Names of Indian tribes. Tribes of South America

In the adventure novels of Fenimore Cooper and Mine Reed, which most of us read as children, the Indians appear as bloodthirsty, uneducated savages. However, more than 2,000 nationalities with their own culture, language and customs settled on the mainland. And the differences between the tribes were often dramatic!

Where did the Indians come from?

There are many hypotheses about where the first settlers came from in North America. Some scientists suggest that these are the descendants of the Egyptians, who, through who knows what sea routes, reached the neighboring continent. Others put forward the extravagant version that the Indians are the descendants of soldiers who survived the Trojan War. Researchers of the disappeared tribes of Israel insist on Jewish roots. There is an option that people settled New World from 50 to 20 thousand years ago, coming from Siberia along the so-called Beringian Bridge - the isthmus between Asia and America that subsequently disappeared. As for the name... Everyone knows the story of how Columbus, who accidentally discovered America, believed that he had arrived in India.

The Europeans who arrived in the New World recognized the Iroquois as the most developed tribe. They farmed, mastered crafts, and periodically had weak conflicts with their neighbors. But the main difference was that they, in a sense, created the prototype of modern US politics: their confederation was a democratic and developed system of government. The ladies dominated the council: it was they who decided the fate of the tribe. Later, matriarchy outlived its usefulness - fighting for supremacy in fur production, the Iroquois attacked their neighbors, using brutal torture. By the way, they didn’t get their name because of their hairstyles: in the language of the Algonquin tribe, this word means “vipers” - pacifism has clearly gone out of fashion. But the Iroquois gave modern name to the adjacent state - “Canada” translated from their language means “village”.

The main enemies of the Iroquois are the Hurons. They also competed for a monopoly in the fur trade, so skirmishes were regular. Compared to their neighbors, they looked quite peaceful: their vegetarian diet consisted mainly of maize and beans, and only on holidays did they allow themselves a ritually cooked dog. The Hurons did not survive the missionary activity of the French - they brought plague and famine to their villages.

The Cherokees resisted the Europeans longer than others, but in the end they were forced to surrender and accept Christianity, adopting a culture and customs alien to them. Government new country forcibly moved the Cherokees to infertile lands, where they died. This tribe was quite civilized: Chief Sequoia, for example, developed his own letter, so the Indians knew how to read and write, albeit in their own way, and even published newspapers. Cherokee blood flows in the veins of Barack Obama, Johnny Depp, Quentin Tarantino.

Apaches are a symbol of Indian resistance to Europeans. World famous their leader Geronimo found them: he led guerrilla warfare for quite a long time, in the end he was caught, but not executed - he was taken to exhibitions and photographs of this unique brand of a dying culture were replicated. The famous wigwam (“house”) was the main dwelling of the Apaches - the other inhabitants North America took refuge in conical tents.

Beothuk

Thereby Indian tribe all Indians received the unflattering nickname “redskins”. They were among the first to meet Europeans on the continent, and the guests, seeing their faces painted with ocher, were frightened and called them that. By the way, the natural skin color of Indians is white or dark. Very popular in Canada tragic story a woman from this tribe named Demasduit, who died in captivity. It was she who left information about the grammar and features of the Beothuk language.

Fall of Civilization

Having received horses and weapons from the colonialists, Indian tribes began to develop the prairies. Since the Europeans gradually drove the aborigines out of their fertile lands, they had to go to the steppes. The main source of food for them was the bison, whose skin was also used to make clothes and shoes. Classic look An Indian with a headdress of eagle feathers, leather boots, a tomahawk and an Indian bow appeared there. But life on the reservations was not easy: they were forbidden to practice their own religion and their children were taken away. Gradually, out of hopelessness, people began to drink too much - their enzyme system could not withstand the fight against alcohol, and civilization began to fade away.

Modern Indian tribes- Cherokee, Navajo, Sioux and Chippewa - live below the poverty line, despite tourism, casinos and excise-free tobacco trade. Disease, alcoholism and unemployment are a real scourge on the reservations. It seems that the great nation is on the verge of final extinction. And today, August 9, on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, I would like to wish not to repeat the mistakes of European colonialists, but to preserve the culture and customs of people, no matter what nationality they belong to.

Animation program “The Path of the Pathfinder”

ETHNOMIR, Kaluga region, Borovsky district, Petrovo village

Schoolchildren and students from all over the country visit ETNOMIR all year round. The center successfully cooperates with leading educational institutions Russia and the world. We host youth gatherings, changes in children's summer camps, we host school groups, offering ready-made programs with a set of thematic excursions and master classes.

When coming to the ethnographic park with a group of schoolchildren or students, you can additionally choose animation program. ETNOMIR presents to your attention games of strength, speed and ingenuity, traditional entertainment different nations peace, exciting quests, gatherings around the fire, ethnic dancing and adventures in the Indian tribe. While playing, children expand their understanding of the world around them, experience a natural desire and need to learn new things, develop communication skills, and form a personality.

Street Game is an interactive adventure that will introduce participants to North American Indian culture!

After the discovery of the American continents and the development of new lands, which was often accompanied by the enslavement and extermination of the indigenous population, Europeans were amazed by the methods of struggle of the Indians. The Indian tribes tried to intimidate the strangers, and therefore they used the most cruel ways reprisals against people. This post will tell you more about sophisticated methods of killing invaders.

“The Indian war cry is presented to us as something so terrible that it cannot be endured. It is called a sound that will make even the bravest veteran lower his weapon and leave the ranks.
It will deafen his ears, it will freeze his soul. This battle cry will not allow him to hear the order and feel shame, or indeed retain any sensations other than the horror of death."
But what was frightening was not so much the battle cry itself, which made the blood run cold, as what it foreshadowed. The Europeans who fought in North America sincerely felt that falling alive into the hands of monstrous painted savages meant a fate worse than death.
This led to torture, human sacrifice, cannibalism and scalping (all of which had ritual significance in Indian culture). This especially helped to excite their imagination.

The worst thing was probably being roasted alive. One of the British survivors of the Monongahela in 1755 was tied to a tree and burned alive between two fires. The Indians were dancing around at this time.
When the groans of the agonized man became too insistent, one of the warriors ran between the two fires and cut off the unfortunate man's genitals, leaving him to bleed to death. Then the howls of the Indians stopped.

Rufus Putman, a private in the Massachusetts Provincial Troops, wrote the following in his diary on July 4, 1757. The soldier, captured by the Indians, “was found roasted in the most sad manner: his fingernails were torn out, his lips were cut off to the very chin below and to the nose above, his jaw was exposed.
He was scalped, his chest was cut open, his heart was torn out, and his cartridge bag was put in its place. Left hand was pressed against the wound, the tomahawk was left in his intestines, the dart pierced him through and remained in place, the little finger on his left hand and the small toe on his left foot were cut off."

That same year, the Jesuit Father Roubaud encountered a group of Ottawa Indians who were leading several English prisoners with ropes around their necks through the forest. Soon after this, Roubaud caught up with the fighting party and pitched his tent next to theirs.
He saw large group Indians who sat around the fire and ate roasted meat on sticks, as if it were lamb on a spit. When he asked what kind of meat it was, the Ottawa Indians replied: it was roasted Englishman. They pointed to the cauldron in which the remaining parts of the severed body were being cooked.
Sitting nearby were eight prisoners of war, scared to death, who were forced to watch this bear feast. People were gripped by indescribable horror, similar to that experienced by Odysseus in Homer's poem, when the monster Scylla dragged his comrades off the ship and threw them in front of his cave to devour them at his leisure.
Roubaud, horrified, tried to protest. But the Ottawa Indians did not even want to listen to him. One young warrior said to him rudely:
-You have French taste, I have Indian taste. For me this is good meat.
He then invited Roubaud to join them for their meal. The Indian seemed offended when the priest refused.

The Indians showed particular cruelty to those who fought with them using their own methods or almost mastered their hunting art. Therefore, irregular forest guard patrols were at particular risk.
In January 1757, Private Thomas Brown of Captain Thomas Spykman's unit of Rogers' Rangers, dressed in green military uniform, was wounded in a battle on a snowy field with Abenaki Indians.
He crawled out of the battlefield and met with two other wounded soldiers, one of them was named Baker, the second was Captain Spykman himself.
Suffering from pain and horror because of everything that was happening, they thought (and this was great stupidity) that they could safely make a fire.
Almost instantly the Abenaki Indians appeared. Brown managed to crawl away from the fire and hide in the bushes, from which he watched the tragedy unfold. The Abenaki began by stripping Spykman and scalping him while he was still alive. They then left, taking Baker with them.

Brown said the following: “Seeing this terrible tragedy, I decided to crawl as far as possible into the forest and die there from my wounds. But since I was close to Captain Spykman, he saw me and begged, for God’s sake, to give him a tomahawk so that he could have committed suicide!
I refused and urged him to pray for mercy, since he could only live a few more minutes in this terrible state on the frozen ground covered with snow. He asked me to tell his wife, if I lived to see the time when I returned home, about his terrible death."
Shortly thereafter, Brown was captured by Abenaki Indians who returned to the site where they had been scalped. They intended to impale Spykman's head on a pole. Brown managed to survive captivity, Baker did not.
“The Indian women split the pine into small chips, like small skewers, and stuck them into his flesh. Then they built a fire. After that, they began to perform their ritual rite with spells and dances around it, I was ordered to do the same.
According to the law of preservation of life, I had to agree... With a heavy heart, I feigned fun. They cut his bonds and forced him to run back and forth. I heard the unfortunate man beg for mercy. Due to unbearable pain and torment, he threw himself into the fire and disappeared."

But of all the Indian practices, scalping, which continued into the nineteenth century, attracted the greatest attention from horrified Europeans.
Despite some ridiculous attempts by some benevolent revisionists to claim that scalping originated in Europe (perhaps among the Visigoths, Franks or Scythians), it is quite clear that it was practiced in North America long before the Europeans arrived there.
Scalps played a significant role in North American culture, as they were used for three different purposes (and perhaps served all three): for "replacement" dead people tribe (remember how the Indians were always worried about the heavy losses suffered in the war, therefore, about the decrease in the number of people) in order to appease the spirits of the dead, as well as to soften the grief of widows and other relatives.

French veterans Seven Years' War North America has left many written memories of this terrible form of mutilation. Here is an excerpt from Puchot's notes:
“Immediately after the soldier fell, they ran up to him, knelt on his shoulders, holding a lock of hair in one hand and a knife in the other. They began to separate the skin from the head and tear it off in one piece. They did this very quickly , and then, showing the scalp, they uttered a cry, which was called the “cry of death.”
We will also cite a valuable account of a French eyewitness, who is known only by his initials - J.K.B.: “The savage immediately grabbed his knife and quickly made cuts around the hair, starting from the top of the forehead and ending at the back of the head at neck level. Then he stood up with his foot on the shoulder of his victim, who was lying face down, and with both hands he pulled the scalp by the hair, starting from the back of the head and moving forward...
After the savage had removed the scalp, if he was not afraid of being pursued, he stood up and began to scrape off the blood and flesh that remained there.
Then he made a hoop of green branches, pulled the scalp over it, like a tambourine, and waited for some time for it to dry in the sun. The skin was painted red and the hair was tied into a bun.
The scalp was then attached to a long pole and carried triumphantly on the shoulder to the village or to the place chosen for it. But as he approached every place on his way, he uttered as many cries as he had scalps, announcing his arrival and demonstrating his courage.
Sometimes there could be up to fifteen scalps on one pole. If there were too many of them for one pole, then the Indians decorated several poles with scalps."

It is impossible to minimize the significance of the cruelty and barbarity of the North American Indians. But their actions must be seen both within the context of their warrior cultures and animistic religions, and within the larger picture of the overall brutality of life in the eighteenth century.
City dwellers and intellectuals who were awed by cannibalism, torture, human sacrifice and scalping enjoyed attending public executions. And under them (before the introduction of the guillotine), men and women sentenced to death died a painful death within half an hour.
Europeans did not object when “traitors” were subjected to the barbaric ritual of execution by hanging, drowning or quartering, as the Jacobite rebels were executed in 1745 after the uprising.
They did not particularly protest when the heads of those executed were impaled on stakes in front of cities as an ominous warning.
They tolerated hanging in chains, dragging sailors under the keel (usually a fatal punishment), and corporal punishment in the army - so cruel and severe that many soldiers died under the lash.

European soldiers in the eighteenth century were forced to submit to military discipline using the whip. American native warriors fought for prestige, glory, or the common good of the clan or tribe.
Moreover, the mass plunder, pillage, and general violence that followed most successful sieges in European wars exceeded anything the Iroquois or Abenaki were capable of.
Holocausts of terror like the sack of Magdeburg in the Thirty Years' War pale in comparison to the atrocities at Fort William Henry. Also in Quebec in 1759, Wolfe was completely satisfied with bombarding the city with incendiary cannonballs, without worrying about the suffering the innocent civilians of the city had to endure.
He left behind devastated areas using scorched earth tactics. The war in North America was a bloody, brutal, and horrific affair. And it is naive to consider it as a struggle between civilization and barbarism.

In addition to the above, the specific question of scalping contains an answer. First of all, the Europeans (especially irregular groups like Rogers' Rangers) responded to scalping and mutilation in their own way.
The fact that they were able to descend to barbarism was facilitated by a generous reward - 5 pounds sterling for one scalp. This was a significant addition to the ranger's salary.
The spiral of atrocities and counter-atrocities rose dizzyingly upward after 1757. From the moment of the fall of Louisbourg, the soldiers of the victorious Highlander Regiment cut off the heads of every Indian they came across.
One of the eyewitnesses reports: "We killed a huge number of Indians. The Rangers and soldiers of the Highlanders gave no quarter to anyone. We took scalps everywhere. But you cannot distinguish a scalp taken by the French from a scalp taken by the Indians."

The epidemic of European scalping became so rampant that in June 1759, General Amherst was forced to issue an emergency order.
"Everyone intelligence units, as well as all other units of the army under my command, despite all opportunities presented, it is forbidden to scalp women or children belonging to the enemy.
If possible, you should take them with you. If this is not possible, then they should be left in place without causing any harm to them."
But what use could there be from such a military directive if everyone knew that civil authorities offer a premium for scalps?
In May 1755, Massachusetts Governor William Scherl appointed 40 pounds sterling for the scalp of a male Indian and 20 pounds for the scalp of a woman. This seemed to be in accordance with the "code" of degenerate warriors.
But Pennsylvania Governor Robert Hunter Morris showed his genocidal tendencies by targeting the childbearing sex. In 1756 he set a reward of £30 for a man, but £50 for a woman.

In any case, the despicable practice of setting rewards for scalps backfired in the most disgusting way: the Indians resorted to fraud.
It all started with an obvious deception when the American natives began making "scalps" from horse hides. Then the practice of killing so-called friends and allies just to make money was introduced.
In a well-documented case that occurred in 1757, a group of Cherokee Indians killed people from the friendly Chickasawee tribe just to collect a bounty.
And finally, as almost every military historian has noted, the Indians became experts at "reproducing" scalps. For example, the same Cherokees, according to general opinion, became such craftsmen that they could make four scalps from every soldier they killed.

Long before Europeans set foot on the American continent, people lived on this land. Wild tribes Indians dominated the steppes and forests of the vast region. There were quite a lot of them - some remained only in chronicles, the descendants of others still live on the land of their ancestors. Who inhabited the huge continents before they were discovered?

Photo: Tribalpictures.org

One of the largest tribes living on the North American continent. There is a legend among the Cherokees that they once lived in great place in the Valley of Lakes, but were expelled from there by warlike neighbors - the Iroquois. The latter deny this fact– in their history such legends do not exist.

However, when Europeans entered the continent, the Cherokees lived in the mountains. At first, the two peoples fought among themselves, but later the Indians made peace with the colonialists and even adopted their faith and some traditions.

Photo: community.adlandpro.com

Most famous representative Cherokee - Chief Sequoia, who developed his own type of writing, which served as an impetus for the rapid development of the tribe. One of the plants, which looks like a cypress, is named in his honor.

Currently, the number of descendants of the Cherokee Indians, who formerly inhabited the slopes of the Appalachians, reaches 310 thousand people. Modern Redskins are quite large businessmen, they are the owners of six large gambling houses, and are increasing their fortune every year.

Representatives of this nationality have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. In the 19th century, some members of the tribe owned their own plantations and were even the largest slave owners. They got their wealth quite in an interesting way- The Cherokees sold part of the lands that belonged to the tribe to the US government.

Photo: invasionealiena.com

Until the mid-19th century, relations between the indigenous population and emigrants from the Old World were fairly smooth. But the rich lands owned by the Indians became increasingly attractive to the new authorities. Eventually, the US government decided to remove the Cherokees from their lands and send them to live on the Great Plains.

The journey to the destination was long and difficult; according to official data, approximately 6-15 thousand members of the tribe died during the transition. The path along which the Cherokees passed received the telling name “Road of Tears.”

Photo: awesome-b4.space

A nomadic tribe constantly waging war with its neighbors - this is how the Apache Indians can be characterized. Skilled and courageous warriors, most often using ordinary bone or wooden weapons (they began to use metal for their manufacture only after the arrival of Europeans), instilled fear in neighboring tribes.

The Apaches were especially cruel to their captives - all members of the tribe, young and old, including women, took part in the torture. It is better to die on the battlefield than to be captured - this is what all their opponents thought. It was impossible to run away or hide from the warriors of this tribe: if you don’t see them, this does not mean at all that they don’t see you.

Photo: Resimarama.net

The most famous leader of the tribe was Geronimo, who terrified the European colonialists. When he approached, people shouted his name and tried to run away as far as possible, sometimes even jumping out of the windows of houses. The soldiers airborne troops In the USA there is still a tradition of shouting “Geronimo!” before skydiving.

In the wars with the Spanish conquistadors, almost all Apaches were exterminated. Only a few managed to survive - their few descendants now live in New York.

Photo: magesquotes-consciousness.rhcloud.com

“Those who are always ready to fight with me” - this is the approximate translation of the name of this Indian tribe. And no wonder: the Comanches were truly considered a warlike people, and they fought both with the Europeans who arrived on the continent and with representatives of neighboring peoples.

Neighboring tribes called them “snakes.” Why such a strange name appeared is not known for certain, however, there are several legends. The most famous one says that during migration, the path of the Indians belonging to this tribe was blocked by a mountain, and instead of valiantly overcoming the obstacle, the wars cowardly turned back. For which they were criticized by their leader, who noted that they were like “snakes crawling in their wake.”

Photo: Wlp.ninja

But the Comanches showed such cowardice very rarely. On the contrary, in battle similar wars there were no equals, especially after they learned to ride. The Comanches were a real disaster for neighboring peoples, and Europeans were afraid to approach their territory. The Indians took captive only women and children, and if the latter were very small, they could be accepted into the tribe and raised in accordance with traditions.

The Comanches were also cruel to their fellow tribesmen who violated the laws of the tribe. A woman found guilty of treason was killed on the spot; in rare cases, she remained alive, but her nose was cut off.

Photo: Stoplusjednicka.cz

The Iroquois are not one specific tribe, but an alliance of several, called the League of Five Nations. The main occupation was war - the Indians fed their families using rich trophies. Their other occupation, trading beaver fur, also brought significant profits.

Within each tribe included in the union, several clans were distinguished. It is noteworthy that they were usually led by women. Men were warriors and advisers, but the decisive vote belonged to the fair sex.
Photo: Whatculture.com

Representatives of the people who gave the name to the famous hairstyle rarely used this method of styling their hair. Moreover, almost all Indians shaved their heads, leaving only a small strand on the top of the head - the “scalp”, which told the enemies that the warriors were absolutely not afraid of them and even gave them an advantage in battle. If you can grab a strand, you will defeat the Iroquois warrior. But this is not as simple as it seems at first glance.

To protect themselves from various misfortunes - primarily from diseases, the Indians wore special masks, on which the most notable element was a hooked nose. Who knows - maybe such a device really prevented the spread of infections. The number of Indians, at least, did not decrease due to an epidemic - the wars that the Iroquois constantly waged were to blame for this.

Photo: Meetup.com

The most sworn enemy of the Iroquois were the Hurons, an Indian tribe whose population at its peak reached 40 thousand people. Most of them died during the bloody wars, but several thousand still managed to survive. Although the Huron language was lost forever and is now considered dead.

Rituals occupied a special place in the life of Indians. In addition to worshiping animals and the elements, the Hurons showed great respect to the spirits of their ancestors. They also carried out various rituals: the most popular was the ritual torture of captive people. Such a ceremony ended with a not very pleasant action - since the Hurons were cannibals, the exhausted captives were killed and eaten.

Photo: Lacasamorett.com

A tribe that disappeared forever from the face of the Earth and whose descendants disappeared among other Indians - a sad fate for a people that was once considered one of the greatest civilizations of its time. The lands of this tribe were lost in the 18th century. This was the beginning of the end - gradually the Mohicans dissolved among other Indians, their language and cultural achievements were forgotten forever.

Oddly enough, an important role in the disappearance was played by the rapid adaptation of the Mohicans to new living conditions. The peaceful tribe, which accepted the faith of the colonialists and their cultural customs, quickly became part of the New World and completely lost their identity. There are practically no direct descendants of the Mohicans left today - only 150 people living in Connecticut can be attributed to them.

Photo: Artchive.com

The Aztecs are far from a tribe. This is an entire empire that left behind a rich architectural heritage and a well-structured mythology. On the site of the main Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, there is now the capital of one of the most developed countries in South America - Mexico.

Photo: Ruri-subs.info

The Indians left many mysteries. Among them the most famous were:

• The Sun Stone is a strange monolith that looks like a calendar. He personifies all the Aztec ideas about the world order, the past and future of humanity. Some researchers suggest that this stone also used for sacrifices;
• Pyramids of Teotihuacan. In the very ancient city, which scientists managed to discover on the territory of the Western Hemisphere, mysterious objects were built - stone pyramids. They are oriented along one side of the world, and their arrangement completely copies the device solar system. Moreover, the distance between objects is the same as between planets, if, of course, it is proportionally increased by 100 million times;
• Obsidian tools. The Aztecs practically did not use metal - it was replaced by obsidian. From of this material weapons were manufactured, as well as high-precision surgical instruments that made it possible to carry out complex operations. The unique properties of obsidian made it possible not to fear infection - it is a natural antiseptic. Another question is how exactly the Indians made the tools - now such a tool can only be sharpened using diamond cutters.

Despite all the mystery, the Aztecs left one thing as a legacy that is understandable and loved. modern people– chocolate.

Photo: Photographyblogger.net

For several centuries now, the legendary treasures of the Incas have been pushing desperate treasure hunters to search for them. But this tribe became famous not only for gold - their cultural achievements deserve much more attention.

The first thing that the territory where the Incas lived is famous for is its excellent roads. The Indians built not only wide highways of excellent quality, but also suspension bridges so strong that they could support a horseman in heavy armor. And no wonder - the Inca Empire was mostly located in mountainous areas, where turbulent rivers flowed, which during floods could easily break the fragile structure. In order not to carry out construction work all over again, it was necessary to build to last.

Photo: Hanshendriksen.net

The Incas were one of the few Indian tribes that had their own written language and wrote a chronicle of the people. Unfortunately, it has not survived to this day - the canvases were burned by the Spaniards, who captured the Inca cities, which were cultural centers.

The Indians left behind many secrets, the most famous being the fabulously beautiful mountain town of Machu Picchu, whose inhabitants seemed to have simply disappeared.

Photo: Turkcealtyazi.org

A highly developed civilization that made great discoveries in the fields of astronomy, mathematics and medicine long before the Europeans built the first large city. Majestic pyramids and temples, one of the most accurate calendars, a unique counting system - these are just a few of the achievements of the Mayan Empire.

But at one point the residents left the cities and went...where? Unknown. But when the Europeans reached the Mayan habitats, they saw a few tribes who were clearly unable to build all the majestic structures discovered in the jungle.

Photo: Stockfresh.com

There are many versions explaining the disappearance of one of the most developed civilizations: epidemic, civil wars, drought. Some scientists suggest that the Mayans simply degenerated and degenerated.

However, this mystery has not yet been solved, like the numerous secrets that the great civilization left behind.

That's all we have. We are very glad that you visited our website and spent a little time to gain new knowledge.

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American Indians have a unique and tragic story. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that they were able to survive the period of European settlement of the continent. The tragedy is associated with the conflict between the Indians and the white population. Despite all this, the history of the Indian people is full of optimism, because, having lost the lion's share of their ancestral lands, they survived and retained their identity. Today they are full citizens of the United States.

The main question of the article: where do the Indians live? Traces of this population can be traced on two continents. Many names in the USA are associated with these people. For example, Massachusetts, Michigan, Kansas and the like.

A little history, or who are called Indians

In order to understand where the Indians live, you need to decide who they are. Europeans first learned about them at the end of the 15th century, when in search of the treasured India they reached the shores of America. The navigator immediately called the local residents Indians, although it was a completely different continent. So the name stuck and became common to many peoples who inhabited the two continents.

If for Europeans the open continent was the New World, then hundreds lived here for about 30 thousand years. The newly arriving Europeans began to push the indigenous inhabitants into the interior of the country, occupying territories suitable for life. Gradually the tribes were driven closer to the mountains.

Reservation system

By the end of the 19th century, America was so populated by Europeans that there was no free land left for the Indians. In order to understand where the Indians live, you should find out what reservations are. These are lands poorly suited for agriculture, where the Indians were forced out. Living in this territory under agreements with the white people, they were supposed to receive supplies. However, this was often only in words.

Things got even worse when the government allocated 160 acres of land to each indigenous resident. The Indians were not ready to engage in farming, moreover, on unsuitable land. All this led to the fact that by 1934 the Indians had lost a third of their lands.

New course

In the first half of the last century, the US Congress made Indians citizens of the country. This was a great push forward regarding reconciliation between peoples, although rather belated.

Places where they live American Indians, like themselves, began to interest Americans not from the point of view of profit, but from the point of view cultural heritage of your state. The United States has developed a spirit of pride in the diversity of its population. Many had a desire to compensate the descendants of the Indians for the unfair treatment to which their ancestors were subjected.

Where do the Indians live?

Indians live in two main geographic areas. These are North America and Latin America. To avoid confusion, it is worth noting that Latin America is not only South America, but Mexico and a number of islands.

Territory of settlement in North America

Where do Indians live in North America? This geographical area consists of two large countries - the USA and Canada.

Indian regions:

• subtropical regions;
• coastal areas of the northwestern part of the mainland;
• California is a popular Indian state;
• southeastern United States;
• territory

Now it is clear where the Indians live, whose photos are presented in the article. It remains to point out that all of them are engaged in fishing, hunting, gathering, and producing valuable fur on their lands.

Half of modern Indians live in major cities And rural areas throughout the United States. Another part lives on federal reservations.

Indians in California

When you hear the question where cowboys and Indians live, the first state that comes to mind is California. This is connected not only with westerns, but also with statistics. At least in relation to the Indians.

The largest Indian population lives in the state of California. This was confirmed by the population census over the past decades. Of course, the descendants of the Indians of this region are of mixed origin.

How do continentals live in California? Over the years, most of them have lost knowledge native language. Thus, more than 70% do not speak any language other than English. Only 18% speak the language of their people well, as well as the state language.

California Indians have benefits when entering higher education educational establishments. However, most of them do not use them. About 70% of children from Indian families receive secondary education, and only 11% receive a bachelor's degree. Most often, representatives of the indigenous population are employed in service labor or agriculture. Among them there is also a high percentage of unemployment in relation to the average.

A quarter of California Indians live below the poverty line. Their homes often lack running water and sewerage, and many are forced to live in very cramped conditions. Although more than 50% still have their own housing.

There are also Indian reservations in California. In 1998, the court allowed indigenous residents to engage in gambling business. This permission from the authorities was a significant victory. But it was not connected with the purpose of emphasizing a favorable attitude towards the Indians, but because it was impossible to engage in the usual trades on the territory of the reservation. The government took this step to give people the opportunity to earn a living by engaging in the gambling business.

In addition to such concessions, reservations in California have their own self-government, courts, and law enforcement agencies. They do not obey the laws of the State of California, while receiving government subsidies and grants.

Territory of settlement in Latin America

There is a group of Indians living in Latin America. Where the Indians now live in this geographical area, read below:

• throughout Latin America home to the Aztecs and those who lived in Central America before the arrival of Europeans;
• a separate community are the Indians of the Amazon basin, who are distinguished by their specific thinking and foundations;
• Indians of Patagonia and Pampa;
• native people

After this, it is no longer a secret where they live. They were very powerful in their development and had their own government structure long before the arrival of Europeans.

It is quite difficult to answer unequivocally where the Indians live in our time. Many of them still adhere to their traditions, foundations, and live together. But there are also many who began to live like most Americans, forgetting even the language of their people.

Indian myths telling about the Kachin, gods and teachers.

The Hopi Indians are a people living on a 12.5-kilometer reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi culture, a tribe of Indians, traditionally belongs to a group of peoples called the Pueblos. According to the All-American Census, held at the turn of the millennium, in 2000, the population of the reservation, now creating Hopi tobacco, and previously responsible for making predictions, is 7 thousand people. The largest known Hopi community, the Hopi Reservation, once lived in First Mesa, Arizona.

The ancestors of the ancient Indian peoples are the Hopi Indians.
The Hopi supposedly descend from one of the oldest Indian cultures that once built their empires in the states of Nevada and New Mexico. The Hopi Indians are descendants of the legendary Mayans, Aztecs and Incas, whose civilizations developed from the 2nd to the 15th millennium. The Hopi language belongs to the Hopi Shoshone sub-branch of the Aztec language group. Modern residents of the settlement in Arizona, the Hopi continue to call themselves descendants of ancient tribes and custodians of their heritage. According to ancient traditions belonging to the Hopi Indians, this people were originally a mixture of representatives of tribes from all over the Americas, who later identified themselves as an independent people.

The Hopi country took many centuries to form. The first contact of the ancestors of modern Hopi Indians with Europeans took place back in 1540. During periods of harsh conquest, a significant part of the Hopi tribe was subjected to forced Christianization. However, this is only part of the tribe. As the elders assure: “The Hopi Indians fought to the end, which allowed them to preserve the faith of their ancestors.” In 1860, a Pueblo uprising occurred, which resulted in the formation of Spanish punitive groups. Fortunately for the local population, the Hopi Indians successfully repelled attacks from the Spanish invaders. As a result, the then Spanish government almost completely lost control over the Hopi and their friendly tribes.

Cooperation of cultures, although not voluntary, had a somewhat beneficial effect on the Hopi Indians. At the end of the 17th century, they borrowed skills in handling domestic animals: donkeys, horses and sheep. And later, the Hopi Indians mastered cattle breeding, and learned how to work with iron and gardening. In addition, unlike the Mayan and Aztec heritage, the Hopi language and their cultural and mythological heritage were not plundered and burned.

However, not everything was so rosy for the ancient tribe. Long years The Hopi Indians were in conflict not only with the Europeans, but also with the neighboring Navajo tribe. Under the influence of the Ataba migrations, the Hopi were forced to move to more sheltered mountainous areas. The settlements built by the Hopi tobacco-growing Indians were named First Mesa, Second Mesa, and Third Mesa. First Mesa was for many years the oldest active Indian settlement on the American continent. In fact, the Hopi Indians lived for decades in villages completely surrounded by the huge Navajo reservation. The warlike tribes were separated only by the Hopi River and mountain ranges, which served as a barrier for settlements. Today, the once warring tribes are at peace and even cooperate on environmental issues.

Hopi tobacco is a true treasure of the Indian world.
Nowadays, the Hopi are not even a tribe famous for their culture or history, but the ancient Indians, who were made famous by Hopi tobacco, grown all over the world, by people different cultures and peoples. This variety of tobacco, Hopi tobacco, as the name implies, was developed by the Hopi tribe in the distant past, and its smoking preceded rituals aimed at pacification and communication with the ancestors. Thus, the famous ritual dance of the Kachin Hopi was certainly accompanied by the calm and relaxed smoking of a pipe of tobacco. It is believed that Hopi tobacco is capable of revealing a person’s soul; it gives a person the opportunity to fully understand the events and phenomena of the surrounding reality. The variety of tobacco, called Hopi Mapacho, has not spread as well around the world as its cheaper analogues, however, even in the CIS countries it is difficult to find amateurs and professionals involved in the cultivation, production and sale of the true heritage of the ancient Indians.

Hopi culture is the heritage of Mesoamerica.
The name of the tribe - “Hopi” is translated as “peaceful people” or “peaceful Indians”. The concept of peace, order and mutual assistance is deeply rooted in religion, ritual and culture ancient people. The Hopi culture, the religion of this people, is radically different from the beliefs of the Aztecs, Incas or Mayans. Unlike their ancestors, who promoted sacrifice, the Hopi religion, which implies respect for things and the surrounding world, is permeated with pacifist sentiments. The labyrinths of the Hopi, their settlements and reservations, were originally built not for protection, but for conducting pacifying rituals in them. In the words of the Hopi themselves: “War is never the answer.”

In their beliefs, the Hopi worship great spirits, the kachina. For several centuries now, Indians have been praying to them for rain or harvest. Hopi culture is based and informed by the belief in Kaichna. They make kachina dolls, give them to their children and sell them to tourists interested in the history of #Mesoamerica. The Hopi are still practiced today by the ancients. religious ceremonies and ceremonies that are celebrated according to lunar calendar. However, even this people with a rich mythological basis did not escape the influence of mass American culture. Photos of the Hopi, modern Indians, confirm this fact. The American dream has encroached on the foundations of the ancient people more than once or twice.

Traditionally for Indian tribes, the Hopi high level farming is developed, and products are produced both for sale and for own use. Today, the Hopi are fully involved in monetary and economic relations. The Hopi culture has not lost its uniqueness and independence; it has simply become accustomed to the surrounding realities. Many members of the tribe have formal jobs and a stable income to support their families. Others are engaged in the production and sale of multiple works of art, the most notable of which are the drawings of the Hopi Indians, paintings painted in the same ways as hundreds of years ago. The Hopi people live, and their way of life and culture are developing.

The Hopi Indians are the prophets of the modern world.
Speaking about Indian art and culture. For many years, the attention of researchers from all over the world was focused on stone tablets describing the history of the Hopi. Some of them contain frightening prophecies of the future. The Hopi are a peace-loving tribe. But even in their religion there was room for terrifying omens and events. The elders of the Hopi Indians and the ancient stone tablets they kept are responsible for predictions foretelling the death of the world and decline human civilization. The most famous prophecy created by the Hopi is one published in 1959.

According to him, the fourth world, the world in which you and I live, will soon come to an end. As the Hopi say: “a white brother will appear on earth, not the white brother who fights, who is evil and greedy, but the one who will return the lost text of the ancient scriptures and will mark the beginning of the end with his return.”

The apocalypse in Hopi predictions will be preceded by events, so-called signs. There are nine of them in total. The first sign speaks of evil people who will take the land from its rightful owners. The second sign is wooden wheels that will replace horses. The third sign is the invasion of strange animals. The fourth sign is the earth shrouded in iron serpents. The fifth sign is a giant web that will envelop the earth. The sixth sign says the earth will be recolored evil people. In the seventh sign of the Hopi Indians, the sea will turn black and life will begin to fade. The Eighth Sign heralds the merging of cultures. And the last, ninth sign speaks of dwellings high in the sky falling to the earth. The apogee of these events will be the end of the world and the disappearance of human civilization from the face of the Earth. The future is so terrible for the residents of the Hopi tribe, the people from thousand years of history. http://vk.cc/4q4XMl