Native American Historical Connections Quiz

Answer: Trail markers

It is hypothesized by some historians that before colonization, Native Americans would mark trails, streams, springs, or other important landscape features by bending young trees. It is thought that they would bend the trees a few feet from the ground by tying the trunk closer to the crown with some biodegradable material.

This method allowed the fastening material to keep the trunk parallel to the ground a few feet from the earth, causing it to stay bent, but allowed the crown to continue growing up towards the sky.

The tree was then forced to grow bent over like the one shown in the photo. Over the years, the ties rotted away, but the trees remained bent.

Answer: No

Arrowheads are a part of the past. They were affixed to shafts made of wood. If arrows were lost when they were shot while hunting, the wooden shaft would rot away and leave the stone head. It is still common to find arrowheads in many parts of the US, but federal, state, and tribal laws may make it illegal in some areas to hunt for them, collect them, or sell them as Native American artifacts.

Some Native Americans suggest that if you come across one in a field or forest that you should simply leave it where it is as a tribute to ancestors who roamed the lands. Taking a photo would be fine, though.

Answer: Honeymoon suites for newlyweds

Mounds like these can be found throughout much of the eastern half of the US. Scholars have found no evidence that they were used as honeymoon suites for newlyweds. They seem to have had a variety of purposes, including landmarks for seasonal gatherings and platforms for villages.

They were also used as burial mounds or crematoria by some Native American cultures. The Hopewell culture used large mounds to mark the place for trade festivals and religious ceremonies. In some cases, they were used as temples or houses for important leaders.

There are even some mounds in the southeast that are made entirely of freshwater mussel shells. These marked the place for the annual harvest, and feasts that followed the harvests.

Answer: Native American Boarding Schools

Native American Boarding Schools, also called Residential Schools, were built from the early 19th through the mid-20th centuries. Children were removed from their families on reservations and forced into these boarding schools. The schools were often run by various religions, and they attempted to make the children "more civilized" by forcing them to live using American cultural values and customs.

Their hair was cut, they were forced to wear western-style uniforms, and they were forbidden from speaking their Native language.

There is much evidence of many types of abuse that occurred in these boarding schools. Some scholars suggest that, although there was much harm done at these schools, there may also have been some good because the experiences there may have led to Native peoples' searching for cultural and political self-determination in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Answer: Petroglyphs

Petroglyphs are chipped or carved into rock faces to reveal the rock beneath (pictures painted on rocks are called pictographs). The lower levels of the rock were usually lighter because they hadn't been exposed to the weather. Lewis and Clark made note of a petroglyph near the mouth of the Nemaha River near Troy, Kansas, in their journals. Petroglyphs have survived through to the present day, but their meaning is often lost because the Native Americans who created them are gone.

Answer: Northwest

There are many totem poles across the traditional land of the Native American people in the Pacific Northwest. Totem poles are carved from tall, straight trees, often red cedar. The poles served many purposes, from documenting family lineages, to honouring the sacred animals of the people who carved them. Totem poles were sometimes placed at the edge of Native American villages to either warn intruders to stay away, or to welcome visitors to the village. Sometimes totem poles were also used as a mortuary by some Native American peoples. Totem poles continue to be carved into the 21st century.

Although they won't last forever, they will last long enough to be seen and appreciated by generations to come.

Answer: Bones

Native Americans developed the tradition of respecting all creatures. For example, if an animal was killed for food, all parts of the animal were used, with no leftover parts discarded. The meat was harvested and consumed or dried for later, the hides were cured for clothing or shelter, the ligaments and sinew in the joints were used for fastenings, and bones were fashioned into tools such as the one shown in the photo.

Answer: Drums

Native Americans of many cultures made drums for a variety of purposes. Some, like the one in this photo, were hand-held. They were designed with animal hide stretched across a round frame. The hide was held in place with sinew sewn across the back in a number of places.

The player of this type of drum would hold it in front of themselves perpendicular to their bodies using the sinew on the back as a handle, then drum with a stick. Larger drums were also created for multiple players. They typically sat flat on the ground and players sat around them.

In Native American culture, the drum is seen as the heart of Mother Earth. Playing it or listening to it brings one close to the Creator. Drums are used today to accompany dancing, singing, or listening to the heartbeat.

Answer: Strapped to a board on their backs

Cradleboards were a device that were made by many Native American women. They were a wooden or woven frame into which the child was securely wrapped and strapped. There was often a hood-type extension over the child's head. The women would carry the boards on their backs if they were walking.

This allowed them the freedom of movement and the ability to use their hands while keeping their children next to them. If they stopped to work in fields or forests, they would often place the cradleboard on the ground, propped upright against a tree.

This allowed them to see the child, as well as give the women some freedom of movement while ensuring that the children did not become the victim of animal predators.

Answer: Siblings

Many Native American people considered their sacred animals to be their brothers and sisters. The sacred animals are a part of the creation stories in most cultures. They also act as messengers to the Creator, as well as teachers of the people. Sacred animals appear depending on the animals of the area.

For example, bison were plentiful on the American Plains, so many Native cultures in the central US consider them sacred. On the other hand, ravens are very plentiful in Alaska, so they remain sacred to most Native Americans in the north.

In Florida where the Seminole people lived, they shared the land with the Florida panther, so it was sacred to them. Other animals that were/are sacred to various Native American peoples include eagles, coyotes, turtles, beavers, bears, frogs, scorpions, and many others.