The document summarizes the 8 cultural regions of Native Americans, describing the environment, resources, tools, clothing, shelter, and way of life for each region. The regions discussed are Northwest Coast, California, Great Basin, Plateau, Great Plains, Southwest, Eastern Woodlands, and Southeast. Each region adapted uniquely to their environment through utilizing different natural resources and developing distinct cultural practices for survival.

1. America In The
BeginningWho were
the first
Americans?
How and
why did they
come here?
30,000 years ago
During a period of
low temperatures
called an
ice age
The world was
covered in
glaciers
or sheets of ice.
This caused
ocean levels to
drop
and expose
land.
In the Bering
straight a
land bridge
appeared
connecting
The Americas
&
Siberia (Asia)
This land bridge
is known as
Beringia.
Animals like
mammoths
crossed the
bridge or
migrated
to the America's.

2. Hunters in Asia
who moved from
place to place to
find food or
nomads
followed the
mammoths and
spread out or
migrated
to the America's
The ice age
ended,
warming
up glaciers
causing water
levels to
rise
covering up the
land bridge
Some animals
died off like
mammoths.
Living in many
different parts of the
Americas the
Natives needed to
adjust or adapt to
every thing in the
new surrounds that
made up each of
their own
environments
in order to survive.
What
happened
when they
came to
America?
How did they
meet their new
needs?
America In The
Beginning

3. America In The
Beginning
Living in many different
parts of the Americas
the Natives used the
different natural
resources
in their own different
environments for food,
clothing, and shelter.
Different groups in
different
environments
developed their own
beliefs and ways of
life or culture.
Groups in the same
environments
adapted similar life
styles, and language
creating cultural
region.
Many Native
Americans have these
things in common.
1. Nature has a spirit
& believe in many
gods.
2. No one can own
land.
3. Only use what is
needed (no waste).
4. Trade was
important to most
societies.
How did
Native
Americans
adjust to the
new
environments
?
What did they
have in
common?

4. 8 Cultural
Regions
North West Coast
California
Plateau
Great Basin
South West
Great Plains
Eastern
Woodlands
South East

5. 8 Cultural Regions

7. North West Coast
Weather:
long cold winters
cool summers
heavy rainfall
Natural Resources:
ocean/beaches
thick forests of fir,
spruce, and cedar
rugged mountains
seafood/salmon
deer, moose, bear, elk,
beaver, mountain goats
Used cedar canoes to hunt
Fenced in salmon laying
eggs
used cedar to make rope,
mats and baskets
shell needles
used wedges, sledge
hammers,
drills, and knifes to carve
wooden masks
Clothing:
Cedar water proof clothing
like capes with
decorative shell buttons
Shelter: lived near the
coast
Cedar Long Houses with
cedar bark roofs

8. California
Weather:
rainy winters
hot dry summers
Natural Resources:
ocean/coast
foothills
valleys
deserts
mountains
acorns, oak trees
grass, and plants
redwood trees
salmon/seafood/shellfish
deer, rabbits, ducks,
roots berries, pine nuts
Used Bows& arrows, snares, and
nets, used cooking stones to heat
acorn meal
tools from antlers
Clothing: grass/leather aprons
and skirts
Shelter: Cone shaped made of
redwood bark, pole, and reeds
woven into mats

9. Great Basin
Weather:
little rain
hot during the day
cold at night
Natural Resources:
mostly dessert
low areas surrounded by
mountains at the edges
with valleys that had
seasonal lakes and streams
plants that need little water like
grasses, sagebrush, pinon trees,
at the outer edges pine trees, and willow
small animals rabbits, lizards,
grasshoppers, snakes
sometimes ducks , duck eggs during certain
seasons
seeds, berries pine nuts, roots, cattail
Tools: water baskets sealed with tree sap
Floating duck decoys, nets, sharp sticks, flat baskets for
catching seeds
Clothing: rabbit robes in winter
Shelter: Nomadic temporary cone shelters of willow,
brush and reeds

10. Plateau
Weather:
long cold winters
comfortable summers
Natural Resources:
mountains with
dense forests in areas
flatter in the center with
drier grass lands
rivers
driftwood, mud, dirt,
grass and sage brush
fish, antelope, deer, seeds
onions, carrots, camas roots,
salmon
Tools: woven baskets, willow digging
sticks, wooden fishing platforms,
nets, and spears for salmon
Clothing: antelope and deer hides
leggings, dresses and skirts, woven
hats, seed and shell designs
Shelter: near rivers, partly under
ground out of driftwood, mud, sap,
and reeds

11. Great Plains
Weather:
cold winters
hot summers
Natural Resources:
mountains surrounding edges
treeless grasslands in the
center
east more water and softer
soil
west drier dense grass
Buffalo and smaller animals
Culture:
Tools: bow made of buffalo
tendon, arrows, V shaped stone
trap, fire, bone knives, shields,
Clothing: Buffalo robes and hides
Shelter: Houses called tipis

12. South WestWeather:
high temperatures
little rain
dry/arid
Natural Resources:
mountains, canyons
desserts, flat top mesas
rivers, little water
clay, brightly colored plants, cotton
corn, beans, squash, peppers,
rabbits
Large thick walled houses made of bricks of
adobe(sun baked clay). Up to 4 stories and
had hundreds of rooms.
Clothes were made of cotton that they
grew. Using plants and minerals, they dyed
the fabric
Lived near naturally flooded areas. Men
dug irrigation ditches, and also built dams
to hold summer rain.
Women spend most the day grinding corn
kernels into cornmeal. They used clay pots
to cook stews

13. Eastern Woodlands
Weather:
snowy winters , rain
Natural Resources:
rivers, ocean/coast
lots of lakes and streams
Forests, plants,
maple trees, elm,
deer, bears, beavers, birds, fish
corn, sunflowers, tobacco,
vegetables,
nuts, berries
Long House: Sturdy, log-framed houses covered with
elm bark, about 20 feet wide and over 100 feet long.
Several related families live in sections of the house.
Skirts, capes, and moccasins were made out of deer
skins.
Women ground corn with wooden sticks .
Men often paddled on the rivers and streams in log
and bark canoes . They trapped beavers, hunted deer,
bear, caught birds, and speared fish.
For farming land, men burnt small sections of trees and
underbrush. Women did the hoeing and planting. They
planted many different types of corn, beans and
squash. Made maple syrup and wooden storage
canisters.

14. South East
Weather:
long warm humid summers
mild winters
Natural Resources:
rivers, ocean/coast
Fertile coastal plains
mountains,
swamps
Trees, clay, shells,
corn, beans, squash,
pumpkins,
sunflowers, sweet potatoes
squirrels, rabbits, turkeys,
deer, alligators, turtles,
wild rice, persimmons
Houses were made from strips of young trees
woven into a rectangular frame, then plastered
with clay. These houses had pointed roofs
made of leaves.
Towns included many mounds, first mounds
were burial sights, but others were larger, and
used as platforms for temples. It took many
months, even years, to build these mounds,
because they moved the dirt 1 basket full at a
time.
Simple clothing was made of deer skin. Jewelry
made of stones, shells, feathers, pearls, bones,
and clay.
Women used hoes made of stone, shell or
animal shoulder blades. Men hunted using
small blow guns, and bows and arrows.