Eastern Woodland

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These notes will look briefly at the Eastern
Woodlands native group. They lived in this
region of North America
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Eastern Woodland

• Canadas First Nations

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A. Eastern Woodlands

• Location
• around the Great Lakes St. Lawrence region
• most heavily populated parts of N. America even
  before the Europeans arrived
• Native Groups
• Nations such as the Ottawa, Mohawk, Ojibwa, Huron
  and Iroquois, all lived in this region
• some since before the 13th C (1200 AD)
• Social Structure
• The Iroquois built large towns
• run by a town council which consisted of chiefs
  from each family
• The Iroquois organized around matrilineal bonds

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• Economy
• The Iroquois originally hunter-gatherers
• eventually switched to agriculture
• switch to agriculture led to permanent settlement
  and a growth in population
• Military
• With larger populations, and more established
  villages, aggression between tribes increased
• Walls called Palisades built around the village
  to provide protection
• Rituals
• Feast of the Dead
• villages moved to new locations
• bones of dead relatives gathered and placed in
  mass graves (ossuaries)

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The Guessing Game

• The next few slides will show original artifacts
  used and made by the Eastern Woodlands Nation.
• Can you figure out what they are?

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What is this?
moose call
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What is this?
Moccasins
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What is this?
Fish Hook
9
What is this?
Knife sheath Knife
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What is this?
Bow
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What is this?
Snow Shoes
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What is this?
Eating Sticks
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What is this?
Pipe Tomahawk