Inventions and Discoveries
Ice Fishing
Ice fishing was an essential part of the Native Americas for survival. Ice fishing is the training of fishing with thread and hooks as well as spears. To break through the ice they would use a chisel.
The Ojibua Indians employed spear ribs in the earliest form of fishing. They would chip a hole into the ice and then waited until fish would swim by their decoy that they made out of wood. If they had a surplus of fish they would use them as a bait for next time. The rods were often made out of willow tree. When the Inuits went fishing, they brought their younger generation so that they could learn from their elderlies. Sometimes if they had many fish, they would hang them on a line for 24 hours, waiting until they become hard from the sun and winds, so they could store the food which they would store under a pile of rocks against animals. As time passed by, they would try designing new style of traps. The would mostly place many rocks in a circular formation so they could capture the fish easily. They would also place nets in the water and check for fish every few days. |
|
Snowshoes
|
Snowshoes are recorded to be one of the oldest inventions in North America.
The snowshoes came to North America as the Inuits migrated about 6000 years ago from Asia to North America. The Nordic ski, used to be one part of snowshoes which migrated in Scandinavia. Snowshoes were a very functional invention, since they allowed the Inuits to hunt, fish and survive in the winter. Since each tribe lived in different snow conditions, they designed their own type of snowshoes. The native Americans created frames made of white ash wood that was steamed so that it was bent into a suitable form for their purposes. The Inuit had two types of snowshoes; one of them was triangular and was about 46cm long. The other type was almost circular. Deep, bose and powdery snow, was the challenge that they had to overcome. |
Canoe
The canoe is boat made for one person that is used for hunting as well as transportation. The Inuits and Aleus tribes used a certain wood called driftwood or they would also use whalebone to make it a light weight canoe and covered it with skins that were stretched that made no water be possible to enter the canoe with whale fat.
The canoe is the same word as kayak. Kayak means "hunters boat". Most hunters had seal skin clothing on due to the temperatures to keep themselves warm while canoeing. The kayak has been a vey important substance for many different tribes , from Siberia all the way to Greenland. One of the oldest evidences of the kayaks was about 4,400 years ago. Kayaks were not simply for hunting but was a way of life. While kayaking they hunted a variety of things like fishes , sea mammals , in addition to that land animal too. They did this for foods , clothing , also for tools. Food and animals : What they hunted mainly were seals and caribou but they would also hunt sometimes whales , walruses , polar bears , musk ox , and wolf. The animals that they hunted were used for a bunch of things like food , skins that were used mostly for clothing , blankets , tents , and boats. Their oils were used for cooking. Bones , ivary and wood were used to make tools. Hunting & Attack : When they were hunting with the canoes , from a distance they would use their bow and arrow to kill the prey , further more they would use harpoons or a lance too. A lot of skill is needed to avoid becoming entangled while they are hunting and the ability to roll the kayak was very important. The use of kayaks were extremely important and was something to be relied on and was being a culture for them. They could choose heir design of their canoes due to their experiences and that of yheir generations before them. Lots of skins from animals needed to be taken care of so the men would have a two wives to make the job easier. In about 1950 fiberglass was introduced , as in 1984 the first plastic kayak was made. Afterwards the Russians came into contact with the kayak (1700s) they were impressed with it so they came back for trading purposes. |
|
Ice Fishing"II.2: INUIT FOOD: 2. Fishing ~ People of the Arctic by John Tyman." II.2: INUIT FOOD: 2. Fishing ~ People of the Arctic by John Tyman. Web. 22 May 2014. <http://www.johntyman.com/arctic/inuit102.html>.
"Ice Fishing." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 21 May 2014. Web. 22 May 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_fishing>. |
Snowshoes"Did You Know?" Government of Canada; Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. Web. 6 May 2014.
<http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1302807151028/1302807416851>. "Snowshoeing Helps Native Americans Connect with Ancestry." Democrat and Chronicle. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://roc.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090301/SPORTS0103/903010325/Snowshoeing-helps-Native-Americans-connect-ancestry>. "Listen and Read: Native Americans Did It First." Listen and Read: Native Americans Did It First. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://teacher.scholastic.com/commclub/native_americans_activity2/page-2.htm>. "From Bear Paws to Beaver Tails: The History of Snowshoes - From the First Edition of Snowshoe Magazine." Snowshoe Magazine. Web. 11 May 2014. <http://www.snowshoemag.com/2007/01/01/from-bear-paws-to-beaver-tails-the-history-of-snowshoes-from-the-first-edition-of-snowshoe-magazine/>. Bellis, Mary. "Native American Inventions - Totem Pole Invention." About.com Inventors. About.com, 13 May 2014. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://inventors.about.com/od/famousinventions/a/Native_American.htm>. |
Canoe"History of the Kayak." History of Kayaking. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://kayakin.tripod.com/history.html>.
"Inuit Kayak." Inuit Kayak. Web. 16 May 2014. <http://www.athropolis.com/arctic-facts/fact-kayak.htm>. "Kayak." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 21 May 2014. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayak>. "Inuit Kayaks - Background." Inuit Kayaks - Background. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://qajaq.utoronto.ca/english_site/inuit_kayaks/inuit_kayaks.html>. "The Skin-on-frame Kayak." Seawolf Kayak. Web. 18 May 2014. <http://www.seawolfkayak.com/skin-on-frame-kayak>. Arima, Eugene. "Caribou and Iglulik Inuit Kayaks." Arctic 47.2 (1994): 193-95. Web. 16 May 2014. <http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic47-2-193.pdf>. "History of Kayaking - Early, First Kayaks." History of Kayaking - Early, First Kayaks. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.kayakcrusades.ca/history.htm>. "The Inuit Kayak." East Greenland. Web. 16 May 2014. <http://www.eastgreenland.com/database.asp?num=615>. |
Video |
Images"Arctic Voice - the Inuit." Arctic Voice - the Inuit. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. <http://www.arcticvoice.org/inuit.html>.
"Inuit Creation Myth." Inuit Creation Myth. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2014. <http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/northamerica/before1500/religion/inuitcreation.htm>. |