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Class Date: September 10th
Location: Your couch! See your weekly e-mail for Zoom link!
Looking Way Back
Looking Way Back
How did anyone end up on the North American continent? So often, our concept of human history arises from Africa and the Middle East, where some of the oldest traces of humans and civilization exist. But humans have been moving around the globe for thousands of years, establishing civilizations on every continent, save Antarctica, all developing unique and important cultures. It also changes the idea that Europeans ‘discovered’ the Western hemisphere. While most Europeans may never have seen people on the North American continents prior to the 14th and 15th centuries, whole civilizations had risen and fallen for thousands of years.
Here we will take a quick look at the different ways in which people might have reached the Western hemisphere and built civilizations. It is worth noting that these are scientific theories, as there was very little written history when people were migrating across the world. Archeological evidence continues to emerge, adding or changing ideas about how people arrived in this place. Whatever the theory, archeologists and historians do agree that the North American continent has been inhabited by humans for at least 16,000 years.
If you would like to watch an overview of the people of the Americas, check out this very well done 45 minute video:
This video relies on native historians and archaeologists to discuss the theories about how people came to inhabit the Americas and how they developed their culture and societies.
Coming by Bridge
Map of eastern Russian and Alaska with a light brown border depicting Beringia.
The most popular theory for people arriving on the North American continent is the Bering Land Bridge theory, or Beringia. At the end of the last Ice Age, sea levels were significantly lower, as ocean water was frozen in glaciers. This lowered sea levels by as much as 300 feet in some areas! Between Russia and what is now Alaska, a land bridge was exposed, giving animals and people a way to migrate to new lands. Archeological evidence places this first mass migration (others certainly followed) to approximately 13,500 years ago. Once across, people continued to move throughout the Americas, building societies based on their environments. At the end of the last ice age (roughly 10,000 years ago), glaciers melted and sea levels rose again, covering most of Beringia, leaving only islands like the Diomedes and Pribilof visible.
Two if by Sea?
While the land bridge certainly explains the migration of many mammals, it might not completely explain the complete migration of humans to the Western hemisphere. In 1997, an archaeological site was discovered in Monte Verde, Chile, dating back 14,500 years ago, meaning people lived there prior to a mass migration over the land bridge. So how did those people arrive? Some have advanced the theory that people arrived by boat, possibly from Australia or southern Asia. Those who back this theory point to the similarities between South American culture and artifacts to those of Southeast Asia. “Kennewick Man”, a 9,500 year old skeleton uncovered in Washington state has a strong resemblance to Japanese ancestors, giving weight to the idea that boats may have brought people to these lands.
As more artifacts are discovered and new techniques arise for dating objects, theories about people arriving on the American continents continue to evolve to include new information. Currently, the oldest known settlement is at the Topper Site in South Carolina, as it dates back to about 15,000 years ago, but researchers are still trying to discover how people arrived there.
To read a little more about how we are exploring and reinforcing these theories through DNA research, check out this article from Science.org here:
Who Were Native People?
Who Were Native People?
This week we are taking a very brief look at the Native peoples of the North American continent, prior to the arrival and subsequent forced relocation by European settlers. It is nearly impossible to accurately quantify the number of people living in North America by the time Europeans arrived, partially because of the diversity of cultures and groups, and because the vast majority of these cultures did not rely on written records to preserve their history or culture. Oral traditions, while incredibly important to a cultural group, make historical accuracy more difficult. Some historians estimate that by the time Columbus made contact with North Americans in 1492, some 900,000 people lived in what is now the United States, while other researchers put the number as high as 18 million. Recent researchers have suggested that the total population of the American continents was upwards of 60 million people. At that same time, Europe boasted somewhere between 70-88 million people, concentrated in a much smaller area. In North America alone, it is estimated that approximately 300-500 different languages were spoken.
Seminole Predecessors
Seminole Predecessors
This week, we are looking at the Seminole people of what is now known as Florida (and other parts of the southeastern United States). Before we get there, we should look at the tribes that pre-dated the Seminole, notably the Cahokia civilization. Many descendants of the Mississippi River Valley Cahokia moved and eventually formed the Seminole tribes. Read on for an overview of the Cahokia civilization.
First, I always recommend watching the PBS series ‘Native America’. It can be difficult to find the episodes on PBS, but here is the episode most relevant available on YouTube.
It is about 50 minutes long and truly fascinating! You can find the video here:
Cahokia was a mound building culture located in the Mississippi River Valley. You can see it in the middle of the map to the right.
They created their cities and flourished from roughly 800 to 1540 CE (or AD). They were an agricultural based society, growing ‘the 3 sisters’; corn, beans, and squash.
At the height of Cahokia, they had a population larger than London at the same time. They were carefully planned cities, with neighborhoods and zones based on use. Most significantly, they built large earthen mounds to elevate some homes and other buildings of significance. You can see a diagram of a mound pictured (below), and then a current picture of what remains still today.
By the time Europeans arrived in the area (around 1540), the mounds and cities were largely abandoned. Historians aren’t totally sure why, as no written records of the time exist.
To learn more about the mystery and culture of Cahokia and how we’re still exploring this ancient past, check out this 12 and a half minute video here.
Recommended Reading
Recommended Reading
To read more about this period, here are some great books to get you started:
For Kids:
A First Americans Book: The Seminoles by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve
The Seminoles are known as “the people who never surrendered.” As White settlers continued to encroach on their land, the Seminoles moved farther and farther into the Florida Everglades and adapted to their new environment with their hard work and ingenuity. And after defending their land in three Seminole wars, they never signed a formal peace treaty with the United States.
This accessible nonfiction picture book introduces the Seminoles’ early history, daily way of life, ceremonies, and more. Learn how they adapted to the Florida Everglades and their unique cultural practices, like their flat roll hairstyle and the role of an ever-burning fire in the annual Green Corn Dance. This updated edition provides the most up to date and accurate information on the Seminole people of past and present. The back of the book includes a section on Seminole life today. Recommended for ages 7 to 10.
Seminole: The People and Nations by Krystle Young
Originating from Florida, the Seminole nation has a deep history in North America. Discover more about the Seminole nation, their traditions and story.
For more books for kids with Native American characters and themes, check out this list here: https://coloursofus.com/32-native-american-childrens-books/
For Adults:
Unconquered People: Florida’s Seminole and Miccosukee Indians by Brent Richards Weisman
Who are Florida’s Seminole and Miccosukee Indians? Where did they come from? How and why are they different from one another, and what cultural and historical features do they share?
Brent Weisman explores Seminole and Miccosukee culture through information provided by archaeology, ethnography, historical documents, and the words of the Indians themselves. He explains when and how their culture was formed and how it has withstood historical challenges and survives in the face of pressures from the modern world.
Focusing on key elements of ceremony and history, Weisman examines the origins and persistence of the Green Corn Dance, the importance of the clan in determining political and social relationships, and the crucial role of the Second Seminole War (1835-42) and its aftermath in stimulating cultural adaptation as the entire Indian population was forced deep into the remote wetlands of south Florida. Throughout, he emphasizes the remarkable ability of the Seminoles to adapt successfully to changing circumstances while preserving their core identity, from the colonial period through the present day.
Noting the importance of geography for understanding a people’s identity, Weisman adds a travel guide to publicly accessible historic sites throughout the state that tell of the unique and deep connection between Seminole history and the geography of Florida. Illustrating the range of the Seminoles well beyond the familiar south Florida region, he explains the importance in Seminole history of the Suwannee River and the Paynes Prairie area of north-central Florida, the Withlacoochee River wetlands of central Florida, the Big Cypress region of southwest Florida, and the Pine Island Ridge of the eastern Everglades.
For both students and general readers, Weisman combines scholarship from several disciplines with the perspectives of the Seminoles themselves into an exciting history of Florida’s enduring Native Americans.
In Bitterness and in Tears: Andrew Jackson’s Destruction of the Creeks and Seminoles by Sean Michael O’Brien
In Bitterness and in Tears: Andrew Jackson’s Destruction of the Creeks and Seminoles by Sean Michael O’Brien
The seldom-recalled Creek War of 1813-1814 and its extension, the First Seminole War of 1818, had significant consequences for the growth of the United States. Beginning as a civil war between Muscogee factions, the struggle escalated into a war between the Moscogees and the United States after insurgent Red Sticks massacred over 250 whites and mixed-bloods at Fort Mims on the Alabama River on August 30, 1813―the worst frontier massacre in U.S. history. After seven months of bloody fighting, U.S. forces inflicted a devastating defeat on the Red Sticks at Horseshoe Bend on the Tallapoosa River on March 27, 1814―the most disastrous defeat ever suffered by Native Americans.
The defeat of the Muscogees (Creeks), the only serious impediments to U.S. westward expansion, opened millions of acres of land to the white settlers and firmly established the Cotton Kingdom and slavery in the Deep South. For southeastern Native Americans, the war resulted in the destruction of their civilization and forced removal west of the Mississippi: The Trail of Tears. O'Brien presents both the American and Native American perspectives of this important chapter of U.S. history. He also examines the roles of the neighboring tribes and African Americans who lived in the Muscogee nation.
Works Cited
Works Cited
https://www.nps.gov/bela/learn/historyculture/the-bering-land-bridge-theory.htm
https://www.nps.gov/bela/learn/beringia.htm
https://www.nps.gov/bela/learn/historyculture/other-migration-theories.htm
http://www.nativehistoryassociation.org/mississippian.php
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Native-American/Native-American-history
https://pages.nativehope.org/reflecting-on-our-foundations#understanding-native-tribes
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