Difference between revisions of "North American Indians"
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| − | Today, many Indian | + | Today, many Indian tribes are seeing a resurgence through laws that give them special privileges that allow them to operate [[gambling]] casinos. Special tax breaks have helped, as well as has the redefinition of a 'reservation'. For instance, in [[Wisconsin]] Indian reservation land can include buying real estate in [[Milwaukee]] - far from the physical location of the tribes themselves. Although under ultimate United States government jurisdiction, the tribes are generally autonomous and monitor their own lands. This has led to voting questions, such as in the [[South Dakota]] elections of 2002 where [[John Thune]] was ahead in the senate race after all votes were counted except for the reservations. With Thune's margin known, incredibly, the results given by the reservation showed that almost all of the reservation inhabitants voted and voted overwhelmingly for his opponent who won by 500 votes. Thune ran again in 2004 and again was ahead by a similar margin, but this time the Indian reservations didn't vote the same after monitors were installed to watch the proceedings. Thune won. |
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| + | Recorded history of American Indians shows a lack of fear of great heights and a difficulty with controlling [[alcohol]] consumption. The latter is still a difficulty today, as 12% of Indian deaths are related to alcohol, several times the national average.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Aug28/0,4670,IndianDeathsAlcohol,00.html</ref> | ||
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== References == | == References == | ||
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Revision as of 00:09, August 30, 2008
North American Indians (also Native Americans) are the original inhabitants of the Americas. The Native Americans of North America are typically considered to be all those tribes north of Central Mexico. While technically part of North America, most archaeologists tend to place the civilizations of Central Mexico into a separate category.[1] Tribes in North America maintained a wide variety of subsistence patterns, from hunting and gathering, to intensive agriculture. North America is also home to two of the most unusual groups of hunter-gatherers, the Northwest Coast tribes, and the Aleuts. The first Native Americans are believed to have migrated from Asia via the Bering land bridge, the exposed continental shelf between Asia and N. America during the last Ice Age. There are also those that subscribe to a similar migration by sea that followed the ancient coastline from Asia around the Bering land mass. A small group of researchers claim to have uncovered evidence of possible migration from Europe during the same time period, but the evidence is still heavily contested.
While the American Indian population once numbered over 100 million, over 90% were killed by European diseases augmented by changes in the natural habitat caused by the new arrivals.[2]
Culture Areas of North America
American Indians of North America are generally divided into culture areas according to similarities in geography, environment, subsistence patterns, language family, and similar social practices. According to the Handbook of North American Indians, there are ten such cultural areas.[3]
- Arctic
- Greenland, extreme northern Canada, and the northern and western coastlines of Alaska.
- Subarctic
- Most of central Canada and interior Alaska.
- Northeast
- New England, Nova Scotia, the Great Lakes region, the Chesapeake Bay area, and most of current day W. Virginia, the Ohio River valley, and Illinois.
- Southeast
- N. Carolina excluding the NE corner, western Virginia, southern W. Virginia, and all the southern states east of the Mississippi River, in addition to parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, and eastern Texas.
- Plains
- the entire Midwest United States from Texas north to southern parts of Canada.
- Southwest
- Central Mexico north into W. Texas, NM, and AZ.
- Great Basin
- Nevada, Utah, N. Arizona, W. Colorado, W. Wyoming, S. Idaho, SE Oregon, and parts of W. California.
- California
- Interior and Coastal California and N. Baja.
- Northwest Coast
- N. California to S. Alaska along 1500 miles of coastline.
- Plateau
- Parts of Oregon, Washington, N. Idaho, W. Montana, and SW Canada.
Today
Today, many Indian tribes are seeing a resurgence through laws that give them special privileges that allow them to operate gambling casinos. Special tax breaks have helped, as well as has the redefinition of a 'reservation'. For instance, in Wisconsin Indian reservation land can include buying real estate in Milwaukee - far from the physical location of the tribes themselves. Although under ultimate United States government jurisdiction, the tribes are generally autonomous and monitor their own lands. This has led to voting questions, such as in the South Dakota elections of 2002 where John Thune was ahead in the senate race after all votes were counted except for the reservations. With Thune's margin known, incredibly, the results given by the reservation showed that almost all of the reservation inhabitants voted and voted overwhelmingly for his opponent who won by 500 votes. Thune ran again in 2004 and again was ahead by a similar margin, but this time the Indian reservations didn't vote the same after monitors were installed to watch the proceedings. Thune won.
Recorded history of American Indians shows a lack of fear of great heights and a difficulty with controlling alcohol consumption. The latter is still a difficulty today, as 12% of Indian deaths are related to alcohol, several times the national average.[4]
References
- ↑ Swidler, Nina, Dongoske, Roger. 1997. Native Americans and Archaeologists: Stepping Stones to Common Ground. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press.
- ↑ Trail of Tears
- ↑ Washburn, Wilcomb E. 1998. Handbook Of North American Indians, Vol. 4, History of Indian-White Relations. Washington: Smithsonian Institute.
- ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Aug28/0,4670,IndianDeathsAlcohol,00.html
