stretched across Alaska and Canada

Physical features: composed of swampy forests called taigas

climate: cold temperatures continue for most of the year

mainly gained food through hunting and gathering

consumed game animals (moose, caribou) and wild plants (berries, roots)

The Deg Xinag tribe, for example, used houses excavated in the soil, roofed with poles, and hung with mats for protection from harsh winters

The Cree and Ojibwa people built conical winter lodges roofed with boughs, earth, and snow

people emphasized the value of autonomy and responsibility

produced different weapons such as the bow and arrow and spear-thrower for hunting

region above arctic circle; includes northernmost part of present-day Alaska and Canada

Inuit, Aleut, Yupik

Rely on hunting & fishing for food

hunted for caribous, sea mammals, and fish

lived in dome shaped houses made up of snow or timber covered with earth for retaining heat and protection from extreme temperatures

made clothing from hides and furs

personal autonomy regarded as an important value

traditionally believes in shamanistic ideas

stretched from present-day Canada's Atlantic coast to North Carolina and inland to the Mississippi river valley

physical features: includes temperate forests, meadows, wetlands, waterways, and coastal zones

climate: distinct seasons with warm summers and cold winters

Cayuga, Oneida, Delaware

Gained food through a combination of agriculture, hunting, and gathering

Diet consists of corn(maize), beans, squash, fish, etc.

Some lived in houses called wickiups (made by driving a number of pointed poles into the ground to make a circular plan; poles later tied together with strips of bark and other poles to form a dome shape) while others lived in longhouses (made of a framework of poles covered with bark sheets and an arched roof); wickiups were suitable for the regional climate and the structure of longhouses helped in maintaining their communal lifestyle and agriculture-based society

produced different artwork through weaving and pottery (ex. wampum beads)

most of their materials were made of woods

located north of the Gulf of Mexico and south of the Northeast

physical features: fertile land suitable for agriculture; coastal lowland near the south and forests/grasslands in the northern area

climate: warm, humid climate with a substantial amount of rainfall

Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw

Obtained food through farming (people lived around market villages called hamlets)

Grew maize, beans, squash, tobacco

built circular, conical-roofed winter hot houses, sealed tight except for the entryway and a smoke hole

lived in rectangular, thatch-roofed structures made from a framework of upright poles for the summer

provided warmth and protection

Had tribal villages each led by religio-political chiefs and a group of war leaders

Believe in animism, a perspective in which humans share the world with a proliferation of animal and natural spirits

area between Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains

present-day Canada to the Gulf of Mexico

physical features: flat grasslands and short grass plains

climate: harsh, continental conditions with temperatures ranging from 0 to 110 degrees fahrenheit

Cheyenne, Comanche, Sioux

Ride on horses to hunt herds of buffalo

Also gathered wild plants and practiced agriculture (corn, beans, squash)

used Tepees, cone-shaped structures made up of long poles covered with animal hides

suitable for nomadic lifestyle & environment of the Great Plains region

Used bullboats, a round watercraft created from bison, in transporting large quantities of trade goods

The tribes were organized into bands, fluid groups that range from a few dozen people to a few hundred

Desert region in present-day Arizona and New Mexico

physical features: 2 great river systems (Colorado-Gila-San Juan & Rio Grande-Pecos), fertile soil

climate: arid environment w/ about 4 inches of precipitation each year; droughts common

Apache, Navajo, Hopi, Zuni

Hopi & Zuni people grew crops like corn, beans, squash

Navajo, Apache groups hunted (bison, deer), gathered, and raided their neighbors for crops

Some tribes live in pueblos, built of stone and adobe

Southwestern tribes built eastward-facing round houses called hogans from mud and bark

provided reliable food source and communal lifestyle

Believed in animism (think of world as filled with living entities) and shamanism (individuals have the ability to communicate with spirits)

Made pottery with geometric patterns and practiced basket weaving

expansive region formed by the Rocky Mountains to the east, the Sierra Nevadas to the west, the Columbia Plateau towards the north, and the Colorado Plateau to the south

physical features: wasteland of deserts, salt flats, and brackish lakes

climate: arid/semiarid environment (average precipitation of 2.1inches to 20 inches)

Shoshone, Ute, Paiute

relied on hunting and gathering for food

roots, seeds, nuts, small mammals

built simple windbreaks for the summer season and wickiups, dome shaped structure built with a framework of branches, in winters

support their nomadic lifestyle as movable shelters

the tribes were organized into smaller groups that moved frequently (mobile groups that moved through a given territory annually)

had impermanent settlements & communal leadership was informal

present-day California and Baja California in Mexico

physical features: mountains, deserts, coastlines, valleys

climate: coastal, desert; mild in coastal region and harsh in condition for desert regions

Karok, Maidu, Cahuilla

Organized themselves into small family-based bands of hunter gatherers known as tribelets

Deer, rabbits, acorns, seeds

Houses that are wood-framed, earth-covered, semisubterranean, made of brush or of thatched palm

Sweat lodges were common (earth-covered permanent structures)

Houses made up of wood, reeds, bark that are abundant in supply

Social structure with complex roles like chiefs and shamans

Advanced weaving techniques, making baskets from willow and sedge

located along the pacific coast from British Columbia to the top of Northern California

physical feature: temperate rainforests and mountains

climate: mild, wet climate

Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian

Rely on hunting aquatic resources

candlefish, cod, mollusks, salmon

Most houses were rectilinear in floor plan, with plank walls and a roof; the houses were generally of large size

served as permanent shelters during the winters

Within the social structure, one's status was determined by their closeness to the chief and the number of possessions

water transportation was important in trading between tribes

the area in the Columbia and Fraser River basins at the intersection of the Subarctic, the Plains, the Great Basin, California, and the Northwest coast

present-day Idaho, Montana, and eastern Oregon and Washington

physical features: rivers (Columbia, Frasers), high, dry plains

climate: continental climate type (temperature ranging from -30 degrees fahrenheit in winter to 100 degrees fahrenheit in summer; low rate of precipitation)

Cayuse, Umatilla, Yakama

use methods of hunting, fishing, and gathering

salmon, trout, wild berries, roots, nuts

pit houses; circular, 3-6 feet deep and 25-40 feet long structure, with an interior space of 500-1260 square feet; conical roof supported by a framework of wooden posts, beams, and stringers

built for insulation and warmth during harsh winters

People living in the southern area spoke languages derived from the Penutian. As for the northern part, people spoke Salishan dialects

Some tribes had a consensus system while others followed a more formal structure with chiefs and subchiefs