Sunday, February 7, 2016

Compare/Contrast Northwest Coast Native Americans and Great Plains Native Americans


Rachel Sullivan

Prof Schroeder

English 101

06 February, 2016

Compare/Contrast Northwest Coast Natives/ Great Plains Natives

 

Northwest Coast Tribes:
Affluent subsistence lifestyles.

Food sources: Predominantly fish and small to mid-sized game

Minimal need for agriculture as surrounding area was so fecund.
Potlatch ceremonies pivotal to social infrastructure. Generosity revered above almost all else.

Heavily wooded areas created large opportunities for shelter and high quality water vessels.

Semi-nomadic, mostly for social development and food gathering.

Large communal homes: IE longhouses

 

Great Plains Natives:
Semi-nomadic lifestyles pre-colonization
Largely nomadic after colonization, travel area expanded greatly with the re-introduction of horses.

Social structure based around warring, counting coup and feats of bravery.

Food sources: Large game, small agriculture, and gathering.

Flat grasslands created a precedent for feuds over productive land areas.

Single family homes: IE Teepees and Wigwams.

 

Both:

High levels of reverence for elders, children and healers.

Survival of culture treated with high regard.

Barter was necessary for success.

Similar structures for spiritual belief systems: a monotheistic higher power and elevated stations for animals.

Creation stories etc were similar but incorporated the land/animals surrounding the tribes.

Have culturally specific regalia.

I commented on Josh's Blog and on Kim's Blog

4 comments:

  1. I like your topic. Growing up I learned about the NW Coastal tribes, but not much about the Natives of the Great Plains. Sounds like an interesting essay topic!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, I was worried that it wouldn't be too interesting for people. I really struggled to choose a topic. All of the ones I could think of all seemed too controversial or too bland. I'm glad to hear that it may be interesting and relevant.

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  2. This is a great topic! Being from Alaska there were a lot of different native cultures and I found the all to have very similar beliefs and then again extremely different. This topic will involve a lot of research and, I can't wait to see what you put together.

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  3. Fascinating topic! I think you will have no problem with providing specific pieces of evidence to support your claims. I love learning about cultures and know very little about the PACNW Native Americans. I am looking forward to reading your paper. :)

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