Who's Who: Native Americans Trivia Quiz

Answer: Squanto

Squanto had quite an eventful life before he met the Pilgrims; although the exact dates have been lost in time, some time in the early 1600s he was taken captive by an Englishman named George Weymouth, and spent several years in England. There he met John Smith, and was hired to serve as a guide and interpreter for Smith as he explored the east coast of North America.

He was again captured and taken back to England, and was eventually able to sail back to the area of modern day Massachusetts, his home territory, with Smith. Upon his return, Squanto found that all of the members of his Paxtuet tribe, that was part of the Wampanoag Confederation, had been wiped out by smallpox.

When the Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts in 1620, Squanto served as an interpreter between them and the Wampanoag chief, and helped both sides establish a treaty.

He also taught the Pilgrims how to live on the new land, specifically how to farm and use available resources. Many historians believe that the Pilgrims would not have built a successful colony in America without Squanto's valuable assistance.

Answer: Sequoyah

Sequoyah grew up helping his mother, who ran a trading post. Although the cause of the injury is unknown, he became lame as a young man and turned to metalworking as an occupation. Self-taught, he worked with both iron and silver, and became quite successful. Sequoyah never received any type of formal education growing up, but as he had more contact with white settlers he became interested in their writing, thinking that the Cherokee language also needed to be written down. Eventually he devised an alphabet with 86 symbols, one for each syllable in the Cherokee language.

It was difficult at first to convince his people that his symbols were anything but some sort of sorcery, however, over time his alphabet did influence others to record over 65 languages.

Answer: Pocahontas

Pocahontas was a Native American princess; her father, Powhatan, was chief of the Powhatan people, as well as a confederation of tribes, the Tsenacommacah, in the area that is Virginia today. When the settlement of Jamestown was founded in 1607, the group did not always get along with the colonists.

Historians are still debating the exact nature of the famous story where Pocahontas saved the life of John Smith, but they do agree that she did help the colonists by bringing provisions that were sometimes desperately needed.

Held captive in Jamestown during the First Anglo-Powhatan War, she learned about Christianity and was baptized with a new name, Rebecca. She also fell in love with and married John Rolfe, a settler who is credited with introducing tobacco farming to the colony.

Answer: Pontiac

Although very little is known about Pontiac's early life, by 1747 he was involved as a leader of the Ottawa People. He made an alliance with the leaders of New France in North America, and aided them throughout the conflict known as the French and Indian War.

When the British were proclaimed the victors of the war, they believed that the Native Americans had no choice but to trade with them. Their policies, however, which included treating the Native Americans as if they had been conquered and limiting the amount of gunpowder they could get at the trading posts, were offensive.

They caused hard feelings among many tribes, who formed a coalition to fight together since it was believed the British were preparing to go to war against them. Pontiac's Rebellion began in the spring of 1763 with the destruction of many forts and deaths of British colonists in the Great Lakes region.

By the summer of 1765 the British were forced to negotiate peace and change their policies in the area.

Answer: Sacagawea

Very little is known about Sacagawea's early life; when she was around the age of twelve she was kidnapped and held hostage by a nearby tribe. Some sources say that she was consequently sold to a French fur trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau. Lewis and Clark hired him to be their guide after they discovered that Sacagawea spoke the Shoshone language. Sacagawea's value as an interpreter was unsurpassed; her presence within the group helped to show Native Americans that Lewis and Clark had a peaceful purpose.

In addition, not only is she credited with saving the group's valuable journals and other written documents when the boat carrying them capsized, her knowledge of the layout of the land and edible native plants came in handy as well!

Answer: Tecumseh

Tecumseh, a skilled speaker, spent a lot of time traveling from tribe to tribe to convince people to join a confederation. In 1808 Tecumseh and his brother, Tenskwatawa, founded a village called Prophetstown in modern day Indiana, which was intended to be a settlement where any member of any Native American tribe would be welcome.

While he was away from Prophetstown, William Henry Harrison, then the governor of the territory, attacked Prophetstown and destroyed the village after winning the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. During the War of 1812, Tecumseh and his followers became allies of the British in hopes of being able to reclaim their native lands, however, they were unable to recognize their goal.

The British lost the War of 1812, and Tecumseh was killed in the Battle of the Thames, fighting against William Henry Harrison (Tippecanoe and Tyler too) in 1813.

Many of Tecumseh's allies were moved to reservations soon after.

Answer: Geronimo

At the time of his birth, Geronimo was named "Goyahkla", or "One Who Yawns". It appears that he was a peaceful medicine man, known for many abilities, such as healing and even slowing time, until his wife, mother, and children were killed by Mexican raiders. Even though he was not a chief, he began leading raids into Mexico, Arizona, and New Mexico, seeking revenge on those who had harmed his family. During this time he became known as Geronimo, although there is no record of who gave him that name or why.

After the Americans were the victors of the Mexican-American War, Geronimo turned his attention toward leading raids on American settlements. He was captured in 1886, after breaking out of the reservation three times, and was held as a prisoner of war for the rest of his life.

Answer: Chief Joseph

Chief Joseph, whose birth name translates as "Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain", became the leader of his tribe when his father died. The Nez Perce occupied land in modern day Oregon in the Wallowa Valley. When gold was discovered there, the U.S. government tried to create a reservation for them in Idaho, an act that went against an earlier treaty that had been made.

Although Chief Joseph tried to keep the peace, another band of Nez Perce attacked white settlers, beginning a conflict which is known as the Nez Perce War.

He decided that the best thing for his people to do was to try to join with Sitting Bull, who had already led his people to Canada. They were able to fight successfully and elude capture by the U.S. Army for over 1000 miles, however, Chief Joseph's band was eventually caught just 40 miles from reaching its goal.

They were placed on a reservation in Washington state, where Chief Joseph lived until his death. Known as the Red Napoleon, he is remembered today for his cunning strategies and for his attempts to peacefully advocate for his people.

Answer: Sitting Bull

Originally nicknamed "Slow", due to his cautious nature, Jumping Badger earned a new name after showing his bravery during a raid for horses in a Crow camp - Sitting Bull. He led war parties of guerilla fighters during the Red Cloud War from 1866-68; the attacks continued after the conclusion of the Treaty of Fort Laramie, a document that he had refused to sign.

The proposed building of a railroad across Sioux territory, a gold rush in Nevada and subsequent interest in mining gold in the Black Hills, as well as the creation of the Great Sioux Reservation, led to the Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand, in June of 1876.

The 7th Cavalry, led by George Custer, was annihilated, but it was not until 1881 that Sitting Bull was forced to surrender.

He lived on a reservation and even joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show for a time until he was killed in 1890.

Answer: Black Hawk

Black Hawk's father was a medicine man, and he inherited the medicine bundle when his father died; he became a war chief of the Sauk after proving himself during raids and the Black Hawk War of 1832. The British Band, so named because Black Hawk had made an alliance with the British during the War of 1812, was a confederation of many different Native American tribes that fought together to try to keep their native lands and resist being moved to reservations west of the Mississippi River. After being defeated in the Black Hawk War, Black Hawk, along with other leaders who had been captured, was taken on a tour of eastern cities, including Washington, D.C., as ordered by President Andrew Jackson.

He wanted them to see the power of the United States first hand.

In 1833 Black Hawk dictated his autobiography - the first Native American in the United States to do so - to Antoine LeClaire, and it became a best seller.