D
Three Worlds Meet 13
•Kashaya Pomo
•Kwakiutl
•Pueblo
•Iroquois
•kinship •division of labor
1. TERMS & NAMES For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
MAIN IDEA
2. TAKING NOTES
Copy an outline of North America
like the one below. Then shade in
the areas belonging to each of the
following Native American cultures:
Northwest Coast, Southwest, and
Eastern
Woodlands.
Describe
how each
society
adapted
to its
environment.
CRITICAL THINKING
3.
COMPARING
In your opinion, were the differences
between Native American groups
greater than their similarities? Cite
specific examples to support your
answer. Think About:
• adaptation to physical settings
• the role of tradition
• the variety of goods and lan-
guages encountered in trading
4. SYNTHESIZING
Describe the relationship between
the individual and his or her social
group in Native American society.
Use details from the text to support
your description.
5. HYPOTHESIZING
Why did Native American societies
not wish to buy and sell land?
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
Bonds of kinship, or strong
ties among family members, ensured the continuation of
tribal customs. Elders instructed the young. In exchange,
the young honored the elders and their departed ancestors.
The tasks assigned to men and women varied with each
society. Among the Iroquois and Hopi, for example, women
owned the household items, and families traced their
ancestry from mother to grandmother to great-grandmoth-
er, and so on. In other Native American cultures, men
owned the family possessions and traced their ancestry
through their father’s kin.
The division of labor—the assignment of tasks
according to gender, age, or status—formed the basis of
social order. Among the Kwakiutl, for example, slaves per-
formed the most menial jobs, while nobles ensured that
Kwakiutl law was obeyed.
The basic unit of organization among all Native
American groups was the family, which included aunts,
uncles, cousins, and other relatives. Some tribes further
organized the families into clans, or groups of families
descended from a common ancestor. Among the Iroquois,
for example, members of a clan often lived together in huge
bark-covered longhouses. All families participated in com-
munity decision making.
Not all Native American groups lived together for long
periods of time. In societies in which people hunted and
gathered, groups broke into smaller bands for hunting. On
the plains, for example, families searched the grasslands
for buffalo. Groups like these reunited only to celebrate
important occasions.
In the late 1400s, on the eve of the encounter with the Europeans,
the rhythms of Native American life were well-established. No one could have
imagined the changes that were about to transform the Native American societies.
D. Answer
Some societies
organized relat-
ed families
into clans, who
would live
together. In
societies where
people hunted
and gathered,
groups broke
into smaller
bands for
hunting.
MAIN IDEA
MAIN IDEA
D
Comparing
What
similarities and
differences
existed among
Native American
social structures?
SCHEMITZUN
The sights and sounds of the
Native American world come alive
each August for several days on
the Connecticut reservation of
Mashantucket. Here, performers
and visitors from nearly 500
Native American tribes meet under
a massive tent for Schemitzun,
the “World Championship of Song
and Dance.”
Schemitzun was traditionally a
dance to celebrate the corn har-
vest. Today it has become an
occasion for Native Americans to
meet, share their art and culture,
and celebrate their heritage.
