Native Americans of New York State

1. Native Americans of New York State • The first people to live in North America most likely came from Asia. • Most archeologists believe that they crossed the land bridge that used to be where the Bering Strait is today.

2. When? • The first people probably spread across the land bridge during the ice age - about 30,000 years ago. • The first people arrived in New York about 11,000 years ago. • Why so long? It took thousands of years for people to migrate south.

3. The First New Yorkers • The very first New Yorkers were nomads. They followed their food source. • These people were hunter-gatherers. They got their food by hunting for animals and collecting plants that they could eat.

4. Natural Resources • The first Native Americans relied heavily on their environment for Natural Resources. • They used rocks, sticks, animal skins, animal bones, water, fish, plants, animals.

5. Farming • Native Americans did not start farming in New York until about 2000 years ago. • People began growing squash and sunflowers. They later learned to grow beans and corn. Corn became the most important crop for New York Native Americans.

6. Farming • What is the biggest way that farming changed the lives of the new York Native Americans???

7. Farming • Once people began farming they moved around less. They began living in villages and stayed in one place longer. • They no longer had to follow their food – now they planted and grew their food.

8. Two major Native Americangroups in New York. • The two major groups of Native American groups we will study are the Algonquian people and the Iroquois. • These two groups both lived in what is now New York. • Both built villages in the forest. Both hunted animals, gathered plants and planted crops to farm.

9. The Algonquian people and the Iroquois people DID NOT SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE!!!

10. Iroquois • The Iroquois League of Nations • Why did the Iroquois form the League of Nations? • To keep the peace and to stop the nations from fighting with each other.

11. League of Nations • Who made up the Iroquois League of Nations? • The five Nations were: Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk.

12. League of Nations • After the Iroquois League of Nations was formed the Nations stopped fighting with one another. • When all five of the Nations were living peacefully and working together they became one of the most powerful Native American Groups in North America.

13. League of Nations • The Grand Council met where the Onondaga lived near the center of the Iroquois lands. • Sachems (leaders chosen by each nation to represent the nation) went to the Grand Council meetings. • Grand Council discussed peace, trade, how to use their land, and war with the Algonquians.

14. People of the Longhouse • The Iroquois called themselves: People of the Longhouse or Haudenosaunee. • Longhouses were really long houses. They could be from 40 to. 00 feet long. • Members of an entire clan lived together in a longhouse. • A clan was a large extended family. (They shared a common ancestor).

15. Iroquois Women • Iroquois women had a lot of power in Iroquois villages. • They were in charge of the longhouses. • They made the decisions about how to use the village’s farmland. • They were also in charge of choosing sachems. Sachems went to the Grand Council meetings.

16. Iroquois Trail • The Iroquois land covered what is now much of New York. In order for the villages and nations to stay in they built trails between the villages and nations. • The main trail was called the Iroquois Trail. Runners carried messages sometimes using wampum belts. • Being a “runner” was an important Iroquois job.

17. Europeans changed the lives of Native Americans When the first Europeans started to come to New York the lives of Native Americans began to change. Some ways their lives changed were: wool, cotton, and linen were worn not just animal skins metal fish hooks were used instead of hooks made of bones caught diseases like small pox and measles