Red Planet Day

The Mariner 4 probe was launched in 1964 and traveled toward Mars. It was the first satellite to take up close pictures of another planet.
Credit: NASA

On Earth, the blue and green planet of our solar system, we are celebrating Red Planet Day today, November 28. The red planet is a nickname for Mars, the fourth planet from the sun. On November 28, 1964, NASA launched the first mission toward Mars, with the Mariner 4 probe. We call it “the Red Planet” because the surface of Mars has a reddish color due to the weathered iron-rich minerals present in the Martian dust and surface rocks. The iron oxidizes creating rust. We should call it the rusty planet! Many ancient peoples associated the planet with war and conflict because of its blood-red appearance. Indeed, Mars is the Latin name for the ancient Roman god of war.

Mars, like Earth, has clouds in its atmosphere and deposits of ice at its poles. But unlike Earth, Mars has little to no liquid water on its surface. The rustlike color of Mars comes from the large amount of iron in the planet’s soil.
Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Humans have been studying Mars for centuries. Visible from Earth with the unaided eye, Mars has always captivated us! Of all the planets in our solar system, Mars has the surface environment that most closely resembles that of Earth. Mars has weather and seasons and landforms that appear familiar. Salty water may flow just below the planet’s surface. Like Earth, the sun, and the rest of the solar system, Mars is about 4.6 billion years old.

Mars has a special place in popular culture, one that is unique among the planets. This fascination with Mars probably developed because the planet is relatively close to and similar to Earth. Early observations with Earth-based telescopes inspired popular speculation that Mars was home to all kinds of life, even alien civilizations. Many works of science fiction have played upon these ideas, showing humans visiting Mars or malevolent Martians invading Earth.

A Martian landscape includes jagged rocks, sand dunes, and hazy clouds. The image, taken by the United States rover Curiosity, has been adjusted to show the natural color of the planet, as it would appear to an observer on the surface.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

In the 1960’s, the U.S. Mariner spacecraft showed Mars to be a cold, desert planet devoid of visible life. But Mars continues to fascinate people with hints of past surface water and the possibility that microscopic life once existed or still exists there. Experts also view Mars as the next likely target for human space exploration and perhaps even as a stepping stone to exploring the rest of the solar system.

Robotic spacecraft began detailed observation of Mars in the 1960′s. The United States launched to Mars the Mariner 4 probe in 1964 and Mariners 6 and 7 in 1969. The pictures they returned showed a barren surface, covered with craters like those on the moon. There was no sign of liquid water or life. The spacecraft observed few of the planet’s most interesting features because they happened to fly by only heavily cratered regions. But when Mariner 9 went into orbit around Mars in 1971, people’s view of Mars completely changed. Mariner 9 mapped about 80 percent of Mars and made the first discoveries of the planet’s canyons and volcanoes. It also found the first evidence for water, taking photographs of the outflow channels and valley networks.

Tags: mars, nasa, probe, red planet day, satellite, space exploration, spacecraft

Marie Van Brittan Brown: Inventor of the Home Security System

Browns’ 1969 patent plan for an elaborate home security system suggests safety and relaxation can go hand in hand.
Credit: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Today many people have security systems installed in their houses. Security systems set off an alarm when someone breaks in and automatically call the police. Home security systems also connect to smoke alarms and call the fire department if there is a fire. Some people also have security cameras around the house. They can show us when we have a package at the front door or when a visitor is waiting outside. Newer models even let you open the door from your smartphone or smartwatch! Do you know about the woman who invented the first home security system?

Well, she did not work for the CIA, FBI, or Homeland Security. Marie Van Brittan Brown was a Black American nurse. She was born on Oct. 22, 1922, in the Queens borough (section) of New York City. She married Albert Brown, an electronics technician. She worked late hours as a nurse and was concerned about the slow response time of the police in her neighborhood. Brown created a home security system for their house and filed for a patent in 1966. Brown called her invention the “Home Security System Utilizing Television Surveillance.”

The system involved a camera that monitored four different areas, displaying surveillance footage on a television. The system also had a two-way microphone, a button to let visitors into the house, and a button that called the police. The patent was approved in 1969. However, Brown never found a manufacturer or marketed her invention. Brown died on Feb. 2, 1999, in Queens.

Tags: biographies, black americans, Black inventors, inventions, Marie van brittan brown, security

History Mystery: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were said to have been built by King Nebuchadnezzar II after he married a mountain princess. He hoped the gardens would make her feel at home.
Credit: World Book illustration by Birney Lettick

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, a listing of notable objects built between about 2500 and 250 B.C. The plants in the gardens spilled over terraces, giving them the appearance of hanging. The gardens probably were built by King Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled Babylon from 605 to 562 B.C. Babylon was a great city on the banks of the Euphrates River near present-day Al Hillah, Iraq. Archaeologists have not been able to find the remains of the gardens.

The gardens are considered to be a great architectural achievement. Nebuchadnezzar was said to have built the gardens for his wife Amytis, who missed the lush mountains of her homeland of Media, an ancient country in what is now northern Iran. Nebuchadnezzar’s palace had stone arches and brick terraces on squared-off pillars. Plants filled the terraces. To irrigate the flowers and trees, enslaved people worked in shifts turning handles to lift water from the Euphrates River.

This map shows the locations of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Knowledge of the gardens comes from an account written around 280 B.C. by Berossus, a Babylonian priest. Later writers, who may have only read about the gardens, described them as laid out on a brick terrace about 400 feet (120 meters) square and 75 feet (23 meters) above the ground. Strabo, a Greek geographer who lived from about 63 B.C. to A.D. 24, described the irrigation system for the gardens and vaulted terraces. He wrote of screws that drew the water up from the river. Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian who lived sometime between 100 B.C. and the birth of Jesus Christ, described the gardens as a green, forested, artificial mountain that resembled a ziggurat (stepped tower).

Some historians believe that accounts of the gardens may be inaccurate or untrue. The British scholar Stephanie Dalley, for example, concluded that the gardens never existed in Babylon. Dalley believed the gardens were built in the city of Nineveh, about 300 miles (500 kilometers) north of Babylon, by the Assyrian King Sennacherib in the early 600’s B.C. In ancient texts, Sennacherib described his royal palace gardens as having an irrigation system powered by a water-raising device often referred to as the Archimedean screw. Modern excavations in the area found an aqueduct system for delivering water from the mountains. The historical confusion could be due to Nineveh being referred to as “old Babylon” in Assyrian sources.

Tags: hanging gardens of babylon, history, irrigation, mystery, seven wonders of the ancient world

Native American Heritage Month: Powwows

Young dancers participate in a Powwow on July 23, 2016, in Couer d’Alene, Idaho.
Credit: © Gregory Johnston, Shutterstock

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

Across the country, people are gathering for powwows big and small to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. Through dancing, traditional food and regalia, and other traditions, Indigenous communities celebrate their culture and community. For many communities, these will be the first large powwows held since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. The Choctaw Nation hosted one of the country’s largest and most well known powwows in Oklahoma earlier in the month. Some powwows honored Indigenous veterans on Veterans Day.

A powwow is a ceremony of dancing practiced by Indigenous (native) peoples of the United States and by First Nations, Indigenous peoples of Canada. The term powwow comes from the Algonquian word pau wau, meaning healer. The gathering lasts several days and includes dancing, drums, feasts, regalia (traditional attire), and singing. Powwows have their roots in traditional Indigenous religious ceremonies and meetings. Today, they may serve as a secular (nonreligious) and public celebration.

Indigenous American cultures included traditional dances and songs. However, many Indigenous ceremonies and traditions have been outlawed by white settlers at various times. In the United States, the Religious Crimes Code of 1883 prohibited ceremonial dances. The Indian Act, first passed in 1876, is the main Canadian law governing relations between the First Nations and the federal government. In 1884, the act was amended to ban ceremonies such as potlatches and certain dances. The potlatch is a ceremony of feasting and gift-giving practiced by indigenous peoples and First Nations of the Northwest Coast region.

In the late 1800’s, traveling “Wild West” shows became popular. Shows such as that presented by the frontiersman and entertainer Buffalo Bill offered an opportunity for Indigenous performers to make money for their tribes by performing outlawed songs and dances publicly.

The Religious Crimes Code was amended to allow Indigenous dances and songs in 1933. In 1951, Canada lifted the prohibition on dances and potlatches. The United States Congress passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978 to guarantee the protection of Indigenous people under the First Amendment to the Constitution. These changes enabled powwows to flourish in the 1960’s and 1970’s, when they were held during the summer.

Smaller local powwows still occur on reservations (lands set aside for Indigenous use), but larger powwows may take place in stadiums and at casinos. Indigenous elders bless the grounds before the event begins through song, prayer, and the burning of sage or tobacco. The powwow grounds are usually laid out in a series of concentric circles (circles spreading from a common center). The area for dancing and drums lies in the middle. The space around the dancers is reserved for elders and friends and family of the dancers. Outside that circle, there is room for spectators and vendors. The vendors sell traditional and modern foods, crafts, art, and clothing.

Every powwow has an emcee, a master of ceremonies. The emcee is usually a leader in the community with knowledge of the traditional ceremonies along with a modern-style education. The emcee announces events, introduces dancers, and tells stories.

Powwows begin with the grand entry, an opening parade. This tradition was adopted from the Wild West shows as well as processions at treaty signings. In a giveaway ceremony on the last day of the powwow, gifts are given from the host to the visitors or in memory of someone who died. The ceremony begins with the hosts dancing and the emcee announcing those receiving gifts.

Dancing styles are differentiated in part by the regalia worn by performers. Competitive dances for men include the fancy, grass, northern, and straight dance styles. For women, competitive dancing styles include fancy shawl, jingle dress, northern and southern buckskin, and northern and southern cloth. Dancers compete for prize money. The dance competition is organized by dance style and by the age and gender of the performers.

Drums and singing accompany the dances. Singers may sing in the language of a specific tribe or in vocables, simple nonverbal syllables that are shared among tribes.

Powwows are held the year around in major cities across Canada and the United States. A powwow may include up to 800 dancers or more. Some traditional powwows focus only on the songs and dances. Others may include such activities as rodeos, fashion shows, and music competitions. The largest powwow is the Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which may include more than 3,000 dancers.

Tags: culture, dance, indigenous people, native american heritage month, parade, powwow, traditional dance

Blue Ribbons and Tail Wags: The National Dog Show

A dog show is a competitive event in which judges evaluate dogs on their physical appearance and condition. In this photograph, a woman parades a doberman pinscher for the judges’ review.
© Shutterstock

The National Dog Show, presented by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia and the American Kennel Club, took place over the weekend at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. The National Dog Show has aired on television every Thanksgiving Day after Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade for 20 years. Anyone can go to see the show near Philadelphia for an entrance fee, especially well-behaved dogs.

The bichon frise is a popular show dog. This photograph shows bichons frises lined up for judging at a dog show.
AP Photo

The American Kennel Club (AKC), the best-known dog registry in the United States, classifies dog breeds into seven major groups for exhibition in dog shows. The seven groups are (1) sporting dogs, (2) hounds, (3) working dogs, (4) terriers, (5) toy dogs, (6) nonsporting dogs, and (7) herding dogs. The AKC also has a miscellaneous category for dogs that are growing in popularity but that have not yet been accepted for registration.

Last weekend nearly 2,000 dogs made their way to the Philadelphia area to compete with their owners, handlers, milk-bones, and hair dryers. There are 205 registered breeds in the show this year competing in the 7 group competitions. Each breed competes to be “Best of Breed.” Those winners participate to be “First in Group” in each of the seven groups. From the seven dogs named “First in Group,” the judges name the overall champion as “Best in Show.”

The American Kennel Club added a new breed to the registry last year. The Biewer terrier, a German toy breed, is making its debut on the show. The breed, pronounced like“beaver,” is a relative of a Yorkshire terrier with white, tan, and brown fur. They are known as friendly and athletic companions.

Last year, Winston, a cream-colored French bulldog won “Best in Show.” In 2021, Claire the Scottish deerhound, a type of hound, won “Best in Show.” In 2019, a bulldog named Thor won after taking the non-sporting group. A whippet, a hound breed, named Whiskey won in 2018.

Tags: american kennel club, best in show, biewer terrier, dog show

Creature Feature: the Saltwater Crocodile

Saltwater crocodile
© Firepac, Shutterstock

October 21 is a special day for our scaly friends. Slithering black mambas, majestic leatherback sea turtles, and itty bitty nano-chameleons (just discovered in 2021) step into the spotlight for National Reptile Awareness Day in the United States.

The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile and one of the most fearsome predators (hunting animals) on Earth. Adults can reach lengths of 23 feet (7 meters) and weights of over 1 ton (0.9 metric tons). Saltwater crocodiles live on the coasts of northern Australia and Southeast Asia, and on the islands between. The saltwater crocodile is also called the estuarine crocodile and the Indo-Pacific crocodile. In Australia, it is informally called the “saltie.”

The saltwater crocodile has a long, low, sausage-shaped body; short legs; and a long, powerful tail, which it uses to swim. It also has a tough hide, a long snout, and sharp teeth to grasp its prey.

A saltwater crocodile’s diet depends greatly on its age and size. Young individuals eat crustaceans, insects, rats, and small fish. As saltwater crocodiles grow, they take increasingly larger prey, including sharks and water buffalo. Large adults may attack humans if an opportunity presents itself.

Unlike other crocodiles and alligators, saltwater crocodiles swim in the open ocean. They have occasionally been seen swimming far from shore, apparently moving between islands. Saltwater crocodiles are often found in brackish (salty) pools and estuaries, coastal river valleys flooded by the ocean. They can also live in fresh waters, however, including rivers and swamps.

Saltwater crocodiles reproduce during the rainy season. A female saltwater crocodile lays about 50 eggs in a nest of rotting vegetation. The mother may protect the nest from predators. The eggs hatch in about three months. Hatchlings are about 1 foot (30 centimeters) long at birth. The mother carries the hatchlings from the nest to open water to protect them from land predators.

Male saltwater crocodiles grow larger than females. Males reach an average length of about 16 feet (5 meters). Females typically grow to about 11 1/2 feet (3.5 meters) in length.

Adult saltwater crocodiles have one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom. They can close their jaws with approximately 3,700 pounds per square inch (16,500 newtons) of force. In contrast, human bite force is only about 200 pounds per square inch (900 newtons).

Because they present a danger to humans, saltwater crocodiles are sometimes feared and hated by people. In northern Australia, they were hunted almost to extinction before a 1970 hunting ban enabled populations to recover. Like most other crocodiles, saltwater crocodiles are threatened by hunting, invasive species, habitat destruction, and pollution. Governments across the saltwater crocodile’s range work to educate people on how to avoid attacks.

Tags: creatures, ocean, reptiles, saltwater crocodile

Native American Heritage Month: Louise Erdrich

Louise Erdrich is an American author known for her fiction rooted in her Native American heritage. Erdrich’s mother was a Chippewa, and her father was German American. Many of her characters have mixed Native American and white backgrounds and deal with issues of cultural identity.
© ZUMA Press/Alamy Images

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

Louise Erdrich is a Native American author. In June 2021, Erdrich won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for her novel “The Night Watchman” published in 2020. She based the novel on her grandfather who was a council-member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. He fought the termination policy that went to Congress in 1953. The book weaves together a family story and the Chippewa efforts to preserve the tribe’s land and treaty rights in the mid 1900’s. The Sentence (2021), set in a bookstore in Minneapolis after the killing of George Floyd in 2020, is both a murder mystery and a ghost story.

The Game of Silence tells the story of a young Ojibwa girl during the mid-1800′s who sees her people and their way of life threatened when white settlers come to their land.
The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich. Text and illustration copyright © 2005 by Louise Erdrich. Reprinted by permission of Harper Collins Publishers.

Karen Louise Erdrich was born June 7, 1954, in Little Falls, Minnesota. She grew up in Wahpeton, North Dakota where her parents taught at Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. She is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. Many of her books reflect on her German American and Chippewa heritage and deal with issues of cultural identity. Erdrich’s books also draw on Native American culture, mythology, and storytelling traditions.

Erdrich earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in 1976 and a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1979. She has published 28 books and won the National Book Award in 2012 for her book “The Round House.” Erdrich owns Birchbark Books, an independent bookstore in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that focuses on Native American literature.

Tags: author, Chippewa heritage, native american heritage month

Diwali: The Festival of Lights

Hinduism is the primary religion of India and one of the largest religions in the world, based on the number of followers. These Indian women are lighting lamps for a major Hindu festival called Diwali, celebrated by Hindu communities worldwide.
Credit: AP/Wide World

Happy Diwali! It is a time for family, flowers, fireworks, lights, sweet treats, and vibrant silks. Diwali, also spelled Divali or Dipavali, is a major Hindu festival. It is sometimes called the festival of lights. It is celebrated in all parts of India, where it is a national holiday, and in Hindu communities worldwide. In 2022, New York City Public Schools announced Diwali would be recognized as an official holiday. Diwali is scheduled based on the phases of the moon. The festivities normally fall after India cools down from summer but before monsoon season begins.

Diwali lasts from two to five days, depending on local custom. It falls during the Hindu month of Kartika (October to November). The high point of Diwali is the day of the new moon, which is New Year’s Day in some parts of India. Dipavali is a Sanskrit term that means row of lights. During Diwali, people decorate their homes and Hindu temples with small earthenware oil lamps. They also may visit each other, exchange gifts and greeting cards, and wear new clothes.

During Diwali, a major Hindu festival, people decorate their homes and temples with small earthenware oil lamps. The name Diwali comes from a Sanskrit word meaning row of lights. This picture shows a man in India lighting Diwali lamps that are decorated with flowers.
Credit: © Bob Krist, Corbis

Diwali has different meanings for different groups of Hindus, but it usually honors Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Thus, Diwali has a special importance for business owners, merchants, and shopkeepers, who pray to Lakshmi during the festival. For these people, Diwali lamps are meant to help Lakshmi find her way into the homes of the faithful to give them prosperity. For others, the lamps light the path of ancestors who have visited earth. The lamps also symbolize the turning of the seasons and of the human spirit from darkness to light.

Diwali also commemorates the return of Rama and his wife, Sita, to the holy city of Ayodhya after 14 years in exile. Rama is the hero of the ancient Sanskrit the Ramayana. The Diwali lamps serve to welcome the returning couple. In West Bengal, Diwali is associated with Kali, the goddess of destruction.

Followers of the Sikh religion also celebrate Diwali. It marks the release from prison in 1619 of Guru Hargobind by the Mughal emperor. Guru Hargobind was the sixth Sikh guru (spiritual leader). Like Hindus, Sikhs exchange gifts and light lamps in their homes and temples during the festival.

Vira-nirvana, a one-day Jain festival, coincides with Diwali and shares some of its features. Vira-nirvana marks the passing of Mahavira, who organized the Jain religion, into nirvana. Nirvana is a state of perfect peace outside the cycle of birth and death. Many Jains devote this day to fasting and meditation. They also light lamps to mark Mahavira’s passing.

Tags: celebration, diwali, hindu festivals, hinduism, holiday, india

Veterans Day: Remembering the Code Talkers

Code talkers were Indigenous Americans who used their languages to help the United States military communicate in secret. This black-and-white photograph shows two Navajo code talkers operating a radio during World War II (1939-1945). The Navajo language was unknown to the Germans and Japanese and proved impossible for them to decipher.
Credit: NARA

On November 11, the anniversary of the end of World War I (1914-1918), the United States observes Veterans Day honoring men and women who have served in the United States armed services. In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as Armistice Day to remember the tragedies of war and appreciate peace achieved by the armistice (truce). In 1938, Armistice Day was made a federal holiday. Congress renamed the day Veterans Day to honor all United States Veterans in 1954. Around the world, the anniversary of the end of World War I is a day to remember those who have died in war. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand observe Remembrance Day on November 11. The United Kingdom observes Remembrance Day on the Sunday closest to November 11.

November is also Native American Heritage Month, a time to observe the cultures, histories, and traditions of Indigenous Americans. Many Indigenous Americans have served in the United States armed forces, contributing to the United States’ success in World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945). Most notably, Indigenous Americans called the Code Talkers developed and used codes that enabled the United States and its allies to communicate globally without enemy interference.

The Code Talkers were small groups of Indigenous Americans who served in the United States armed forces in World War I and World War II. Code Talkers developed and used codes in Indigenous American languages to send secret messages, helping the United States and its allies win both wars.

The engineer Philip Johnston suggested the United States Marine Corps use Navajo language as a code during World War II. He grew up on a Navajo reservation and knew that the Navajo language is unwritten, difficult to decipher (decode), and unknown to most people who are not Navajo. In 1942, the United States Marine Corps recruited 29 Navajo men to develop the code. The code talkers used familiar wards to represent U.S. military terms. For example, bombs were called eggs in Navajo. They also created a new phonetic alphabet with Navajo words.

Similarly, in World War I, 19 Choctaw men had served in the U.S. Army, sending and receiving messages based on the Choctaw language. During World War II, 17 Comanche men used their language for code in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.

Tags: choctaw, code talkers, comanche, indigenous americans, indigenous languages, language, native american heritage month, navajo, remembrance day, veterans, veterans day, world war i, world war ii

National Native American Heritage Month: Cultural Areas of Indigenous Americans

Indigenous peoples of the Americas: cultural areas
Credit: World Book map

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the first people who lived in North America or South America, and their descendants. Indigenous means original or native. Indigenous people had been living in the Americas for thousands of years before any Europeans arrived. They formed hundreds of tribes with many different ways of life.

Scholars called anthropologists, who study human culture, classify the hundreds of North American Indigenous tribes into groups of tribes with strong similarities. These groups are called culture areas. The culture areas of Canada and the United States are (1) the Arctic; (2) the Subarctic; (3) the Northeast, often called the Eastern Woodlands; (4) the Southeast; (5) the Plains; (6) the Northwest Coast; (7) California; (8) the Great Basin; (9) the Plateau; and (10) the Southwest.

Arctic cultural area
Credit: World Book map

Most Arctic peoples lived in small bands along the seacoast, moving often in search of food. Seals were the primary food. Sealskin was widely used for making shelters and boats, clothes, tools, and other goods. Arctic peoples adapted to the modern world while preserving much of their traditional way of life.

Subarctic cultural area”
Credit: World Book map

The Subarctic was thinly populated. Tribes consisted of small bands, related through marriage. Food was often scarce, and the people moved about hunting and gathering wild plants, berries, and nuts. Most Subarctic peoples live in areas set aside for them, called reserves in Canada and reservations in the United States.

Northeast cultural area
Credit: World Book map

In the Northeast, the Iroquois and most Algonquian groups lived mostly by growing corn, beans, and squash. Some of the northernmost groups depended more on hunting, gathering, and fishing. Many tribes now live in Oklahoma and various Western states. Many Iroquois became leaders in the struggle for the rights of Indigenous people in Canada and the United States.

Southeast cultural area
Credit: World Book map

The adequate rainfall and long growing season enabled Southeastern peoples to grow large quantities of corn. They traveled either on foot or in wooden dugout canoes. Women had much power and influence among most Southeastern groups. Today, Southeast tribes try to maintain a balance between traditional and modern ways of life.

Plains cultural area
Credit: World Book map

When the Spaniards brought the horse to the Plains in the 1600’s, a new way of life appeared. On horseback, the Plains peoples could follow the great herds of buffalo. Nearby tribes, and those forced westward by the advancing white people, quickly adopted the Plains way of life. Communication across tribes led to the development of the Plains sign language.

Northwest Coast cultural area
Credit: World Book map

Among tribes of the Northwest Coast, a few families had great influence in each village because of their ancestry and wealth. Totem poles, carved from tree trunks, became more common with the iron tools brought by the white traders. Totem poles showed the social rank and ancestry of a family or individual.

California cultural area
Credit: World Book map

Tribes in the California area consisted of one or a few villages of extended families. Acorns were the most important food. Women gathered acorns, washed them, and pounded them into flour. The women then cooked the flour to make acorn mush or bread. The Pomo were famous for their basket making.

Great Basin cultural area
Credit: World Book map

The tribes of the Great Basin consisted of many small bands. Each band had a home territory near a lake or a stream that provided a reliable supply of water and fish. Pine nuts were the most important single source of food. Today, many Indigenous people of the Great Basin live as ranchers and farmers.

Plateau cultural area
Credit: World Book map

The tribes living in the Plateau consisted of bands of extended families. During the summer, bands traveled their territory in search of food. In the winter, they lived in villages. Plateau peoples mainly ate wild bulbs and roots, berries, and salmon and other fish. Today, many Plateau peoples live on reserves or reservations.

Southwest cultural area
Credit: World Book map

The early peoples of the Southwest included several tribes. The Pueblo tribes had one of the most highly developed civilizations in North America. They were excellent craftworkers. Most Pueblo lived in villages and farmed along rivers that provided water for irrigation. The Navajo, a hunting and gathering tribe, are today one of the largest Indigenous groups in the United States. The Navajo have become noted for weaving blankets and rugs and making silver jewelry.

Tags: california, cultural lands, indigenous americans, indigenous peoples of the americas, native american heritage month, the Arctic, the Great Basin, the Northeast, the Northwest Coast, the Plains, the Plateau, the Southeast, the Southwest, the Subarctic, tribes, united kingdom elections