Презентация на тему: Коренной Американец

«The Native American»

Plan. 1. Who were the Indians? 2. Interesting facts about the Red Indians. 3. Nowadays.

Who were the Indians? In 1492, an Italian navigator named Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain in search of a sea route to Asia. Columbus hoped to obtain access to the wealth of spices, silks and gold for which the Asian continent was famous. Six weeks later his men sighted land.

Thinking he had landed in the Indies, group of islands east of coast of Asia, he called the people on the first island on which he landed «Los Indios», or in English «Indians». Of course, Columbus had not reached Asia in all. He had landed in the New World (The American continent). But the name «Indians» remains fixed in the English language.

Though Columbus had one name for them, the Indians north of Mexico in what is now the United States and Canada, spoke over 300 language. And they lived scattered across the continent in tribes. To them, the continent was hardly new. Their ancestors had been living there for perhaps 30.000 years.

Scientists speculate that people first came to North America during the last ice age. At that time, much of the earth` s water was frozen in the glaciers that covered large parts of the globe. As sea level dropped, a strip of land was exposed in the area that is now the Bering Strait. Man probably followed the big game he was hunting across this land bridge from Siberia into Alaska.

Over time, these people increased in number, adapted to different environments and spread from the far northern reaches of Alaska and Canada to the tip of South America. The chief hunting tribes were the Apache, Blackfeet, Cherokees, Iroguios, Mohawk, Navalo and Sioux.

The Pawnee and Pueblo tribes were noted for farming and the Hopi tribe was famous for the making of baskets, carpets, and pottery.

The Pueblo. Some groups, such as the peaceful Pueblo of the American Southwest, lived in busy towns. They shared many-storied buildings made of adobe (mud and straw ) bricks. They grew corn, squash and beans.

The Apache. Their neighbors, the Apache, lived in small bands. They hunted wildlife and gathered plants, nuts and roots. After acquiring horses from the Spanish they made their living by raising food and goods from their more settled white and Indians neighbors.

The Iroquois The Iroquois were fierce warriors. They surrounded their villages with wooden stockades to protect them from attack by their tribe and for the glory of individual warriors.

The Indians of the North Pacific The Indians of the North Pacific coast harvested ocean fish and seafood. Tribes like the Haida lived in large plank houses with elaborately carved doorposts. These were called totem poles and the figures of them were a record of the history of the family which lived in the house.

Many Indians were fine crafts workers. They made pottery, basket, carvings and wove cotton and plant – fiber cloth. They traveled in small boats and foot, never having developed the wheel. Some, such as the Plains Indians, used dogs to pull a load carrying called a travois.

Different as they were greatly affected by the coming of the white man with his firearms, iron cooking pots, horses, wheeled vehicles and with his diseases, to which the Indians had no immunities. The European arrival changed the Indian way of life forever.

Interesting facts about Red Indians. The people who were already in the New World when the white men arrived were the first Americans, or America Fisters. They were also referred to as the First Families of Virginia. The Red Indians tribes were the original natives of North America and they roamed about in freedom until the white settlers from Europe arrived and made their homes there. Since the occupation of the Land by the «Palefaces», they have lived in special allotted territories called Reservations.

The following were the chief types of a dwellings used by the various tribes: a. The wigwam was a tent hung with bark and hides and shaped like a bee-hive.

The tepee b. The tepee was a pointed tent made of skins wrapped round a few poles.

The long house. c. The long house was a large wooden hut.

The pueblo. d. The pueblo was a peculiar stone and clay building of terraced houses with doorways in their flat roots. Ladders were laid against the walls and these were drawn up when an enemy attacked them.

The Red men were cunning hunters and clever trackers. The old warriors taught the young boys, so that, at an early age, they became skilful with bow and arrow, and expect at paddling their frail canoes in dangerous streams and rapids.

Their food consisted chiefly of deer and buffalo meat, and some tribes grew corn and potatoes. Wampum (ornamental beads made from shells) was widely used as money.

From early childhood Red Indians were taught to endure pain and suffering without crying, and they seldom showed signs of joy and happiness.

They believed magic powers to be present in the sun, and stars, and the «medicine man»( witch doctor) was supposed to be able to control these powers.

The Indians wore leggings and moccasins of antelope skin, and adorned their heads with eagle feathers. In winter, they added a loose mantle of bison skin.

The wife or squaw wore a long, beited, skin robe, and carried her baby or papoose strapped to her back

Nowadays. All Indian festivals were called dances, and only the men took an active part in them. They painted themselves in very bright colours, and danced wildly round their fires, calling loudly for supernatural aid to ensure food supplies for the future.

Today Native America are full citizens of the United States. They are proud of their own cultural heritage, which they are trying to protect and maintain it.

In the early 21st century, Native American communities remain an enduring fixture on the United States landscape, in the American economy, and in the lives of Native Americans. Communities have consistently formed governments that administer services like firefighting, natural resource management, and law enforcement.

According to 2003 United States Census Bureau estimates, a little over one third of the 2,786,652 Native Americans in the United States live in three states: California at 413,382, Arizona at 294,137 and Oklahoma at 279,559.