Carolina Navarro

Over time, there have been new revolutions, new discoveries and new knowledge made.

Even though there has been a lot of change in the world, there plenty of similarities between each

time period. The indigenous people that came to North America, also had many similarities.

Even though the indigenous people came to North America through different routes, there was

more in common than once thought, for example: religion, shelter, and gender roles in the

society of each tribe.

Even though it is very stereotypical that many of the ancestors that migrated to North

America worshiped a being that was not related to our modern day religions, they did. In

Document Two (from the source, ​Strachey, William. Secretary and recorder of Virginia Colony.

1618.)​ it states,”...they adore with their kind of divine worship, (such) as the fire, water,

lightning, etc…” This document shows how the people of the Northeast and Southeastern

believed that nature was a “higher being”. And this wasn't the only place the indigenous people

worshipped something that seemed to be a “higher being”. In Document Three (from the source,

Lechford, Thomas. Of the New England Indians. 1642​), it states, “ They worship Kitan, their

good god, or Hobbamocco, their evil god.” This Document shows that the Native Americans did

worship a greater being. Not only did they establish a religion in two or more regions, they also

worshiped multiple deities in both regions. This shows that indigenous groups had a religion, or

something to believe in.

Most people have heard of the famous teepee dwelling, by the Cheyenne Tribe, but other

tribes had different homes according to their region. In Document Two it states,” They eat, sleep,
and dress their meat all under one roof and in one chamber…” This is most likely a chickee

dwelling made by the Seminole tribe in the Southeast region of North America. In the Southeast

region it is very humid so the chickee home was a perfect fit for the weather in the region. Also

in Document Five it states,” Most of the Indians have clean, neat dwelling houses, whitewashed

within and without, either with decayed oyster shells, coarse chalk, or white marly clay.” This

shows that different indigenous people had different homes according to the region they

migrated to. There was not just teepees everywhere, but there was chickees, igloos, long houses,

adobe homes and many more other dwellings.

The indigenous people also had similar survival skills. In Document Three, it states,

“Their women are of comely/pretty/attractive’, industrious and do most labor in planting and

carrying burdens….” This shows how the women did the agricultural input to support the tribe.

The similar thing happened in Document Four, which states,” The women are obliged to prepare

the land, to mow, to plant….” This document also shows how the women did most of the

agricultural contributions to bring food to the tribe. Food was very important, so the woman had

a very important role. In both of the documents it shows that women did the agricultural jobs in

the Tribe community. Different tribes still had similar roles for each gender.

Others might say that there was many differences due to all the different dwellings,

worships, and roles the men and women had. However, the tribes did in fact have dwellings, a

way to give food to their tribe and were grateful to their gods for giving them many blessings.

Although the indigenous people had different dwellings, they had to adapt their homes to the

geography and climate. Gender roles were also very important to each tribe. The women did

most of the agricultural and domestic jobs in the tribe, while the men hunted and prepared for
possible wars against tribes. Even though not all tribes had the same “higher being”, the tribes

did establish a sort of religion, which is a very trait that all tribes have. This shows many ways

that the tribes were similar, even though they lived in different regions.

In conclusion, there was many similarities between tribes. Even though different routes of

migration were taken, all tribes had a place to sleep, a person or thing to be grateful to and a way

to contribute to their tribe. No matter at what tribe you look at, all tribes have these exact

characteristic that makes them very similar. All the migrants of North America found a way to

be a community, express their beliefs, and have a safe home that was perfect for their climate.