Region / Environment / Food / Clothing / Shelter / Culture
Arctic / Long extremely cold, harsh winters, short and cool summers
Tundra / Weather too cold for crops.
Hunted seal, grizzly bear, musk oxen, walrus, polar bear, caribou, and whale. Ice fished. / Layered for warmth.
Coats of animal fur
(polar bear), waterproof parkas (fox, seal, caribou kamiks (seal skin boots). Sunglasses/goggles(made of wood or bone with a small hole in the center) / (igloos) – snow block houses in winter
Tents from animal skins on wooden poles AND/OR
Sod house in the summer / Families lived in one house.
Mostly lived indoors.
Told stories, sang songs, carved, played string games.
Boys learned to build snow houses and hunt.
Girls made clothes and set traps.
Both learned to drive a dog sled and care for dogs.
Northwest / Pacific Ocean,
very different landforms,islands,forests,
rivers,cold winters, mild summers,
soil is rocky / salmon, seal lion, otter, goat, deer, elk, bear
Soil is rocky-not great for farming / made a lot of clothing out of cedar bark and fur, animal skin pants, leather aprons / permanent homes because of the abundance of resources: plank houses with totem poles. / dugout canoes, much trade
POTLATCHES for other tribes, marriages, births, special occasions
Southwest / Dry (arid) very hot, desert region / corn, potatoes, wheat, fruit, sheep, fry bread, beans for protein; few animals, relied on farming for food / Deerskin, breechcloth, leggings, fringed dresses, moccasins / Pueblos (adobe houses) / kachinas – spirit dolls (idols), basket making, medicines, shampoo,
1st tribe in SW, IRRIGATION.
Pray for rain in ceremonies
Northeast / Atlantic Ocean, Appalachian Mountains,
forests, wetlands, waterways / Hunted deer, bear, rabbit, squirrel, fish, corn, bean, squash, roots, nuts, & berries. Food was dried and stored for winter / Breechcloth and leggings for men. Women wore skirts and leggings. In cold weather both men and women wore capes or robes. Both wore moccasins as shoes. Clothes were decorated with beads, embroidery, paint. / Wigwams, longhouses
A longhouse could hold 5-10 families / Work was divided based on age and gender. Women took care of the young children, made clothing, cooked, gathered berries, plants, planted and harvested crops. Men held meetings, built houses, hunted, fished and went to war.
Plains / Great Plains
Grasslands / buffalo (berries, roots, herbs) / animal skin shirts, leggings, breechcloths, fringed dresses, moccasins / tipis & multi-family earth lodges built from a frame of wood covered with layers of willow branches, sod and earth / Hunted buffalo,followed food across Plains
Southeast / Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, swampland, forests,wetlands, rich soil, hot summers, mild winters / Hunters & gathers-great farmers-corn, beans, grits squash.
fished and caught alligators. Hunted deer, bear, raccoon, squirrel, and birds, berries / Lighter in weight due to the hotter temperatures, colorful cotton clothing.
Women – long-sleeved blouses and floor-length skirts, many necklaces, turbans, leggings, breechcloths. Many men often / Permanent homes due to the abundance of resources-Wigwam-like houses, thatch-roof houses, chickees (Roof of palmetto fronds, no walls, off the ground) / Each family had its own vegetable garden. Everyone planted and harvested together.
Women cooked, sewed, and worked in garden. Men hunted, fished, & farmed. Green corn dance!
**Agriculture, housing and culture vary greatly within each region.