First Americans

Inuit Iroquois Kwakiutl Pueblo Sioux

Before the arrival of European explorers like Columbus and John

Smith, American Indians (First Americans) were living throughout

the many different regions and environments in North America.

Their adaptations are astounding.

Inuit•Inhabited present day Alaska and northern Canada

•Lived in arctic areas where temperatures are below freezing most of the year

•Famous for their ceremonial igloos

•Ate Fish/whale, seals, bear and Moose

Kwakiutl• Inhabited the Pacific Northwest

coast•Lived in areas characterized by

rainy, mild climates•Lived in Plank homes made of

large Redwood trees•Ate fish, berries, and wild game

from the forests•Famous for their Totem Poles

and extravagant ceremonies called Potlatches

Sioux• Inhabited the interior lowlands

region of the USA•Lived in area characterized by

dry, grasslands (Great Plains)•Lived in tepees that were made

from the animal skins they hunted

•Hunted buffalo, antelope and deer

•Used every part of the hunted animals for food, tools or shelter

Pueblo

• Inhabited the Southwest in present-day Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico

•Lived in desert area and areas bordering cliffs and mountains

•Used farming techniques and ate corn, beans and squash (the three sisters)

•Lived in homes made of the adobe mud in the region, called adobe homes

•Their homes resembled apartments

Iroquois• Inhabited northeast North

America•Lived in areas called the

Eastern Woodlands which are heavily forested

•Used farming techniques to grow corn, beans and squash (Three Sisters)

•Hunted the wild game of the Appalachian forests

•Lived in Long Houses made from the variety of Pine trees in the area