NATIVE AMERICAN PROJECT: BLACKFEET AND NAVAJO TRIBES

BLACKFEET: GOVERNMENT

• Leadership was non-hierarchical
• Prior to the 1800s, they had a Government made up of 36 clans
• In 1830, missionaries came and began the Blackfoot confederation

BLACKFEET: RELIGION

• Main God was the Sun
• Believed in a supernatural being called Napi (which means old man)

BLACKFEET: PUBLIC WORKS

• Only consisted of tipis used for housing
• They did not have any interest in growing crops or creating irrigation systems
• They only used tipis because they were easy to move since they moved frequently
• They all lived in a village near herds of buffalo and sources of water

BLACKFEET: WRITING SYSTEM

• They used an Algonquin dialect as their religion
• The dialect related to the languages of several plains and Eastern woodland tribes

BLACKFEET: ARCHITECTURE

• They moved around a lot because bison became extinct where they lived
• They lived in tipis so they could quickly move from one area to another

BLACKFEET: SOCIAL CLASSES

• Tribes were led by a council of Chiefs
• One chief was from each clan
• They practiced consensus decision making
• A decision was only made if the Chiefs accepted it

BLACKFEET: JOB SPECIALIZATIONS

• Women cleaned and cooked; also took care of children and houses
• Men hunted and gathered resources and food
• Men also protected the village
• Men and women would both tell stories and make medicines

NAVAJO: GOVERNMENT

• In 1923, a tribal government was established
• Was made to help meet the increasing desires of American oil
• Oil companies leased Navajoland for exploration

NAVAJO: RELIGION

• They believed in many Gods
• They also believed in good and evil
• Their main belief was that everything had a purpose
• Their holy people were supernatural beings

NAVAJO: PUBLIC WORKS

• They had public works such as housing, agricultural systems, and farming animals
• They lived in groups rather than one village
• Homes were called Hogans, which were huts made up of logs and earth
• They also farmed crops and livestock
• They stayed in one area instead of moving places

NAVAJO: LANGUAGE

• The language they spoke was their traditional Navajo language
• They created it and spoke it fluently

NAVAJO: ART AND ARCHITECTURE

• Lived in Hogans, where they practiced their religion
• They were made of wooden poles, tree bark, and mud
• Navajo families still live in Hogans
• They made silver jewelry

NAVAJO: SOCIAL CLASSES

• There was no official ranking in the society
• Social obligations were agreed on by kinship and residence
• The father in each household was crowned as head
• The father in the oldest household was crowned as head of the residence group

NAVAJO: JOB SPECIALIZATIONS

• Men hunted and gathered materials and food
• Women grew crops and took care of household activities
• Both men and women took care of child

Untitled Slide

Untitled Slide