Native Americans.

Natives Americans

Chloé: “Natives Americans”, “Americans Indians”, “Natives peoples”, “first peoples”, “Aboriginal peoples”, “first nations” are the names of the inhabitants, indigenous people, who occupied the plains of North America. Native Americans fought against the invasion of whites in the nineteenth century and nowadays, they remain the stereotypes of redskins mainly conveyed by the westerns

For them, spirituality is an integral part of everyday life, nature and humans (ne font qu’un). They worship the spirits of common plant or animal ancestor, mainly Honcho.

Before each battle, they hurled their battle cry, which would frighten the enemy and unite the group.

The Indians have very different dialects, so they can’t be understood without the intermediary of interpreters. The sign language overcomes these linguistic difficulties and smoke signals allow communication over long distances.

The tribe is led by a chef. There are no laws; control is exercised through customs, opinions, and respect. The chef advises more than he ordered. His power isn’t absolute and is inherited as, but the successor must be accepted by the fire exchange of words with honours.

Shamans are diviners, healers and act as intermediaries between the spirit world and the human world. They are like wizards.

Women made leather clothing (dress, loincloth, leggings, with porcupine spikes, feathers and beads) and various tools and religious objects. The costume depends of the activity. They cook and they care for children. They have a lot of influence, for example they can advise their son to go to war. They had a highly respected status in the tribe, indispensable.

The men were charged of the protection of the tribe. They took care of the horses and made weapons. They were fighting for revenge, to conquer territories, or to defend.

Education of children is based on a long tradition, recounting the stories of the tribe and ancestral values.

They paint their exploit everywhere: clothing, blankets, tepees...

They feed on corn, rice, wild fruits, plants, roots, hunting, and fishing.

They recycle natural materials from their hunting, fishing ... (ex: skin, bones, intestines...)

Louise: At first, they lived in huts covered with earth, built near rivers; tipis were used as shelter during the hunting season. After being turned into nomads they leave the huts for tepees.

The bow, the hatchet, or Tomahawk, knife, spear guns are all weapons used by the Indians.

They paint their faces and their body of signs. They like to adorn themselves with jewelry metal, bone or shell. The hairstyles were also very varied: long hair among Apaches, peak in the Creeks, braids among the Sioux. Warriors wear eagle feather crowns, buffalo horns or simple bands.

They use the bark canoes or horses to move.

For Indians, the buffalo hunt is the most important. They derived their food, their clothes, their habitats, their accessories of the daily life.

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