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Religion
Religion was very important to the Indians and they worshipped
different gods. Each tribe had a totem (an emblem), embodying the
spirit of their clan. Their “doctor” was the shaman, or a religious
doctor, who treated diseases with herbal remedies. They believed in
life after death and that they would go to the “happy hunting
ground” after death.
Art and culture
The Indians were very skilled in stitching and embroidery. They
were also experts in making baskets, jewellery, beadwork and
pottery. They were also very good in making musical instruments, as
they enjoyed music and considered it an important aspect of their
life. They made drums, flutes, pipes, rattles and castanets from
bone and cane.
Languages
The different languages of the North American Indians were
intricate and diverse. Frequently it happened that when two people
belonging to different tribes met, they would have to resort to sign
language to make themselves understood. The Indians did not write,
but used drawings for written communication. They would write on
animal hides.
When the Europeans
settled in America, there were already over a million Indians in
North America. With the arrival of the new settlers, there arose
clashes between the new Americans and the Indians. While the new
settlers kept pushing the Indians further and further into the West,
the government tried to draw treaty after treaty. Every time a
treaty failed, there followed small but savage wars between the old
and the new settlers. Gradually things changed for the worse for the
Indians. External pressures such as the new way of living that
influenced their new generations left them witnessing a fall in
their traditional way of living.
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