The Pilgrim's journey

This time period is all about the arrival and origin of Native Americans. It is agreed that they arrived around 15 000 years ago and that is about everything scientists have agreed on. There are three main theories or ideas about how they arrived- through the Pacific Maritime route, Atlantic Maritime route or Bering Strait theory.

Different cultures:

Clovis - Paleo - Indian culture (15 000 - 3 500 BCE). Lifestyle consisted mainly of hunting mammals. They lived in scattered bands.

Ancestral Pueblo and Mississippian culture tribes all lived in the States during the Coles Creek/ Mississippi time period (550-1700 CE). They were known as basket weavers and known for shell clay pottery, which involved a lot of symbolism.

Civilisation in South- America

Civilisation in South - America consisted of four tribes over the years 1800 BCE - 1572 CE. These were Mayans, Toltec, Aztecs, Incas. They already  had economical and societal structures and centralised languages. 

Different tribes and their ways of living

Two main tribes that were talked about were Crow/ Apsaaloke and Cherokee tribes. Who started acquiring horses for hunting and adopted farming as well as homecaring from the Europeans. 

In Northeastern Arizona there were Hopi, Yakama / Waptailmine, Kickapoo and Tlingit tribes. Remarkable thing about Hopis was that they had matrilineal clans, meaning that the child is born into the mother's clan and named after the mother's father. 

Pocahontas

Disney’s movie is quite accurate, but the names and dates were wrong. She helped white people to learn how to grow Tobacco. That transformed Virginia into a famous state.

Government changes:

1. Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Which outlawed slavery and brought decent treatment for Indians

2. Indian Removal Act of 180

Indians had to give away their land and move to another place, also known as The Trail of Tears

3. Indian Citizen Act of 1924

Granted Indians citizenship and enabled the right to vote due to their fighting in the army during WW2.

4. Trail of Broken Treaties 1972

People protesting for government bureaus which controlled Indians. It is still a thing today, but is working better.

Today there are around 5 million natives left and they live in separate communities. Often in rural areas and in poverty. They have no representation in the congress.

17th century settlements:

In 1607 The Virginia Company sent 104 men to America on a boat. They failed multiple times, but were successful in the end. Created the Jamestown colony, but faced many difficulties which resulted in only 38 surviving men. 

The second colony in the USA was the Plimoth colony by Pilgrims, who escaped from the UK to create their land of opportunities. They made laws to prevent rebellion and framed some sort of government

The Quakers arrived in the 1650s with the hope for religious freedom. They faced persecution by the natives.