American Indians

Indian Americans are called Indian because Christopher Columbus thought he discovered India when he actually discovered America therefore calling the Indigenous people Red Indians. He called them red because the first time Columbus saw the Indians they were wearing red paint, which he mistook for skin colour.

The red Indians actually first came from Siberia 30 000 years ago using the ice bridge that was naturally made by the ice age.

The Indian horse was not actually the red Indians’, it was introduced to them by the Spanish.

Before white people came to America, there were over one million Indians living in America. However by 1870 the Indians were pushed into 14 small reservations made especially for them. Their population didn’t get decreased without a fight though. There were lots of different fights against white people which were mainly won by the white people. There was one big fight where there were many deaths of men. The children, women and remaining men were placed into reservations.

Before the white people came the Indians had to get their food from somewhere. Most tribes hunted down buffalo. They hunted down the buffalo by using trickery and deception, because the buffalo could be a dangerous animal. They encircled the herd, causing them to panic, then striking it with a lance or arrow. The Indians used every part of the buffalo you can think of. The tough thick hide was used for shields. The thin hide was a covering for a tepee. Hoofs and horns were used for rattles and masks. Sinew and bone was used for bowstrings and arrow heads. From the stomach a cooking pot or bucket was made. From the tail a fly swish was made. The rough side of the tongue was used as a hairbrush. Rawhide was used for the bridle, saddle and rigging of a horse, but also used for sledge runners. Other bones made knives, spoons, ladles, sewing awls and dice for gambling. Buffalo dung was dried and used as fuel. Even calfskin balls (testicles) were sewn together and used to entertain children. Some other tribes like the Iroquois didn’t hunt buffalo, although hunting a buffalo was easier. They hunted deer, bears, rabbits, beavers, ducks and turkeys. They also fished. They used snares, traps and pits to catch the animals.

The way of housing also changed between tribes. The Iroquois and the Sioux tribes had different ways of housing. The Sioux tribe lived in Tepees-three poles lashed together, covered with buffalo skin. The Iroquois houses are called longhouses-rectangular wooden huts with barrel-shaped roofs.

In conclusion there were a wide range of Indian tribes. Their landscape determined the way they lived e.g. There might not be any buffalo in their area so they had to hunt other animals. The Indians were hard working hunters and farmers until they got kicked out of their land and into the reservations.