Table of Contents
- 1 What did the Native Americans use their source of life?
- 2 How did Native Americans feel about life and death?
- 3 Why do the Native Americans perform afterlife rituals?
- 4 Why was the Buffalo important to the Plains Indians?
- 5 Who was the first Native American to call for reforms?
- 6 Why was the American way of life considered unhealthy?
What did the Native Americans use their source of life?
The Native Americans used natural resources in every aspect of their lives. They used animal skins (deerskin) as clothing. Shelter was made from the material around them (saplings, leaves, small branches, animal fur). Native peoples of the past farmed, hunted, and fished.
How did Native Americans feel about life and death?
Native American tribes exhibit reverence and respect for life. Everything is sacred: dirt, rocks, trees, animals. Death is considered a natural occurrence within life, something to be accepted rather than feared. Rather than disconnecting with the dead, Native American peoples continue to have a relationship with them.
How did Native Americans take care of their dead?
A number of Native Americans used a burial tree as the last resting place for a dead relative, either as the general rule (along with a scaffold) or as an alternative to a grave. The corpse was wrapped up carefully in a robe or blankets and either placed in a fork of the tree or tied to a heavy branch.
Why do the Native Americans perform afterlife rituals?
Whether they fear or accept it, Native Americans view death as a natural part of life. Across most tribes, death preparations prepare the soul for the spiritual journey.
Why was the Buffalo important to the Plains Indians?
The buffalo was depended on by the Plains Indians; it was vital that these were chased and hunted for necessary supplies such as food, shelter, and tools. In the 1500s, America was introduced to horses. The Spanish had brought them. These were also useful in transportation and buffalo hunting.
How did epidemics affect the Native American population?
Though many epidemics happened prior to the colonial era in the 1500s, several large epidemics occurred in the 17 th and 18 th centuries among various Native American populations. With the population sick and decreasing, it became more and more difficult to mount an opposition to European expansion.
Who was the first Native American to call for reforms?
Sarah Winnemucca: Native American who called for reforms in the 1870s; she was the first Native American to do this. She was one of the many Indians unhappy with reservations and she spoke of her views on the negative results coming from them. Helen Hunt Jackson: a writer who called for reforms.
Why was the American way of life considered unhealthy?
Their way of life, so different from that of Americans, was considered unclean and unhealthy, even though most tribes were peaceful and friendly. Everything about them, from their languages to their way of dress and the way they lived, was different.