Woodlands and Plains: Hierarchy, Social Structure, Laws and Punishments
Woodlands
The Woodlands were one of the first native tribes. Their area extended from parts of Canada to a lot of the U.S. The Woodlands lived during 1000BCE until 100CE and even today some Woodland tribes still exist even though they live under more developed circumstances. They lived in long houses which were built near forests and lakes. The Woodlands were considered a very big tribe which was made up of smaller clans such as the Iroquois, Mond builders, Eastern Woodlands etc. The Woodland peoples were known as hunters and gatherers which lived in a mostly civilized way and developed their own culture and life style to survive under the circumstances they lived in.
Hierarchy/Social Structure
The Woodlands were a big tribe which included many smaller groups. Each village therefore belonged to a certain tribe or clan. When more than one clan worked together, they resulted in a nation. Each clan had a chief who enforced laws and guided the people in the village when there were any problems. This chief was called Sachem. Chiefs were not elected but determined through the bloodline of the mother (hereditary). In a lower position was the warrior chief who gained his position through velour, wealth and courage. The more belongings and resources someone had, the higher their status rose. Among people individual liberty was strong valued, the Woodlands lived in a fairly civilized way. When a law was broken, Woodlands peoples strongly believed that they would be punished through misfortunes and illness, and to avoid this, public confession was the only chance. During fights between villages, there was a nation council which tried to settle the fights to gain overall peace between different Woodland tribes. Most tribes had a civil chief and a war chief. This allowed a secure organization with good preparation and clear instructions in any situation. The political system was strong as the confederacy had a council of 50 permanent and hereditary officers. All the peace was destroyed when someone was killed, because then the male relatives of the victim had to kill the murderer. Overall though the Woodlands were socially as well as politically organized and mainly lived a civilized life among one another. Every person was valued and the difference in people in hierarchies hardly affected how they lived.
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Family Life
To the Woodlands, family life was very important. They valued each other and lived together in quarters. In families the elders were the most respected ones as they were the ones who had most experience in life and knew what life was about. Therefore, grandfathers were the story tellers of the family. The eldest females were in charge of the longhouse and considered as symbols of fertility. Females also had the responsibility in raising the children. Children mostly helped in fields or had other duties which would support the family. Overall all Woodland families valued one another and could be dependent on each other, as the family was one of the most important things they had.
Roles of men and women:
Even though every person was valued there was a clear difference between men's and women's duties. Men were responsible of hunting and supplying the family with food etc. Women were in charge of things which were not as dangerous, such as collecting berries etc. Everyone worked together as a family and every person had clear duties to follow.
Roles of men and women:
Even though every person was valued there was a clear difference between men's and women's duties. Men were responsible of hunting and supplying the family with food etc. Women were in charge of things which were not as dangerous, such as collecting berries etc. Everyone worked together as a family and every person had clear duties to follow.
Punishments
There were not so many official punishments in the woodland tribes. It can be said that they were quite civilized. Public abuse was something they claimed to be the most effective and at that time and the more rumors went around, the more scared people were of punishments and therefore did not even think about doing anything cruel. The only act that was punished harshly was murder. The males in the family of the victim were allowed or kill the murderer without any mercy. They had a kind of democratic system, and when the chief was not doing what they wanted him to do, the clan mothers and blood mothers could boot him out and elect a new chief. During fights some individual Woodland tribes had harsh punishments. When men were captured from another tribe, they had to immediately be part of that tribe. Clan mothers decided if the men were good enough, otherwise they were killed. Sometimes they burnt the men on different parts of the body until they slowly died. Women at that time were particularly cruel and actually had a lot to say. Usually all separate families within tribes held together and fights between different clans were quite popular. Usually these fights were resolved quickly though.
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Laws and Government
It was taken for granted that everyone followed how the hierarchy was built up and fulfilled the family requirements and additional duties. The Woodland children grew up like this and therefore for them it was taken as a matter of course to do what they were told. Some things which belonged to their culture and were taken quite seriously were cultural rules such as face paint. The colors used would express one's feeling and during that time each color represented something and therefore they used face paint as a kind of way of communication. When someone was sick, it was a traditional rule to wear a mask and through this scare away the evil spirit out of the sick person. To keep clear differences between genders there were clothing rules. Men wore a loin cloth and women had to wear dresses made from grass. Children just ran around wearing nothing. Another cultural rule was that a ceremony had to take place. When someone died, the chief organized a cry ceremony where the chief himself danced around fire. This lasted for five days. Family members tied five knots into milkweed and every day one knot was untied until the ceremony was over. For the woodlands this transitional rule was a sign of further life and being free from anything bad you have done during life.
Clan mothers elected the chiefs for the Iroquois confederacy and as such the women had a big role in governing of the tribe. Furthermore the 50 chiefs of the Iroquois confederacy had an equal say in the tribe.
Clan mothers elected the chiefs for the Iroquois confederacy and as such the women had a big role in governing of the tribe. Furthermore the 50 chiefs of the Iroquois confederacy had an equal say in the tribe.
Conclusion
It should have become clear that not all of Americas native tribes were the same. The Woodlands can be counted as a special tribe as they lived in accordance with rules and regulations in a typical way of civilized nations. In the past most people considered early americans to be the wild ones which all lived under the power of one great chief. On the other hand the Woodlands were different. They may have had a chief, but as this ruler misbehaved, it was up to the women to make him resign and elect another one. The Woodlands were significant as woman had a fair amount of rights unlike in other societies. All in all the Woodlands can be taken as a fairly civilized tribe.
The Plains
The Plains Indians originally came from the Rocky Mountains and the woodlands of southeastern Manitoba. Their population reached to about 33,000 peoples in the 1700's. Their settlements were divided into bands consisting of 50-100 members. These peoples communicated using the languages Algoniquian, Athapaskan and Siouan. Large herds of buffalo supplied these with meat. The Plains Indians were considered hunters and gatherers which discovered their own culture and lifestyle to survive under the circumstances they lived.
Hierarchy/Social Structure
In the society of the plains men hunted and woman cooked, took care of the children, sewed clothing and constructed tepees. There is a band chief in each nomadic group. The chiefs advised and then the elders made the final choice. The leader was either wealthy or especially wise and patient. These leader were usually prophets, elders or valiant warriors. If there was a shortage of food or another resource the food would be spread into smaller groups to then be split evenly among these. The Stoney's however had their own governing system. Each leader had a specific duty, for example "the keeper of the knife."
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Ceremonies you had to attend
The ceremonies that everyone had to participate in were often cruel and violent. A example of this would be "the piercing day". On this day a few people from the tribe would sacrifice themselves. The medicine men would then cut into each of their chests to put a peg, they would then attach a rope to the peg and then tie it around the "sacred tree." They would then have to yank the peg out. Another sacrifice was to hang yourself by the nipples.
Punishment
The plains Indians had police, who were strongly respected among the tribe. They had different functions, some who observed who did not take part in the ceremonies, some took care of theirs and others of murderers. When hunting they made sure that the meat would be distributed evenly among all the hunters.
If a Persons was found guilty the Akcita would kill their horses, dogs, take his meat and other belongings and cut his tepee. However is a act of Crome was not proven they would force the person to live far away from the camp, without food. If anyone dared to bring this person food or anything else, they would also be punished. However if someone stole something among the Omaha, they would be beaten up and the family would have to pay for the damage. The Poor-Wolf chief of the police beat up many woman if they did not obey and would shoot powder into their backs. The police also had the right to kill, if the punishment had not already killed the person. Overall the punishments were: -beating up, often until the point of death -distraction of horses, dogs and other belongings -if one killed a police men, all police men would rather to then fall on him, which lead to death -public punishment- strip the person and tie them to a pole in a public area. Then the person would be best to death. Conclusion |
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In conclusion the Plain Indians were one of the first native tribes of America. They had cruel punishments, rules and ceremonies. Women were not respected and had to take care of house holds and supply the family with water and wood. On the other hand the men were hunters and gatherers. The police and the elders were the most respected and often the most wise. All in all the Plain Indians were not organized due to the fact that they did not have written language, nor any drawings that could have given more information about their culture and history.
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MacLeod, William Christie. "Police and Punishment among Both American Indians of the Plains." Web. <http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi? article=2713&context=jclc>.
"Map of the Plains Indians." Home. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://americanhistory.si.edu/buffalo/ map.html>.
"Religion." The Plains Indians. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://plain_indians.webs.com/religion.htm>.
"The Eastern Woodland Farmers - Family / Social Structure / Leadership." The Eastern Woodland Farmers - Family / Social Structure / Leadership. Web. 19 May 2014. <http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_wf6.html>.
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"The Plains People - Tribal Relations / War." The Plains People - Tribal Relations / War. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_plains7.html>.
Images:
"Crow Nation." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 May 2014. Web. 19 May 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crow_Nation>.
Website
"Comanche." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 May 2014. Web. 20 May 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comanche>.
Website
"Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest." Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 19 May 2014. <http://quest.eb.com/?login_view=true&id=bonnis>.
Website
"First Nations." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 May 2014. Web. 20 May 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Nations>.
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"Plains Indians." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 May 2014. Web. 18 May 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plains_Indians>.
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