North American Natives Essay -- American History, The Iroquois Nation

The early natives of North America can be divided between six different regions that they lived in. The regions were easily designated by the different environmental conditions and resources found in those areas. The regions were known as the Eastern Woodlands, the Plains, the Southwest, the Northwest Coast, the Arctic and the Sub-Arctic. Each region provided a different set of challenges that help shape the people that lived there (Harcourt, 2009). In order to survive prior to the arrival of the European settlers the native people of North America had to adapt to their environment and use what it could provide or they would parish. Each region provided what the people needed in many different forms. If the people were able to adapt and learn how to use those resources they would survive. The Eastern Woodlands The Native Americans that inhabited the area from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean and up to the Great Lakes were considered to be in the Eastern Woodlands. During that time forest covered most of that area. What the Native Americans depended on to survive was provided from the natural resources that were all around them. They used what the forest provided for their homes, food, tools, clothing and weapons. There were many different groups of people that lived in the Eastern Woodlands but the two most predominate tribes were the Iroquois and the Cherokee nations. The Iroquois Nation lived in what later became known as the northern part of the United States. The Iroquois were made up of the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Ogondaga and Seneca tribes. They were also known as League of the Five Nations and all the tribes had to agree on decisions (Cipriano, 2003). By forming the League of the Five Nations th... ...nd understanding they had developed over generations. They also relied on each other for assistance with hunting and building their homes. These skills were evident throughout all the regions as the people learned to use the natural resources around them and other members of their tribe. However you can see the impact of outside influences like the arrival of the horse and the impact it had on the Plains Indian and their old way of life. They were able to embrace this change and make it a part of their new way of life. In order for those original people of North America to survive they had to adapt to their environment or change that environment somehow so they could survive. We are facing the same challenges today as we change our environment. How we adapt to that new environment so we can survive is the challenge the people of North America faces today.