Journal #1

I know a little bit about the Native American culture. I have visited a few remakes of Native American villages. I have been to Jamestown where Pocahontas was, and I have been to an indian village in Cherokee in the Smokey Mountains.

I know that there are several different "types" of indians. The Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs, where among the first indians in South America. They were very intelligent. The Aztecs were involved in a lot of human sacrifices, and the Mayans created one of the first calenders. The Spanish conquistadors massacred all the Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs.

The first of the indian tribes in North America used tepees to live in. They were called nomads because they moved from place to place for food. They did not know how to plant crops yet, so they moved around for food.

There were several other indian tribes in North America. One group of indians were called the Mound Builders. They lived in the Great Plains. They are called the Mound Builders because the built a lot of burial mounds. Some tribes built burial mounds in the shape of several animals. A common animal to make a mound in the shape of was a snake. One of the most well known Mound Builder tribes is the tribe that lived in Cahokia Mounds. Cahokia Mounds is in Illinois right outside St. Louis. Cahokia Mounds is probably the largest Mound Builder civilization. They were pretty advanced.

There were also Native American tribes that lived in Arizona and around there. They made their houses out of adobe, and they lived on the sides of cliffs. They were called Cliff Dwellers. The Cliff Dwellers were also pretty advanced. They made irrigation canals to bring water to their villages. They had to do this because they lived in the desert where there obviously is not a lot of water.

The Iroquois league was probably the most powerful group of indians. They set up there own form of government and had a good military. I'm pretty sure they lived in longhouses. The women were looked at as equals to the men. They took part in council meetings and other men dominated events.

The Seminoles were another type of indian tribe. They lived in the Everglades.

Most indian tribes were somewhat the same. Some tribes lived in tepees, some in lounghouses, wigwams, houses on stilts, or in adobe houses. The later indian tribes knew how to plant food which gave them more time for leisure. Some indians invented a game that is very similar to lacrosse. The men usually dominated the tribes. They were chief and participated in tribal meetings. They also did the hunting. The women typically did everything else. They made clothing, beads, baskets, prepared food, took care of the children, and other like things.