In America, there were separate environments, which led to different Native American groups, with very distinct beliefs and lifestyles. Two of these groups were the Plains and the North East Woodlands. They lived very different lives…
North East Woodlands tribes, such as the Mohawk, Huron, Iroquois, Micmac, Pequot and Powhatan, had very different environments to that of the Plains tribes; Sioux, Cheyenne, Crow, Blackfeet, Comanche and Pawnee… Their climate was much like the Plains: warm in the summer and cold in the winter. The Plains region was a great area of rolling grassland in the heart of North America. There were valleys, streams and hills, with very few trees, contrary to the North East Woodlands, where, hence the name, wood, was the most valuable source and its forest was the Plains’ buffalo: it supplied almost all their needs – food, homes, clothing and weapons. The woodlands were close to the ocean and they had good rainfall, so they got food and water from it, in addition to the rivers and lakes. The fact that the forest was there made them settle down, and use agriculture, as well as hunting. However, due to the fact that the Plains had millions of buffalos, they became nomadic hunters in order to always rely on the buffalo as a food source. However, not all of the Plains tribes changed, some continued the old way of life, and lived in permanent villages, growing crops, such as maize, and hunting for only part of the year. This meant that they were sedimentary and had a more stable life.
The Plains lived in teepees made of buffalo hides and held up by wooden poles. These teepees were cool in the summer and warm in winter. The door was a round opening facing east, towards the rising sun. This provided a natural alarm clock. The women were in charge of putting up and taking down the teepees. They transported them from place to place using horses. On the other hand, the North East Woodlands did not use this method. They lived in longhouses,...