The Native American Groups - Term Paper Example

? Native Americans – Inuit and Nez Perce Introduction About 20,000 to 40,000 years ago, people from north-east Asia (now called Siberia) carried herds of bison and mammoth across a land called Berengia, which is now known as North America. Berengia used to serve as the link between Asia and North America. It was a piece of land covered by ice sheets and there was no way to the south of America through it, for thousands of years. It has been estimated that about 11,000 years ago, both North and South America were occupied by human settlements. Christopher Columbus landed on an island of West Indies in the year 1492 but he thought that he had reached India and hence started calling its inhabitants as “Indians”. He was the first European to land here what later was called as the “Americas”. Later explorers also called the Native Americans “Indians” although they stayed nowhere near India. Experts say that around 20 to 50 million people were staying the Americas by 1492. Mayans and Aztecs lived in the area which is presently known as Mexico. In the north, (present Ohio), Hopewell civilization had already flourished before Columbus came. There were farmers, hunters, fishermen, traders, craftsmen all over the continent at that time. (Reynoldson, 2000, p. 4-6) The Native American Groups The Native American groups discussed here are the “Inuit“and the “Nez Perce” groups. The Inuit Shelter, food and clothes The Inuit lived in the coldest terrain of the earth, i.e. the Arctic Circle. Their houses were made of driftwood or bones of whale. However, the Inuit who lived in the colder areas, built dome like snow houses during the winter months. They built these with huge blocks of snow and then cut out a doorway to enter in it. Around the snow walls, inside, a ledge of snow blocks was built which were covered by caribou furs to sit and sleep over those. All the insulations were done in such a manner that the temperature inside the house could be easily kept as high as 160C, particularly if cooking took place inside the house. A windowpane was made out of stretched intestines of seals to expel the stale air. The Inuit hunted seals almost round the year. During summer they could hunt from boats, when the seals would swim or were on ice. However, in winter, since the ice was easy to walk upon, hunting was easy. Seal hunting required sufficient skill and patience for hours. They used harpoon to kill the seals. Clothes were tailored by women to suit the harsh climate. (Reynoldson, 2000, p.12- 15) Social life By November, the water froze to ice in the Arctic, and it was a good time to travel with sledge pulled by dogs. Winter was the time to socialize. Inuits travelled to visit family and friends to spend time with them, sing and dance. Also, men who had hunted well and stored enough food for his family would take this time out for enjoyment. Those who didn’t have a fair hunting season would take their family to visit relatives to be fed. The sledges could be used till May. In autumn and spring they were used to hunt. Sledges were made out of various kind of materials as and when available like wood, bone or antler and even iron and mud. Twelve dogs could pull a sledge of half a ton weight through thirty two kilometers in about an hour. The dogs were very loyal and obedient to their masters. The owners kept their dogs around their homes throughout the year. They would also make skin boots for the dogs to prevent the entry of the salty water into their toes which if happened would be very painful once the water refroze. (Reynoldson, 2000, p.18-19) Marital life Men and women had their specific works to do. Women made clothes, processed the skin and flesh of animals hunted, cooked food, raise children and also took to fishing. Men were the food providers, hunters, made the tools and built houses. There was no marriage ceremony in their community. Any partner could come out of the relation anytime. However, if they had children they would try to be together. Spouse exchange was practiced among the Inuit. It was mainly done to develop a network of association which would help to survive the bad times of starvation. Alliances were formed by singing partners, by linking namesakes, by adoption and also by spouse exchange for a certain time period. Any children by such exchanges would consider each other as brothers and sisters. This further continued the alliance network. (Reynoldson, 2000, p.20) Language, Religion The Inuit language was “Inuktitut”, which was not written. They communicated verbally only. Linguists, consider it to be a single language with multiple dialects. (Stern, 2010, p. 21) The religion of Inuit consisted of mainly contacts with various “tuurngait” or spirits. “Shamans” mediated the interactions of the Inuit with the spirit world. “Tuurngait” included the souls of various beings like mythical figures, heavenly bodies, even animals and land forms. The training to become a shaman started in the adolescence. (Stern, 2010, p. 103) Economic life Though the Inuit lived in one of the harshest environments of the earth, yet the Arctic ecosystem gave them all the required nutrition and material needs. The marine and terrestrial mammals were the source of food and fuel and their various parts also served as materials to build houses, boats and to make tools. Trading fairs were regular. (Stern, 2010, p. 37) They were involved in regular long- distance trading of both luxury and day to day materials. For example coastal Inuit exchanged marine animals (fuel and nutrition source) with Caribou (nutrition source and used to make clothes) easily found by Inuit who were living inland. (Stern, 2010, p. 69) The Nez Perce Shelter, food and clothes The Nez Perce occupied what is now called north-central Idaho, south east Washington and north east Oregon. Nez Perce civilization was located on the middle Snake and Clearwater rivers and the northern part of Salmon River basin in central Idaho. They lived in rather fertile, favorable and abundant region, unlike the Inuit. The area had diversified flora and fauna. Temperature varied through out the year. The region was marked by mountains, rivers and canyons. (Walker Jr. & Jones, n.d.) The Nez Perce house among the Plateau groups was mainly double lean and long house, covered by mat. It was usually quite large, well over a hundred feet in length. The characteristic, hemispherical, Plateau sweat house also was built, just as the submerged hot bath and menstrual hut. The Nez Perce migrated seasonally across their territory to take advantage of diverse resources. Food included salmon and other fish, mountain sheep and goats, bear, moose, elk, deer, birds etc among animals. Camas bulbs, bark, bitterroot, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, moss, berries, wild carrots and onions, were the plant foods for them. Early spring was the time for hunting in the river valleys, with snowshoe in deep snow. Canoe trips along the Snake and Columbia rivers were also taken to hunt the salmons. During the seasons of salmon runs, fishing was primary, when thousands of salmon were caught and processed. Fishing was done with various tools like hook and line, harpoons, spears, dip nets, weirs and traps. By mid-summer they left their villages and moved to the highlands where seasonal crops were harvested, fishing was done across highland streams and hunting became more vital. After storing food for winter, most travel ceased by November and they settled in their winter villages until the cycle again began in the spring.(Walker Jr. & Jones). Daily dress was simple and made up of hides and furs of various animals. Shredding barks and grasses were also used to cover the body (Josephy, 2007, p.10) Social life They lived mainly in small villages, consisting of thirty to two hundred people. They were in turn politically grouped into bands which again were structured into composite bands. A village consisted of several linked, extended families and was headed by a man. Usually he was the eldest competent man in the group and his duties were to display idealistic behavior, to be the spokesman of the village, to reconcile intra village quarrels, and to look after the general welfare of village members. Women though did not speak much in proceedings yet influenced the men to attain their goals. A grandfather would generally look after a boy's first attempts at fishing, hunting, fishing etc and a grandmother would generally train a girl in root digging or berry picking. The girl went through a ceremony when she attained puberty. She was kept isolated in the menstrual hut for nearly a week. During that time she had to keep busy, only by scratching herself with a stick. The boy also went through a ceremony after attaining puberty where his first killed animal was eaten by an important hunter or warrior. This marked that the boy would be an able provider. If a person felt that he would die soon, he would announce whom he wished to give his tutelary spirits and property. As a part of the ritual, the corpse was bathed, combed, decorated with red face paint and new clothes. (Walker Jr. & Jones, n.d.) Marital Life Child marriages were common and they practiced arranged marriages. Marriage between relatives was forbidden. A man could marry two or more sisters. If a young man liked a particular girl, his family would decide if she belonged to a good family. If the families were compatible a date was fixed for marriage and exchange of gifts. The groom's side would first give gifts, and after about six months the bride's side would reciprocate the same. (Walker Jr. & Jones, n.d.) Language, Religion They spoke mainly Sahaptian language. (Josephy, 2007, p. 15) Around adolescence, Nez Perce youths were sent out to look for visions from tutelary spirits. This major event, if successful, would mark that those youths would be successful adults. Supernatural power either inherited or obtained during the vision quest, was considered as the root of an individual's ability to survive in any arena. Here also, Shamans played a major function to assist an individual in gathering their power through the vision quest. The quest for supernatural power was a major part of the tutelary spirit dance in winter. Shamans not only kept the details of various ceremonies, but also performed duties like healing illnesses, forecasting the result of wars, weather etc. (Walker Jr. & Jones) Economic life They travelled widely and had trading relationships with various other tribes. Mostly they travelled long distances to trade, however, the bands also went annually to Yakima valley, for inter tribal trade gatherings. The trading materials included various things like fish, other animals and its parts etc. (Josephy, 2007, pp.15-16) Conclusion The above analysis shows that the environment or climate of the region played an important role in deciding the other aspects of livelihood. Leading an independent life necessitated certain specific behavior from the people of those tribes and those became the deciding factor behind economic and social activities. Thus the native Americans, though primitive were quite advanced to sustain themselves. References Josephy, A. (2007). Nez Perce Country. USA: U of Nebraska Press Reynoldson, F. (2000). Native Americans: The Indigenous Peoples of North America. Oxford: Heinemann Stern, P. (2010). Daily Life of the Inuit. California : ABC-CLIO Walker, Jr., D & Jones, P. (nd), The Nez Perce, University Libraries University of Washington, retrieved on December 2, 2013 from: http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/walker.html Read More