Indian Tribes:From the East to the West

There are many types of Indians. A few of the best known tribes are the Pueblo Indians, the Sioux Indians, the Sauk Indians, the Ottawa Indians, and the Seminole Indians. The Indians from the Owens Valley are the Paiute Indians.

The Pueblo Indians are from New Mexico and they lived in pueblo villages. They belived in Mother Earth, Old Clay Woman and Old Clay Man, and other spirits. They lived in the Rio Grande area, which is in New Mexico. They hunted rabbits with rabbit sticks. They had the men do most of the work such as weaving cloth and thread. Corn was their main food.

The Sioux lived on the Plains and hunted there. They lived in North and South Dakota. They moved there around 1750 to 1775. They became outstanding horsemen. They originally lived around the Mississippi, in Minnesota, northern Iowa, and Wisconsin. They used practicly everything they could find. One of the most famous chiefs came from the Sioux. His name was Sitting Bull.

One of the lesser known tribes was the Sauk Indian tribe. They believed, as did almost all Indians, in the Great Spirit. They lived in what is now Wisconsin and Illinois. They signed many treaties that gave away villages and land. Another very famous cheif came from this tribe. He was called Black Hawk.

In Ohio and Indiana, the Shawnee people lived. They were almost always fighting. They were forced to sign many treaties that took away more and more of their land. Tecumseh, a not-so-known war cheif, came from the Shawnee tribe.

The Ottawas lived around Canada, Illinouis, Virgina, and a few more Eastern States and they traded with many people too. Many settlers took over the tribe’s hunting grounds. Pontiac came from the Ottawas.

The Seminole Indians lived in Florida. They had many troubles with the Americans taking their land. They had to move a lot because of the new settlers. Osceola, a Seminole warrior, came from this tribe.

Last of all are the Paiute Indians. They lived all around the Owens Valley until the settlers said they had to move to the reserveation. They used to live in reed houses called tonies. Their main source of food were pine nuts. They traded mostly obsidion, pine nuts, and other resources. They now live in the Bishop Paiute Indian Reserveation.

By Kali