Native+American+Project

__** Citations Algonquian ** Culture __ - Every six months the tribes of the Algonquian got together and had a meeting called a pow wow. Here they brought their chiefs to settle arguments, trading, and to create alliances. These meetings were also used for feasting and dancing. They played lacrosse which is much rougher than lacrosse today. Many players suffered injuries while playing. Warriors came from many villages to participate. Those who were only spectators bet on those who are playing. Algonquians spoke their own language known as //Omàmiwininìmowin.// Algonquian society was largely hunting and fishing based. They also practiced agriculture by planting beans, corn, squash, etc, which were known as "The Three Sisters", or the sustainers of life. They also grew some crops such as tobacco and sunflowers. They created a cradleboard, which was used to carry babies of the backs of women, allowing the baby to travel with her while learning how common tasks were completed. __Government__ - They formed confederacies like the Abnaki, Wappinger, and Powhatten Confederacies. Their government wasn't very structured but it was made up of many laws that governed the tribe. The algonquian were made up of loose tribes that communicated and traded with one another. Many tribes that were part of tha Algonquian include the Iroquet, Kichesipirini, Kinounchepirini, Matouweskarini, Nibachis, Kipawa, Huron, etc. The confedercy had a grand sachem that served as a mediator between villages. Most Algonquian tribes lived independantly. __Technology__ - They used spears to hunt eels and fish on their canoes. The women wove fishnets, mats, and bark containers. The Algonquian tribes of Maine and Nova Scotia made birchbark boxes decorated with porcupines quills. These were used when gathering roots and berries. They used the tomahawk (throwing ax). The algonqians had a special way for healing with medicine. Each tribe had a shaman or "medicine man" who was incharge of medicines. The shamans claimed that they got dreams and visions that gave him the power to heal th sick and drive the evil away. In order to show their power, shamans would make different animal cries. They would mix herbs in order to make their "medicine" and they would chant and use a calument (rattle) as he mixes in order to give the substance a mistical property. They created houses called wigwams which were domed buildings that were covered with birchbark. __Religion__ - They believed in a great spirit known as Manitou. The great spirit is found in many things in nature such as water, moon, animals, and sun. Mythologies and legends of supernatural beings were told. They believed that Manibozho recreated the world after it was destroyed by a flood, this is an example of mythology. Rituals and festivals with singing, dancing, and drumming. Festivals such as the Green Corn Festival was celebrated for farming.The Algonquians had no concept of heaven or hell, although they did have an afterlife. The Algonquian believed that there was one main spirit that created the world and that there were many minor spirits that controlled nature. They believed that evil spirits cused mischief, misfortune, illness and the good spirits helped the worthy. Life after death was where a humans' spirits became animals. Shamans interpreted dreams, communicated with spirits, and healed the sick. Shamans were believed to be able to control spirits. The powwows often performed rituals to determine the outcome of a battle or of a hunting expedition. With the aid of their guardian spirits, the powwows could look into the future as well as the past. They would also use the help of their guardian spirits in reading omens or signs. __ Affect from Exploration - __ The Algonquians lost their way of life because of bloodshed and diseases brought over by European explorers. Although, the explorers were beneficial in that they began a fur trade that became important for Algonquian survival. When the Spanish colonized, the Algonquian peoples were enslaved and many were forced to work in silver and gold mines. The Spanish created a system where Native Americans had to pay taxes, farm, ranch, and mine for the profit of an individual Spaniard called the ecomiendas system. Lots of these people were worked to death. The explorers also brought food over such as barley, okra, Asian rice, etc. that could not be found in the Americas and traded for native foods such as cocoa beans, avocados, tapioca, etc. Explorers that came into the area include, John Cabot of England, Giovanni da Verrazano of France, Samuel de Champlain of France, and Henry Hudson of England and Holand.

__ Culture __ - Iroquouis means northern which is for the region that they lived. They had six main festivals each year. The festivals lasted for several days at a time. At their festivals they used instruments such as the rattle and the drum. The festivals included the New Year Festival in the winter, the Maple festival in the spring, the Corn Planting Festivals, the Strawberry Festival, the Green Corn Festival, and the Harvest Festival of Thanksgiving. Women held a powerful position in the Iroquois tribe. They owned longhouses, controlled the land, and chose the chief. Children belonged to their mother's clan. When a man married, he lived with his wife's clan. Agriculture was the main supplier in the Iroquois diet. The women owned and took care of the fields under the supervision of their clan mother. __ Government __- They created a confederacy between the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora tribes. They were rivals with the Algonquian tribe. The white men called their confederacy the League of Six Nations. These six nations are subgroups of the Iroquois that was made in order to keep the peace between the six nations. This confederacy was created by two wise men named Deganawidah and Hyantwatha. They believed that the fighting between the tribes must stop. The League of Six Nations helped protect the American colonies. __ Technology __- The men made canoes, houses, and tools. They used snowshoes to travel through snow since they on average traveld 50 miles a day in the snow. They also wore the snowshoes in their festivals. They created harpoons that were made of bone or rock that were used to catch their food. They made all of their weapons by hand.They created knives made from copper which were used to skin animals. They used arrows to help hunt. The shafts of the arrows were made out of wood and the tips were made from bone or rock such as the salmon spear but smaller. During war they used wooden warclubs that were heavy. __ Religion __- Each year they would sacrifice a women to Niagra Falls in order to please the spirit of the water.. She would be sent in a white canoe that was decorated with fruits and flowers. The Iroquois believe that "After their death, they were changed into pure spirits of strength and goodness. They live so far beneath the falls that the roaring is music to them." He is the ruler of the cataract; she is the maiden of the mist." There are three spirits that are believed to sustain life. They are thought to be the three sisters named, Corn, Beans, and Squash.
 * __Iroquois__**

Pictures: Iroquois Longhouses Iroquois Native Americans Iroquois Native Americans

References: [] [] [] [] www.franklin.ma.us/ppt/**iroquois**.ppt [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []