Facts about
Native American Cultures

Facts About

Did you Know? List of Interesting Facts about Native American Cultures
Facts are statements which are held to be true and often contrasted with opinions and beliefs. Our unusual and interesting Facts about Native American Cultures, trivia and information, including some useful statistics will fascinate everyone from kids and children to adults.

Facts about Indians and interesting Facts about Native American Cultures are as follows:

  • Fact 1 - The various Native American cultures relate to particular groups of people, at particular times and in particular places. Cultures describe and relate to the arts, customs, and habits that characterize a particular nation

  • Fact 2 - Cultures also relate to the regions, value, beliefs, material objects, values and behaviours that constitute a people's way of life
  • Fact 3 - There are many factors that contribute to the different cultures that are adopted by people which include:
    • The Climate
    • The Land
    • The Vegetation
    • The Natural Resources
    • New-comers to the region
  • Fact 4 - All of the above factors contribute to differences in the cultures of the various native societies which inhabited the United States. The different Native American cultures that constitute a people's way of life are illustrated in the following map:
  • Fact 5 - The Native American cultures are basically divided into the following groups of peoples based on the areas or regions inhabited:

Great Plains Indians

Northwest Indians

Northeast Woodlands Indians

Southwest Indians

Southeast Indians
The Arctic and Sub-Arctic

California
  • Fact 6 - Each of the groups of people have defining features such as:
    • Languages
    • Subsistence including Agriculture and Hunting
    • Houses and Homes
    • Religions, beliefs and ceremonies
    • Trading currencies
    • Transport
    • Clothing
    • Allies and Enemies - warfare and weapons
  • Fact 7 - Because of the vast areas covered in each of the areas there are many cultural differences so basic generalizations have to be made
  • Facts about Southeast Indians
    • Woodlands and Mountains
    • Many of these cultures were characterized by agriculture
    • Pine Trees, Oaks, Cane and Cypress Trees
    • Animals - deer, bear, opossums, rabbits, raccoons, squirrels, beavers, fish, shellfish, snakes, turtles, waterfowl, turkeys and sea mammals
    • Natural Resources - nuts (chestnuts, walnuts, hickory nuts and acorns), berries, seeds, vegetable, fruits and honey
    • Crops and Farming - maize, beans and squash
    • Languages included Muskogean, Iroquoian, Sioux, and Caddoan
    • Tribes included the Cherokee, Chesapeake, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole
    • Beliefs - Celebrated the harvest,  purity and harmony. Green Corn Dance. Black drink
  • Facts about Southwest Indians
    • Dry, Desert Areas
    • Brush, cactus
    • Animals - turkeys, snakes
    • Natural Resources / Crops and Farming - beans, squash, melons, pumpkins and fruit
    • Languages included Hokan, Uto-Aztecan, Tanoan, Keresan, Kiowa-Tanoan, Penutian, and Athabaskan
    • Tribes included the Yuman tribes, the Pima and Papago, the Pueblo, the Navajo and Apache
    • Beliefs - Southwest Indians believed in Kachinas, which were spirits from ancestors who returned with the clouds and rain
  • Facts about Northeast and California Indians - Woodland Tribes
    • Woodland and Coast, Lakes and streams
    • Pines and other trees
    • Animals - deer, moose, bison, beavers, raccoons, rabbits
    • Natural Resources / Crops and Farming - rice, squash, melons, pumpkins and fruit
    • Languages included
    • Tribes included the Abenaki, Fox, Huron, Iroquois, Mohican, Mohawk, Chippewa, Shawnee
    • Beliefs - Northeast and California Indians used face paint and war paint to express feeling , intimidate and express intentions. Each color had a meaning red for life, black for death or grief and purple for royalty. The wore frightening masks to scare the evil spirit out of sick people
  • Facts about Northwest Indians and Arctic and Sub-Arctic Cultures
    • Forests, woodlands and coastal areas - heavy reliance on marine resources. Arctic and Sub-Arctic climates with a predominantly hunter fisher culture
    • Red cedar trees, fir, spruce, and hemlock - Woodland cultures
    • Animals - deer, moose, elk, bear, racoons, fox, mink, rabbits, goats and sheep
    • Fish and sea mammals - salmons, cod, herring, whales, porpoise, seals and waterfowl
    • Natural Resources -  nuts, berries, seeds, vegetable, fruits -  - Woodland cultures
    • Languages included Athabascan, Tsimshian, Chinook, Tlingit, Haida, Chemakuan, Wakashan and Salish
    • Tribes included the Chinook, Tillamook, Eyak, Salish and the Tlingit tribes
    • Beliefs - The guardian spirit. Shamans. Potlatch - gift giving it was important to demonstrate wealth and power, totem poles, face paint and feathers.
  • Facts about Great Plains Indians
    • Prairies (plains) tree-less grasslands where the buffalo or bison roamed. Tribes included the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Crow & Dakota Sioux
    • Valleys and hills - deer, elk, bear, antelope, and beaver. Tribes included the Hidatsa, Mandan, Omaha, Kansa and Missouri
    • Languages included Algonkian, Athapaskan, Uto-Aztecan, Kiowan, Caddoan and Sioux. Beliefs - The rituals of the Great Plains Indians centered around the bison. There were Shamans. Use of sacred (medicine) bundles. Practised the Sun Dance
    • Tribes included the Yuman tribes, the Pima and Papago, the Pueblo, the Navajo and Apache

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