Native American Lifestyle

As I read through the material, it became clear that, out of practical necessity and proximity, the Native American tribes developed region-specific lifestyles that primarily revolved around their food sources. Sustenance equaled life. For those Coastal natives who had the bountiful waters (both sea and freshwater) for their primary food source, it was sensible to set up permanent homes and communities along the coasts and adapt their diets, tools, clothing, entertainment, transportation, social hierarchies, and overall lifestyles to the water from which they could hunt, gather, and “recycle” back into the sea its naturally-replenished provisions. The Coastal people had no need to farm at all, or to hunt and forage inland because they were …show more content…
As seen the world-round, when Europeans arrived, they brought diseases (even the common cold or flu could kill someone who’d never been exposed to such a thing). The travelers certainly brought to the natives a wealth of new and useful items, like horses, guns, and metal products, but even those who explored with good intentions could not stop the spread of germs and death along with the “advancements” they offered. And, being Europeans, the tribal/regional leadership (when it existed) did not suffice to meet their legal needs, so new methods of government were pushed on the natives in order for the exploring countries to “acquire” lands that the natives did not believe belonged to anyone to begin with. The arrival of such pushy new neighbors quickly led to drastic changes to the tribal balances that had been in place in much of this region. Initially, that may have only seemed annoying or inconvenient, but eventually, the European and American expansion into the area proved catastrophic for the indigenous people groups