and the answer is...
Equals
- which historians say was the number of different Native American tribes that inhabited North America before settlers from Africa, Asia and Europe arrived.
xxx
x
Why are Native Americans called Indians?
For more than 1,100 years before the discovery of the North American continent – which the discoverers called, “the New World,” much of Europe - Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and England. – had been under the rule of the Moors, who had taught Europeans about mathematics, architecture, agricultural science, medicine, road paving, food preservation. They also introduced African cultural traditions such as libraries, universities and traditions related to musical instruments like the guitar and the piano, folk stories about gold and diamonds and foods and spices such as coffee, rice, cotton, oranges, bananas and coconuts.
During the last half of the 1400s, many Europeans were unaware of the existence of the North and South American continents. However, they did know about various parts of the Asian continent and were interested in establishing business relationships with India which was said to be rich in spices, rice, silks and various natural resources such as gold, silver, diamonds, iron and copper. They were trying to find new sailing routes from Europe to India which is located in Southeastern part of the Asian continent. In an effort to get to India without having to go by way of the African continent – where they would encounter the Moors – the Europeans set off on new sailing routes that required them to travel west, across the Atlantic Ocean. When they arrived in the Americas, they mistakenly thought they were in the West Indies portion of the continent of Asia. It was not realized for many years that they had arrived at an "undiscovered" land and that the many different tribes of people who were living in The New World were not "Indians."
During the last half of the 1400s, many Europeans were unaware of the existence of the North and South American continents. However, they did know about various parts of the Asian continent and were interested in establishing business relationships with India which was said to be rich in spices, rice, silks and various natural resources such as gold, silver, diamonds, iron and copper. They were trying to find new sailing routes from Europe to India which is located in Southeastern part of the Asian continent. In an effort to get to India without having to go by way of the African continent – where they would encounter the Moors – the Europeans set off on new sailing routes that required them to travel west, across the Atlantic Ocean. When they arrived in the Americas, they mistakenly thought they were in the West Indies portion of the continent of Asia. It was not realized for many years that they had arrived at an "undiscovered" land and that the many different tribes of people who were living in The New World were not "Indians."
Did Native Americans always live on reservations?
Before the European settlers came to the North American continent, the many tribes of Native American people lived all over what is now the United States of America, Canada and Mexico. The different tribes were not all alike. In fact, they spoke different languages, had differing religious beliefs and had different cultural traditions.
The Cherokee Nation, one of the largest tribes of Native Americans, interacted with four other tribes - the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Natchez. Approximately 20,00 people in at least 50 towns in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida were included in this group that lived throughout Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina.
The Cherokee had one large garden in which they grew beans, corn, squash, pumpkins, and sunflowers. They also had small individual gardens. The women tended the gardens after the men cleared the fields and helped plant the crops. The men provided the meat for their families. They used traps, bows and arrows, blowguns, and darts to help kill game. Deer was the most important animal the men hunted. They also hunted for bear. The Cherokee people had a great respect for nature. They asked the spirits of the sun, moon, starts, plants, animals, and elements to help them. Several festivals were held each year to celebrate planting and harvesting corn. During these festivals the people painted their faces white to represent happiness.
The Cherokee Nation, one of the largest tribes of Native Americans, interacted with four other tribes - the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Natchez. Approximately 20,00 people in at least 50 towns in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida were included in this group that lived throughout Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina.
The Cherokee had one large garden in which they grew beans, corn, squash, pumpkins, and sunflowers. They also had small individual gardens. The women tended the gardens after the men cleared the fields and helped plant the crops. The men provided the meat for their families. They used traps, bows and arrows, blowguns, and darts to help kill game. Deer was the most important animal the men hunted. They also hunted for bear. The Cherokee people had a great respect for nature. They asked the spirits of the sun, moon, starts, plants, animals, and elements to help them. Several festivals were held each year to celebrate planting and harvesting corn. During these festivals the people painted their faces white to represent happiness.
The Cherokees were not nomadic savages. In fact, they had assimilated many European-style customs, including the wearing of gowns by Cherokee women. They built roads, schools and churches, had a system of representational government, and were farmers and cattle ranchers. A Cherokee alphabet, the "Talking Leaves" was perfected by Sequoyah. |
Lacrosse - a sport still quite popular throughout the United States today - was a sport created and played by the Chickasaws, Cherokees, and Creek tribes. The game was played in two teams with 60 players on each team. Two sticks were held by each player to catch and throw a ball. Each stick had a small thong basket at one end. No player was allowed to touch the thong leather lacrosse ball, except with the stick or basket. The object of the game was to score points by scooping up the ball in the basket and sending it through a pair of goal posts. The first team to score twenty goals was the winner. |
In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal which act required all Native Americans to move east of the Mississippi. At this time the Cherokee Nation had an advanced culture with cities and a written constitution. They even had their own newspapers in the Cherokee language.
The reason for this act was the whites in Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Alabama desired the lands of the Cherokee. The military came into the lands of the Cherokee and forced them to move to Oklahoma. This move become known as the "Trail of Tears". During this move many Indians died from disease, the harsh weather, starvation and attacks by white men. Over 4,000 Cherokee died on the trail to Oklahoma. |
"The Trail of Tears"
Portrait by Robert Lindneux To get an idea of what it was like to be on the Trail of Tears, trace the yellow stars to the blue star and imagine you and your family leaving your homes in the winter and walking all the way to Oklahoma from Alabama...Florida...Georgia...Kentucky...Mississippi... North Carolina...Tennessee. |
Not all of the white settlers agreed with the laws that forced the Native Americans to give up their homelands...
These are just a few of some of the real American heroes who stood up for the rights of Native Americans, even when it was not popular to do so.
Being courageous is usually not the easiest thing to do. But because it's the right thing to do, it's always the coolest thing to do! Do you have the courage to stand up for the rights of others?
Click on this link http://kitchenkidz.weebly.com/in-my-opinion.html and tell us about a time when you used your cool power to speak up for the rights of others.
Being courageous is usually not the easiest thing to do. But because it's the right thing to do, it's always the coolest thing to do! Do you have the courage to stand up for the rights of others?
Click on this link http://kitchenkidz.weebly.com/in-my-opinion.html and tell us about a time when you used your cool power to speak up for the rights of others.
The Legend of the Cherokee Rose
According to legend, the mothers of the Cherokee grieved so much during their families' journey from their homelands to Oklahoma, that the chiefs prayed for a sign to lift the mother's spirits and give them strength to care for their children.
From that day on, a beautiful new flower, a rose, grew wherever a mother's tear fell to the ground. The original rose was white, for the mother's tears. It has a gold center, for the gold taken from the Cherokee lands, and seven leaves on each stem that represent the seven Cherokee clans that made the journey. |
Even today, the Cherokee Rose continues to bloom along the route of the "Trail of Tears".
The Cherokee Rose is now the official flower of the State of Georgia.
The Cherokee Rose is now the official flower of the State of Georgia.
Learn How Native American Ideas About Government Inspired The Idea That Became The United States Of America.
|
Often, when we hear stories about Native Americans we mistakenly think of them as one group of people who all shared the same beliefs, traditions and languages.
The beautiful photographs of Native Americans taken in 1906 and 1907, by Edward Sheriff Curtis ~ a photographer of the American West ~ will give you an idea of how many different groups of people made up the United States of America's First Nation Native People. |
Here’s your chance to learn how to read and write 3 words used in this featured ourstory lesson.
Click on the link below to learn how to pronounce them.
http://translate.google.com/
Click on the link below to learn how to pronounce them.
http://translate.google.com/