The First Americans

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Scientific consensus is that there was an ice age thousands of years ago.

This period was marked by a cold global climate that covered the world in glaciers. Since much of the world's water was frozen, land once covered by water began to appear.

One theory is that this created a land bridge between North America and Asia. Using the land bridge, people and animals from Asia crossed to North America for new food sources. These were the first people to live in North America.

These people spread across the Americas over the years, creating new tribal groups. Today, these tribal groups are known as Native Americans.

Some of the tribes that lived in North America are detailed below.

Inuit

The Inuit lived in present-day Alaska and northern Canada in the Arctic. The Arctic was a frozen tundra, which means the temperature was below freezing for most of the year, and it was too cold to grow crops.

Hunting was the Inuit peoples' main source of living supplies. The Inuit used the fur of the animals they hunted to make warm clothes, and the meat and organs were used for food.

Inuit dug holes in the snow and ice to use as homes. The word igloo comes from the Inuit word for home.

Explore Native Americans: Inuit Peoples to learn more about the Inuit way of life.

Kwakiutl

The Kwakiutl lived in what is now the Northwest United States. They lived on a diet of fish caught from the Pacific Ocean and gathered nuts and berries.

The Kwakiutls were fortunate to live in a mild climate, meaning it was cool in the summer, cold in the winter, and often rainy.

Totem poles come from the Kwakiutl tribe because they believed these carved wooden statues were enchanted with animal spirits that would protect their tribe and family.

Watch the following video clip to see Kwakiutl artifacts.

Lakota

The Lakota lived in the central desert region of the United States known as the Great Plains.

The Lakota were a nomadic tribe, meaning they had no permanent home. The tribe members moved constantly as they chased their food source, the buffalo. The Lakota lived in tipis because these non-permanent homes were easy to assemble and move.

Check out Lakota Indians to learn more about this tribe.

Pueblo

Pueblo Indians lived in the southwest United States, in what is present-day New Mexico and Arizona. The desert region was scorching, but the Pueblos developed an irrigation system to grow corn, squash, and beans.

They lived in homes called adobes, named after the red clay used to construct them. The adobe clay kept the inside of the homes cool even though the outside temperature was sweltering.

Find out more about the Pueblos at Native Americans: Pueblo Tribe.

Iroquois

The Iroquois are also referred to as the Eastern Woodland Indians because they resided in the Northeast United States, which is heavily wooded. The Iroquois hunted deer and bears, fished in the rivers and Atlantic Ocean, and gathered nuts and berries.

They built large, rectangular homes from branches, sticks, and bark. These large homes were called longhouses and often held several families.

Visit Native Americans: Iroquois Tribe to learn more about the Iroquois.

Continue to the Got It? section to use what you have learned!