The Native American Tribes ' Culture

For Native Americans food was important and was only considered as a need not a pleasure. Colonists used to see the Native Americans as gluttons since they didn’t have the all picture of Natives habits, considering they didn’t share most of the time or didn’t have

Corn, beans, and squash, feed Native American tribes. Buffalo however, feed those who lived on the plains of Central United states. Meals would differ depending on where they lived. Each Native family had their own resources and would cook different foods. For example, The Powhatan Indians were primarily farmers planting fields that averaged one hundred acres in size. “The Native Americans used natural resources in every aspect of their lives.” (Wells 2). Natives lived near areas that had easy access to food source. Forests were gold mines for resources. Deer, bears, and other animals that were hunted for their meat and furs lived there, while the trees themselves helped produce chestnuts, walnuts, and acorns. “In a way, the environment acted as a huge supermarket, providing local tribes with everything they needed for survival,” exclaimed John Smith

These native peoples had to then change recipes and use other technologies so their bodies would be healthy and survive. One method that was used, that Pilcher describes, is the combination of the protein and amino acids from corn and beans as eating corn alone does not supply a balanced diet, but both corn and beans do.

Almost never do historians recount how the Natives used sophisticated techniques such as field burning to replenish the nutrients to the soil, or alternating crops as to lessen the burden on the soil as to produce a plentiful harvest or to insure an abundance of game meat during the sparse crop months, they cleared land around their communities to make taking game meat easier. Natives believe the land is sacred and is bountiful if tended to, and the game meat they used as sustenance, as a gift.

As humans, one of our most important natural instincts is survival. The Indians were an ancient people who were developed important survival skills and pass them down to the next generations. They were mostly hunter-gatherers with simple yet efficient lifestyles usually supported by the agriculture and wildlife. They were able to conserve water from streams, springs, and rainfall for irrigation, weave baskets to store foods derived from wild plants, and eventually create pottery, a more efficient way to store or retrieve resources. They did not wear a lot of clothing, but what clothing they had was from the hides of animals, woven from plant fibers. They were expert hunter-gatherers and created their own weapons such as spears, bows, and arrows. Some tribes were known to have tracked their prey and

As suggested earlier, small bodies of water that may have been present provided the tribe a source of drinking water. Since they have terms for cow, pig, calf, and sheep but no terms for beef, pork, veal, leather, or mutton, it is most likely that the tribe did not slaughter these animals for food or clothing. The tribe lived among these animals, and one might assume they valued them as living creatures. Based on the focus on grains, one might also assume that they are vegetarians based on the provided data; however, while they did not eat red meat, the possible presence of rivers and lakes suggests the availability of fresh water fish.

The average Cherokee diet consisted of corn, beans, squash, berries, deer, and fish. Most of their food came from farming, but they still hunted and gathered for some meals. The Cherokee people used everything from what they killed. Skin from deer was used to make clothing. Moccasins were made from rabbit fur. Rattles were made from hollow turtle shells tied to sticks.

When the Native Americans were forced onto reservations they stopped hunting and preparing their own food. Instead the United States government gave them food that their bodies were not used to digesting. Indians were not used to eating flour, lard, canned meats and poultry that are swimming in fat, and canned fruits and vegetables packed in sugary syrup.

Northern Indians depended on hunting and gathering. During the spring they lived near the river which allowed them to catch fish, whales and seals. Children would catch birds and bird eggs for food. They kept their hunting to a moderation which allowed animal populations to be sustained. They also ate native plants such as strawberries, raspberries, and other wild plants. During the months of October through March Indians moved to the forest where they hunted beaver, moose and deer. They tried to use every part of the animals they hunted; they used the animals' skin as clothing and their bones as tools. Certain tribes had rules on what to do with left over animal parts. They kept population from increasing in the winter by not storing enough food, which caused some Indians to die during the winter. They also set big forest fires during the summer and fall, which in the long run increased nutrients in the soil. An abundance of grass for the animals made the soil warmer and drier, which allowed oak trees to grow. When the colonists arrived everything changed, the land began to be altered.

In the early history of the United States, even before Europeans set foot in North America, there were Native Americans all across the continent. Native Americans lived in tribes and were nomadic. Although they were nomadic, they would also inhabit “permanent villages” where they would live year-round. On the occasion that those “permanent villages” were abandoned, left behind would be artifacts from their culture that explained a great amount about their lifestyle and traditions. These popular artifacts were most commonly found in southwest and northeast regions such as the Great Plains, the Great Basin, and the Mississippi River Valley.

In general, they were the first people to cultivate chocolate, corn, cotton, peanuts, pineapples, potatoes, rubber, quinine, tobacco, and vanilla. But, in the frozen tundra of Western Alaska, Native Americans dealt with arctic conditions. They relied on hunting and fishing. They hunted seals, whales, and other marine mammals. These animals were not only useful as food, but as skinned layers of clothing that kept them warm in such climate. However, in milder regions along the northwest Pacific Coast, the people there could produce food with very little effort. The physical environment impacted them by providing marine life for fishing. In the Southwest, some of the earliest farming societies developed. Since the environment was desert, Native Americans developed complex irrigation systems for farming. They even dug wells, built ponds, and built dams to collect rainwater to water their crops in the desert weather. All across the different regions and climates where the First American lived, they all adapted to thrive in whatever environment they were dealing

Before the Europeans arrived, most of the Native American tribes were hunters and gatherers. They grew the three sister beans, corn, and squash. They also grew tobacco, melons and peas. Some documents say they grew wild rice other say that they did not . The Potawatomi were farmers and with growing crops like tobacco you can quickly use all the nutrients in the soil. When the soil was depleted of nutrients the tribe moved to new locations . The Potawatomi tribe hunted Buffalo for food which used to live in the Great Lakes area.

Butcher's meat was a luxury. However food greatly improved in the By the late 19th century the railways and steamships made it possible to import cheap grain from North America so bread became cheaper. Refrigeration made it possible to move cheap meat. Buffalo meat was the main food of the Sioux people and they made use of every part of its body. With the buffalo skin they made clothing, bedding, tents, carrying bags, harnesses and boats for crossing rivers. In the winter, when buffalo were hard to hunt, the Sioux ate dried buffalo meat. They would make jerky by drying buffalo meat. It was portable and was good for hunters because they had something to eat when they are hunting. The Sioux also ate other meats like bear, deer, antelope, and wild turkey and hens. Wild fruits like cherries, berries, and plums were also eaten. Also wild vegetables like potatoes, spinach, and prairie turnips. The most important crop was called the Three Sisters they were maize, squash, and beans. Food was often traded between the various tribes. They thought their future was secure bit as the "white man" came more of what they hold dear was disappearing. For example, their land, food, and

The Makah and Nez perce tribes used their environment in different ways to provide food for their people. Like salmon, berries, seafood, and deers. For example,

Throughout the region, Native Americans were the first to grow vegetables, in what became semi settled camps along the river basin, throughout the valley in what is now the state of Connecticut. Their diets consisted of squash, corn, beans, wild berries including cranberries, and blue berries which were also used as natural dyes and grew wildly. For the most part their diet was filled by foraging the land for edible plants. Wild hickory and chestnuts added protein to their diets, while hunting, and bird catching to increased their protein sources. The river and streams ran flush with trout and salmon, every season. This provided annual diet a variety of vitamins and minerals throughout the year. The incorporation of hunter gatherer and