- Native Americans lived in tribes, each with its distinct social structure and customs.
- Tribes were often matrilineal or patrilineal society.
- Kinship systems were essential in Native American cultures, with roles and obligations specified for kin relatives.
- Tribes had well-defined ceremonies, rituals, and myths that passed on generations orally.
- Native American cultures placed great importance on nature, spirits, and the balance between humans and the environment.
Hunting, gathering, and farming customs
- Native Americans were skilled hunters and gatherers.
- Hunting techniques varied depending on the region and animals being pursued.
Methods included bows and arrows, spears, traps, and deadfalls.
- Native Americans also practiced farming, and their primary crops corn ( maize ), beans, squash, and later on crops introduced from Europe.
- They developed diverse farming techniques like companion planting, crop rotation, and irrigation.
Art and craft customs
- Native Americans were known for their distinctive art and crafts, which varied across tribes.
- Art forms included pottery, basket weaving, beadwork, leatherwork, quillwork, sandpainting, and more.
- Native Americans used various natural materials, including clay, wood, stone, fiber, furs, and feathers, in their creations.
Religious and spiritual customs
- Native American spirituality was deeply rooted in nature, with many ceremonies, rituals, and beliefs centered around the environment and the relationship with animals and plants.
- They had concept of a creator or supreme being, along with various spirits and deity.
- Many tribes practiced healing rituals, sweat lodges, vision quests, and rain dances.
- Spiritual leaders like shaman or medicine men played an essential role in ceremonies, healing, and communication with the spirit world.
Housing customs
- Native Americans had various style of housing depending on their geographical location and resources available.
- Housing types included teepees( conical tents made of animal skin or bark) longhouses (multi-family dwellings), pueblos (stone or adobe structures), and wigwams (domed structures covered with bark or mats).
- Housing was often designed to accommodate the extended families and communal living arrangement common in many tribes.
Language and communication customs
- Native Americans spoke various languages from different language families, and each tribe had its distinct dialect.
- Due to the geographical diversity and lack of a written language, there was no single" Native American language."
- Communication also included sign language, drum and songs, ceremonial chants, and smoke signals.
War and warfare customs
- Warfare was a part of Native American societies, but its occurrence and intensity varied between tribes and regions.
- Warfare was often conducted for territorial conflicts, resource competition, honor, or revenge.
- Native Americans developed tactics, strategies, and weapons suitable for their terrain and combat style, such as bows, arrows, spears, tomahawks, and shields.
Trade and economic customs
- Native American tribes engaged in trade and economic activities with neighboring tribes and European settlers.
- Trade items included furs, food ( corn , beans, pumpkins), tools, weapons, beads, pottery, and other commodities.
- Trade networks and partnerships were essential for obtaining various goods and resources.
- Native Americans also developed bartering system and used shell beads or wampum as currency in some regions.
Death and mourning customs
- Death and mourning rituals were significant customs in Native American cultures.
- Burial practices varied, including interment, cremation, scaffold burials, and variations based on tribal beliefs and traditions.
- Mourning ceremonies were held to honor the deceased and provide comfort to grieving families.
- Native Americans believed in afterlife, and their customs often reflected their spiritual perspective on death.