California Indians Clothing

For many tribes of Plains Indians whose bison-hunting culture flourished during the 18th and 19th centuries, the sun dance was the major communal religious ceremony . . . the rite celebrates renewal - the spiritual rebirth of participants and their relatives as well as the regeneration of the living earth with all its components . . . The ritual, involving sacrifice and supplication to insure harmony between all living beings, continues to be practiced by many contemporary native Americans. -Elizabeth Atwood LawrenceAs the most important ritual of the nomadic Plains Indians, the Sun Dance in itself presents many ideas, beliefs, and values of these cultures. Through its rich symbolism and complicated rituals we are able to catch a glimpse

In Native American religions a dance called the Sun Dance is used as the rite of passage for young men. You men would stick a rod though their peck and dance around a pole of three days as a way to become connected with the Spirit World. The pole is used to show strength and the boys would quickly have to get the rod out by dancing. Another rite of passage in Native Americans religions is the Vision Quest. Young boys and girls partake in this to find their spirit animals. They go into the woods mostly naked and sometimes covered in body paint and fast in the woods for days. Eventually a spirit comes to them, most of the time as an animal but it can be in human form, and is said to be their guardian

The indigenous people of California had existed on the lands as hunters-gathers before the arrival of the Spanish who were the first Europeans to reach this part of the Americas. These settlers who began surveying the area since 1530, helped introduce the mission system around 1697 as part of an effort to set up permanent bases for new arrivals and as a bulwark against other European powers. This establishment caused the natives to transition from their original lifestyle into agrarian farmers to help bring in revenue for the Spanish crown which led to them being exploited economically in the process. To establish order in this new land, the Spaniards used harsh punishments for rooting out defiance within the Indian population. However, eventually the natives would begin to die off in such large quantities that it echoed what else was happening what was happening in the rest of the continent. Overall, the effect on the indigenous population was predominantly negative due to contributing towards loss of culture, experiencing callous treatment at the hands of the Spanish, and forced population decline.

The Blackfoot Indian tribes held a major tribal ceremony in the summer, for which all the bands came together. It was called the Sun Dance. By engaging in the Sun Dance, their prayers would be carried up to the Creator, who would bless them with well being and abundance of buffalo. Other than the winter, when a few bands might join together for shelter, this was the only time the entire tribe came

The Chumash would sing songs if there were events, ceremonies, or festivals. It was pretty much their everyday life. One of their other traditions was to play games. One game was called“walnut dice.” Chumash made dice from walnut shells filled with tar and decorated them with abalone chips and beads. Dice games were played by most California Indian tribes. Another popular game was“The Ring and Stick Game.” A ring made from a large acorn cap was tied to a milk weed string. The object of the game was to skewer the ring with the stick.

Ceremonies and rituals are critical to the Native American culture. This culture also considers these rituals as a part of their religion. When referring to religion it’s not the same as the way

The Chumash Indian tribe was indigenous to California. They thrived along the coast of this land for over eleven thousand years (Dartt-Newton and Erlandson 416). Chumash Indians were a hunter, gatherer, and fishing tribe. The

One of the rituals was the Death Ceremony. “Native Americans celebrated death, knowing that it was an end to life on Earth, but, believing it to be the start of life in the Spirit World” (“Native…”). This ceremony was preformed to make sure that their soul would not star and roam the earth. The different tribes did different things in these rituals, some gave the dead food or herbs. Others may give gifts to make sure the trip to the afterlife was safe. They would also dress them in traditional clothes and wash them with yucca suds and putting prayer feathers that were tied around the forehead and then they were buried with some of their favorite things. Another ritual was the healing ritual which were often held to bring people to harmony within themselves. There are some differences from tribe to tribe in what they do in the ritual but some would sing and dance and it could last for days and others would use the medicine wheel and a hoop that was sacred to

Another important aspect to the success of the trip to California was the help from the Native Americans. When Smith and his men were going through great basin they were fighting starvation. The resources that kept them alive was given to them by the Paiute Indians. These resources included much needed food. Also, when Smith’s party was running out of supplies in

Looking at the clothing from the Native Americans in comparison to the modern mid 20th century American so to gain a foundational understanding of the styles unique to each time period is one of many ways in which to identify the stark differences in apparel. Investigation into the distinguishing styles of different time periods would highlight the major difference of the Native American’s loin clothing and the early European immigrants heavily clothed dress. A knowledge of the different clothing styles opens the opportunity to explore any significant events of the time that may have influenced the clothing. Sections from the book Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History provide close descriptions of the adoption of different clothing styles through exchanges similar to those made by the European immigrants and Native Americans accompanied with reasons why such exchanges occurred. Some ABC-CLIO articles (e.g. Lauren Gallow’s “A Developing Economy) identify the correlation between major events--such as the industrial and market revolution--of the time period and its impact on the clothing

old customs and the Ghost Dance allowed the Indians to “live like Indians and not try to live and act like

The Cahuilla were a Native Southern Californian tribe that occupied the Riverside County, Higher Palomar Mountain Region and East Colorado Desert. The tribe was divided into two groups or moieties know as Wildcats or Coyotes. The Cahuilla lived in small clans that varied in population, and together all the separate clans made up a larger political group called a sib ”http://www.aguacaliente.org/content/History%20&%20Culture/.” The tribe was at first considered to be very simple and savage because they were never interacted with. As the Europeans and Spanish Missionaries considered the desert an inhospitable place that was better to avoid because

Now I will tell you why we shouldn't settle for artifacts with explanations of their use as the whole story. California had a population of at least 300,000 Native Americans who spoke at least 100 languages. These people lived on this land for centuries before the Spaniards showed up. Of course, you would never know that if you only learn from a mission or an elementary school. We are only told about the California Indians' use of tools or baking of adobe

The history of the California Indians differ from any other ethnic group who came to the Americas in the last few centuries as immigrants. Indians who came to North America and eventually traveled south to California lived in a land plenty of natural resources and their material technology reflected what was necessary to meet their basic needs. They did what was necessary to survive, nothing more, nothing less. They lived in harmony with their environment with a cultural lifestyle that was more a reflection of numbers and using the most out of everything. After 1769, things began to change.

They had ceremonies for several things. They have Midwinter ceremonies, Nature ceremonies, Maple sap ceremonies, Planting ceremonies, Bean ceremonies, Strawberry ceremonies, Green corn ceremonies, and Harvest ceremonies. Dances and songs are preformed counter clockwise. Some dances are preformed by men. Others are preformed by women. However both kept a beat played on drums and rattles. They like to have funny and fun ceremonies. The Onondaga tribe usually wears headdresses but women and men wear a type of skirt with sandals or slippers. The clothing they wear is specifically called The Gustoweh. The Gustoweh describes one nationality. The women and men would wear a type of pair of shoes that are like slippers with a flower on the front. They didn't wear long headdresses like the