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Who were the different Indian tribes?

 Eastern Woodlands Tribes:

Cherokee - The Cherokee were an important Woodlands tribe. They even had their own language. It was invented by an Indian named Sequoyah. They had schools, courts, and their own government.

The Cherokee lived mostly in the Appalachian Mountains. They hunted and fished and farmed. They didn't fight other tribes very often. They lived in log houses, or houses made out of grass and mud. The women did farming and cooking. The men hunted deer and bear.

Once white men came to America, they wanted the land. They made the Indians move. The Cherokee had to move from their land in the east. The government gave them land in the plains. Their move was long and difficult, and a lot of them died along the way. This journey is called the Trail of Tears, because they were sad to have so many people die and to have to leave their land.

The Cherokee were one of the Five Civilized Tribes.

Chickasaw – The Chickasaw were one of the Five Civilized Tribes. To learn more about the Chickasaw Indians, visit this site.

Seminole – The Seminole were one of the Five Civilized Tribes. The Seminole ate berries, grapes, dumplings, and other foods. They were farmers. They made patchwork designs on their clothes. Most of the Seminoles lived in what is now Florida. Osceola was a famous Seminole Indian. He fought to help them keep their land. They hunted swamp animals and birds. They traveled by canoe since they lived near a lot of water. They caught alligators and egrets and sold the skins and feathers to the white traders. In return they got sugar, guns, cotton cloth, flour, and other things. The Seminole had a special ceremony called the Green Corn Ceremony. This was a feast when they gave thanks to the spirits and the earth for their food.

Creek – The Creek were one of the Five Civilized Tribes. They called themselves Muscogee. They lived near creeks and rivers. They had summer houses and winter houses. The summer houses did not have walls, so they were cooler. The winter houses had walls to keep people warm during winter. The Creek were farmers and hunters, like the other Woodlands tribes. Corn was their most important crop. They held a special celebration called the Green Corn Ceremony. They would dance and sing around a fire for several days during the summer.  The Creeks were forced to move with the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears.

Iroquois – The Iroquois people built longhouses. The longhouses were homes for many families. Deer hunting was important to them, and provided most of their meat and skins for clothes. The Iroquois men cut off most of their hair. They left just a strip of hair that stood up in the middle and back of their heads. They would wear a feather for decoration. This haircut is now called a Mohawk. The women had long hair that they wore in braids.

Menominee - To learn about the Menominee people, visit this site.

Sauk - To learn about the Sauk people, visit this site.

Choctaw – The Choctaw were farmers. They grew corn, squash, pumpkins, and beans. They also gathered berries, fruits, and nuts. They did some hunting and fishing. They took good care of the forest, and didn't make large roads through it or destroy trees. They lived in cabins with dried mud walls and thatched roofs. That means they were covered with bark. The Choctaw were one of the Five Civilized Tribes.  The Choctaw gave up a lot of their land to the United States government. They thought the government would be fair and take care of them. Like the Cherokee, the Choctaw ended up being forced to move, and a lot of them died.

Plains Indians Tribes:

Arapaho - To learn about the Arapaho people, visit this site.

Blackfeet – Some people think that the Blackfeet got their name because they pained the bottoms of their moccasins black. It is also possible that the moccasins turned black when the Indians walked through burned grass, but no one knows for sure. The Blackfeet used to live in the Eastern Woodlands, but they didn't get along with the Cree Indians, so they decided to move. They moved to the plains. Once they moved they became buffalo hunters, like the other plains Indians. The Blackfeet are another tribe who held Sun Dances. These were not real dances, but were contests in which men were cut and suspended by pins and ropes to a tall Sun Dance pole. The men would try to break free, and would ask the sun spirit for energy and strength. This was a way they could please the spirits and prove how strong they were. The Blackfeet saw that the white people traded things, and they decided to trade too. The Blackfeet brought buffalo skins and beaver furs to the white men and traded them for horses, guns, blankets, beads, and other things.

Cheyenne – A long time ago, the Cheyenne lived in the east. They were farmers who lived in earth lodges. For some reason, they moved west. After they moved, they caught horses and began to ride them. Once they knew how to ride horses, they became buffalo hunters. Instead of living in lodges, they made tipis like the other plains tribes. Cheyenne children were taught by family members. The girls played with deerskin dolls sometimes. The boys played with small bows and arrows. They learned how to hunt and set up camp. They also learned to ride horses. The Cheyenne sometimes went into other people's hunting grounds. Other tribes sometimes came into the Cheyenne hunting grounds. This caused them to be at war a lot. Their enemies were the Crow, the Pawnee, and the Kiowa. The Cheyenne fought with bows and arrows, and were very skilled at killing their enemies. Like the Crow, they often chose to touch the enemy with a long stick and then let him go. This was called counting coup, and the stick was called a coup stick.

Comanche - To learn about the Comanche people, visit this site.

Crow – The Crow traded buffalo robes and beaver furs for horses. Once they had horses, it was much easier to hunt. The Crow women built their tipis (tepees). They were very artistic. The Crow painted decorations on their tipis, their clothes, their moccasins, and other things. The Crow used smoke signals to let other members of their tribe know that buffalo were nearby, or that enemies were coming. Smoke signals were made by fanning a blanket over a campfire. The other Crow could see these signals from far away. The Crow were one of the tribes who held Sun Dances. These were not real dances, but were contests in which men were cut and suspended by pins and ropes to a tall Sun Dance pole. The men would try to break free, and would ask the sun spirit for energy and strength. This was a way they could please the spirits and prove how strong they were. During battles, the Crow did not always try to kill their enemies. Instead, they would touch the enemy with a long stick, called a coup stick. They believed that it was braver to touch the enemy and get away than to kill him.

Gros Ventre - To learn about the Gros Ventre people, visit this site.

Hidatsa - To learn about the Hidatsa people, visit this site.

Mandan - To learn about the Mandan people, visit this site.

Sioux – Horses were important to the Sioux as they were to the other Plains tribes. They also hunted buffalo for food and other things. They lived in tipis so they could move easily when they were hunting or following the buffalo herds. Chief Crazy Horse was a famous Sioux chief. He fought to keep his people from having to go to reservations. Crazy Horse talked to another famous Indian named Sitting Bull. They gathered three thousand warriors together and led a war party against the United States Army. The Indians won this battle and killed a lot of the soldiers. General George Armstrong Custer was another military man who thought he could beat the Indians. He decided to attack the Indians at Little Big Horn. He believed he could beat the Indians quickly. He didn’t know that Sitting Bull was waiting for him. All of the soldiers were killed in less than two hours. General Custer himself died in this battle. This was called Custer’s Last Stand.

Pawnee – The Pawnee were divided into four groups. Each group had villages. They lived in earth lodges. These were made of dirt and grass. They liked the round shape because it reminded them of the sky. Like other Plains tribes, they hunted buffalo. The women did farming. They grew a lot of corn. The women also cooked and made things for their homes. They took care of the children, too. The men made bows, arrows, and weapons. They did the hunting. When there was a war, the men were the ones who fought. The Pawnee had a lot of ceremonies about the stars.  The Cheyenne and the Sioux were enemies of the Pawnee. The Pawnee often raided other villages, usually to steal horses.

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