champlain and the river valley? What can indigenous stories tell us about the land, people’s relationships to the land, and human societies both hundreds of years ago and today? Do we have examples of stories that reflect your own generational, cultural experiences with the environment? What are some examples? Developing your own environmental narrative. Stories can help us to explain our relationship to the earth, to our environments. It reflects our histories, our challenges, our truths and our values, and ultimately our cultures. In groups, to come up with a story that reflects your own relationship with the environment. This might reflect a generational story of the earth- for example: climate change; environmental activism, plastic use; electronics; maybe even generational disengagement with nature? This might reflect a New England cultural story, perhaps one of seasonal change.  Key Terms from Pleistocene Epoch Holocene Epoch Laurentide Ice Sheet weeks 8-9 Culture Ancient Peoples ○ Peleo-Indian ○ Early, Mid and Late Archaic peoples (Maritime, Lake Forest, Mast, Susquehana, Early Woodland) Folsom and Clovis points Ecotones Three Sisters Abenaki People Gender and Division of Labor Seasons of Want and Plenty Indigenous Knowledge Asters and Goldenrod, Kimmerer Controlled and Cultural Burning