Native American Culture
Native American culture goes back thousands of years; to a time when these
indigenous people lived in what is know known as North America. Native American
culture revolved heavily around nature, and every aspect of their lives was
based around the Earth. The Native American tribes worshipped the spirits
of these animals as gods, but they also killed them for food and clothing.
They would never waste any part of the animals though, they would eat the
meat, wear the hides, they used the skin to make drums and they used the bones
for tools and weapons.
They believed the spirit of the animals would live
on in spirit within the tribe. They also fashioned totem poles carved out
of wood with different animals faces on them, and these faces represented
the spirits of family and important tribal figures. In Native American culture
they believed that everyone person had the spirit of a certain animal and
when they died their spirit would live on inside the animal. The Native Americans
also harvested plants and berries that they would use for various things from
medicines to dyes. They lived in harmony with the Earth which they lived on
and they let nothing go to waste.
Thousands of years ago there were over ten million Native Americans living within
the territory that is now the United States. The Native American cultural traditions
varied among the thousands of different tribes that were spread throughout the
land. Soon settlers started arriving on the shores of the Native American homelands
and started pushing the Native American Indians from their homes and eventually
off of their tribes land. The European settlers made their new homes on the
Native Americans land and interfered with the Native American culture that had
relatively lived in peace until now. When the European settlers arrived here
they brought with them many diseases from Europe that killed many Native Americans
and many more tribes were forced from their lands. Eventually the United States
government set aside land for the Native Americans, and many of these Indian
reservations are still around today. There are still signs all over the country
of the great Native American culture that once ruled these lands, and Native
American art and fashions are more popular than ever.
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