The Tribes of the West & Southwest

The Southwest

Landforms•Mesas•Canyons•Cliffs•Mountains•Desert

Climate•Intense summer heat•Bitter winter cold•Very little rain

TribesPueblo People•Hopi (Arizona)•Zuni (New Mexico)

Others•Navajo (The Four Corners)

The Hopi & Zuni became known as the Pueblo people.They lived in pueblos built on mesas or in steep canyons.

These tribes conserved & used underground water supplies. Pueblo people were able to grow the three sisters. Corn was especially important.

They also found ways to store surplus food.

The Pueblo also grew cotton for clothing & blankets.

The Navajo moved to the Southwest around A.D. 1025. They had been nomads, but they learned to adapt to this harsh climate with the help of the Hopi people.

•During a time of drought, some Hopi people went to live with the Navajo.•The Hopi taught the Navajo how to grow crops & cotton.

The desert shaped how the Pueblo & Navajo built their shelters.

•Zuni & Hopi used mud and stones to build pueblos.•Other groups built with adobe, sun-dried bricks of clay & straw.•The Navajo built hogans, cone-shaped shelters made by covering a wooden frame with mud or adobe.

adobe hogan

pueblo

The Pueblo & Navajo depended on trade for resources not found in their region. They traveled to trade their pottery & baskets for other goods.

Navajo Religion & Government•Navajo ceremonies were led by religious leaders and medicine men.•Navajo people were organized into groups & each had their own religious leader.•The leaders met every few years to make decisions.

•Religion had a strong role in the Pueblo government.•Usually the chief was also a religious leader.•The chief made rules & carried out punishments.

Pueblo Religion & Government

Hopi Kachina DollsThese dolls were given to the children to teach them values & their religion. The dolls were made to look like figures from the Hopi myths. The dolls could also represent anything in nature.

Western Tribes

•Mountains•Deserts•Valleys•Forest•Coastal lands

Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean

Landforms:

Great Basin •Shoshone •Built shelters with dry brush

(tule plant) or buffalo hides.•Hunted buffalo, deer, antelope, mountain sheep, & rabbits.•Gathered seeds, roots, & pine nuts.

Columbia Plateau•Nez Perce

•Dry hills and flatlands•Rivers and streams•Made spears & nets. •Fished for salmon.•Hunted deer, elk, moose, birds, & bear.•Gathered roots & berries.•Built movable shelters (waliminits) to use when fishing in the summer.•They used longhouses during the winter.•Both shelters were made from the tule plant.

California•Chumash

•Many animals, fish, & plants•Built wickiups, dome-shaped shelter made from plants called tule.•Villages were located near the Pacific Ocean.

•The Chumash built & used a tomolo to fish the deep ocean waters.•It also allowed them to trade far away.

Trade Networks•Native Americans of the West formed large trading groups.•Goods would pass through the many villages without the people needing to travel.•These networks allowed them to receive goods from faraway places without having to travel far.