Native American Peoples of the Forest
History
The Forest's Native American Population
The force basically many voices. The wind, the water, the forest animals and birds. They each have their voice, they each have their story, a common story, centuries old, the story of the forest people. The people of the forest had many names. Or watton, Fox, Seminole, and many others. Each had different names, each spoke different languages. But they all did many things alike. They were great hunters, hunting deer, move another game animals. In the winter, northern cries were snowshoes that cracking and dumping. Some drives used to bargains pulled by dogs. They fished the lakes and rivers, sometimes at night. Spears and torches. And they all made their homes from what the forest provided them. Often using the bark of trees, the cover their wigwams, and teepees. They also made beautiful baskets from the bark of trees. Bulls were carved from wood.
Wood was used for many items, a child's toy canoe. This guard was used as a musical instrument. This is a beautifully carved flute. Some tribes carved unusual masts which were used in special ceremonies. Weapons were also made from the forest. These are war clubs. And for animals, the forest people made their clothing and ornaments. A shell necklace, a bear claw necklace, a deerskin ornament. The first people felt closely related to all things in the natural world. They felt everything in the natural world had a spiritual life. And with everything was connected to everything else in a spiritual way. Who were the forest people? How did they get here? Where did they come from? Many Native Americans believed they've always lived on this continent.
Since the beginning of time, with most anthropologists have a different view and accept the following theory, about 30,000 years ago, North America looked much as it does today. And narrow stretch of ocean separated Asia from this continent. Then ice began to advance across the northern hemisphere. As it did, sea levels dropped, exposing a land bridge connecting Asia with North America. Large game animals like bison and mammoth crossed this land bridge, entering the new continent, soon followed by Asian hunters. There were probably several migrations over thousands of years and eventually the people spread throughout North and South America as the ice retreated and the land bridge became covered by water again. There were hundreds of tribes that each can be classified into one of several groups, according to the natural environment in which they lived. The names of these groups are the eastern woodlands, the plains, the southwest, the great basin. The plateau.
California. And the northwest coast. Each of these groups lived in an environment that was unlike the others. None of the others lived in an environment quite like this one. The eastern woodlands, the land of the forest people. The land of vast forests. Rivers. Lakes and streams. What would it have been like to have lived back then? To have lived like one of the Woodland drives, the odigo, in the upper Great Lakes, hundreds of years ago. That's my brother. Little bit. Coming back from hunting with my father. Funny, exciting things. Girls. All the work. It's not fair. It's just not fair. By the way, my name is rubber goats. Eat me little flower. I hate that name. It's just not me. I need, I would be the best hunter in our clan if they'd only let me. But they won't let me because they say hunting is for boys. It's just not fair. My brothers go hunting almost every day. They also get to set traps and snares. Here, my dad and brothers are setting the snare. First, a tree's bent over. Then the trigger is set. This has to be said very carefully. Finally, it uses place to cross an animal trip.
From a small animal in students, it releases the snail. This is just a stick, but it could have easily been a rabbit. For larger animals, we might use a pit trap. Branches are first placed over a pit, and then they are covered with leaves. You can. My father will then place some bait. In this case, a white fish directly over the trap. When the animal like in a possum or raccoon tries to get the baby, it'll fall into the trap. Trapeze is fine, but today is a great day for honey. And I know several good places just across the Lake, but how do I get there? Um. My father's canoe. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I borrowed it from fact if I came back with a deer or even mukwa. That's what we call a beer. He was very proud and I would prove to everyone in our village that I'm the best hunter that ever lived. I remember the time my brother made his first kill. All the people were so excited. They cheated my hero. Just the deer. The way everyone carried on, he would have thought it was mukwa. To be I will make my face too. And they were on a knee instead of my brother. And it won't be a deer.
It's time for a girl to do some of the exciting and dangerous things. It seems like all we ever do is work. Like feeling bark. Every summer, my mother and I go to the forest to find birch trees that are ready for peeling. Before the bark is peeled, my mother first makes it back often. In a great spirit, did you do? Why don't I do a doctor none? Did you mind provide yourself with all the things where people would? I knew must always be thankful. My mother starts by making a cut in the birch, using a stone knife. The knife is very sharp. But birch bark is very strong. And my mother usually has to repeat the cut in the same place. Even as she cuts, you can sometimes hear the bark poppy underneath. When the cut is complete, the bark seems to almost pop off the tree. With just a little bit of help. When done properly, the Berkeley will not kill the birds. This tree eventually sued itself. Use large sections of work like this to cover a wigwam. When we move our camp. I know a person. Saplings are bent over and tie together with eager. That's the inner bark of a basswood tree. And it's very strong. This forms the basic frame of the wigwam.
Cross branches are then added to give the wigwam gray or strength. As you might have guessed, women are the ones who put a wig around. Since this is a summer wigwam, my mother will enroll a cattail skirt around the bottom. The cattle will allow a little wind to blow through the wigwams. Helping to keep the cool. Finally, bird sparks sections are added to the frame. Starting just above the skirt. My mother uses a bone off to punch holes in the bark. And then she slips in a wiggle strip to tie the bark to the frame. It'll take over 30 sections of bark to completely cover a wigwam. He also used birch bark to make her baskets and continue. First, they guide his choice over a section of barf. A bone stick is used to trace the outline. A stone knife is then used to cut the yellow line out. It doesn't look much like a basket yet. But it will. The basket has to be folded. And holes are punished. Using a bone up. It wouldn't pay you to keep the flaps together until they can be stitched with Uighur. A well made basket like this. Can be used for many things. You might last a lifetime.
Many of our things are made out of birch bark. Even this cradle board. It is said that teaching money don't give us the birth certificate so that we will never do itself, but sometimes gives you money to my favorites. You may have poor luck hunting or trapping. Or on herbs and medicines are unable to cure the sick. They must seek the help of a spiritual elvish. Officers. Special knowledge of the spirit world. And cause upon spirit of helpers to help him purify the bodies of those who are continuing to work very hard, sometimes for days before he was successful. Other duties as well. When my mother builds a new wigwam, the elder will bless it, and all the people living there with burning sneakers. Sweetgrass is considered sacred by our people, and we use it in many of our ceremonies. I think I better type the canoe. This looks like a good spot. Should be playing my core around here. I will sing Halloween. Another job my mother does is fire making. She does this by placing dry grass between two sections of wood, and then inserting a spinning stick into a small bowl.
The bowl will enable my mother to spend much faster than she could without it. The spinning causes the wood to heat up. If you've ever rubbed your hands together real fast, you know how rubbing causes you. You spin the fast enough and long enough, but wood gets very hot. Causing the dry grass to smoke. Then I've just the right moment. My mother will stop spinning. And long smoking grass. Not too hard, and not too little until a flame appears. I've seen my mother do this a thousand times, and it's still amazes me. After that, it's a simple job of adding twigs and sticks until you have a real fire. After the fire is made, it's time to cook dinner. We usually start by boiling some water. By the way, as long as there's water in the birch basket, it will burn. Then we might add some meat. In this case, deer meat. To this we'll add some greens, like wild onions and roots. And one of our favorites, wild rice. This will make a very nice stew. I told you that many boys never work. Well, carvey ever. They do make tools and weapons. If it could call that work.
This is a fish trap my father is making. Once fish move into the trap. They can't get out. Trash are left overnight. Just a short distance from shore. Speaks are stuck in the water to direct the fish toward the track. It's just a simple job of waiting up to the trap. Opening the door and collecting fish. Wow. Someone bigger than others. Oh. A simple thing like a bone provides us with another way of catching fish. After the bony sharpie, it's tied to another section of them. The result is a very effective fish hook. Another way we fish is with a neck. The net is usually strong at night and fish are pulled in the next morning. Spearing is another way we can't fish. A spear normally has three points. The two are points, spread apart. And then close. To keep the fish on the spear. Spirit is practically always done at night. A birth bark porch is attached to the friend and canoe. Fish are attracted to the light. All the spirit has to do, wait for the right moment. We also have time for games. Our favorite boys game is target practice. It's not only fun, but it teaches boys to become good hunters.
Spears was another game that teaches forth to become good hunters. Every once in a while, it does look like me a chance. But I hate to show them what. I'm just about the best beer thrower in a village. I'm also just a book the best at foot racing. Double ball. I'm just about the best at this too. The idea is to pass the double ball in 15 minutes. Using a throwing stick. And you keep it away from your point. One of my favorite games across. Your boys hated only beat them. The force is filled with dangers. If I've been captured, I would have been taken to prisoner by another tribe. She's between you and me. I like to just find my own village. Even if they don't let me do dangerous and exciting things. Little flower would make it safely back to revenge. But little did she know that her family was one of the last generations to live in the old ways. A new people, the Europeans were about to enter America. And when they did, the way of the forest people would never be the same again. Wanting the land occupied by Indians, the new Americans engaged in a series of conflicts that would eventually result in the complete conquest of the forest people, and all Native Americans.
Indians everywhere were forced to give up their way of life and to live on small reservations, areas of land set aside for Indians. No longer able to hunt and fish in the old ways. The Indians were rationed food and clothing by the government. Some government agents who were supposed to help the Indians were dishonest. They stole money and supplies, so the Indians never got all that they were entitled to. As a result, the Indians lived in total poverty and many starved. Tribes were forced to give up many of their traditions and could no longer perform many of their religious rights and ceremonies. Many Indian children were separated from their families, and were sent to strict boarding schools where they were forced to give up their Indian ways. In the 1950s, the government encouraged Native Americans to relocate to the nation's cities, where they could find jobs and live in modern ways. But not all Indians chose to do this. Today, Indians can live anywhere they want, and many choose to live off reservations in cities and towns, employed in the same sorts of jobs as other Americans. But many native peoples prefer to remain on reservations.
Today more than half a million Indians live on reservations located throughout the United States. Life here is much better than it used to be, and in some ways is similar to life anywhere else. Indians drive cars and live in modern dwellings like other Americans. They dress in modern clothing. They shop in stores. They go to movies. Many attend Christian churches. Indian children go to schools that look like schools anywhere, and study the same kinds of subjects. They play the same sorts of games and enjoy the same things as other American children. While reservation of life is a lot like life anywhere else. There are some big differences. Unemployment is very high. On summer reservations, four out of 5 people are out of work. And because of it, alcoholism and poverty are widespread. In recent years, many tribes have open gambling casinos in order to create jobs and bring in additional income. But only a few tribes those near major cities have actually profited from casinos. Another problem found on many reservations is a lack of self esteem and identity. That's why many Indians are attempting to gain a new sense of pride in being Indian.
On many reservations, Indians are rediscovering ancient ceremonies like the burning of sage. By purifying themselves, their materials and their tools in the smoke of this plant. They feel they will be able to make better and more beautiful things. Indians continue to offer tobacco to the great spirit. Some forest people continue to peel the bark of birch trees just as their ancestors have done before them. Birch trees pill the easiest in the summer, but it still takes a skilled hand to remove large sections in one piece. The bark will be used to make a variety of items that can be sold to turns. Like this beautiful birch bark waistband. This miniature canoe, and even this full sized canoe, which is a replica of those paddled by Indians, hundreds of years ago. Most Indians buy their canoes today, and they're usually made of fiberglass or aluminum. And instead of hunting with bows and arrows, modern Indians use rifles and shotguns. The eastern woodlands is dotted with countless lakes that have provided native peoples a way of life for thousands of years and continue to do so.
Fishing mats have been used by India for countless generations, and enable them to gather large numbers of fish in a short time. Today, wild rice is still being gathered in the same way it has been done for centuries. This simple method enables two people to gather a lot of rice in a short time. After it is gathered, the rice is then parched, which involves roasting the grains over an open fire. Rising requires a lot of work for a little bit of rice, but the Indians who do it wouldn't want it any other way. Most reservations throughout the eastern woodlands conduct a one or more pow wows each year. How Hauser festive gatherings of Indians and just about every power features traditional singing and dancing. It is in these ways that Native Americans hope to stay in touch with their traditions and regain their pride and self esteem.
Today, birch bark canoes seldom cattle these waters, and you no longer find the birch bark lodges that were once so powerful. But while many of the old ways may be gone, the heart and spirit of the forest people live on it. Little flower never got to go to night sphere in order for another. But some 400 years later, a young girl who could well be a little flower's descendant goes spearing almost every spring.