DANC_2303_Dance_Appreciation: Researching Native Tribes

Cherokee Nation is the sovereign government of the Cherokee people. We are the largest of three federally recognized Cherokee tribes and are based in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation.

Source: The Cherokee Nation

Source is in Spanish.
Se llaman a sí mismos rarámuris que significa corredores a pie; proviene de las raíces: rara (pie) y muri (correr).

Located in the Sierra Tarahumara, southwest of the state of Chihuahua (Mexico), in a region known to be hard and difficult for life is the ethnic group Rarámuri.

Source: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia

Source, from the Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas, is in Spanish.
Un vistazo a los rasgos más distintivos de los pueblos indígenas de México.

This resource, from the National Conference of State Legislatures, provides a state-by-state listing of Indian tribes or groups are federally recognized and eligible for funding and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), there are currently 574 federally recognized tribes.

Texas was home to hundreds of tribes of American Indians. Source: Texas State Library and Archives Commission

A source on the legal and government content research (e.g., treaties). There are links to specific tribes with demographical and tribal history info. Some links are broken.

Source, from The Instituto de Antropología e Historia, is in Spanish.

La danza de los pascolas y el venado, ritual de origen prehispánico, es una de las tradiciones más arraigadas de las comunidades de yaquis y mayos.

Translation: The dance of the pascola and the deer, a ritual of pre-Hispanic origin, is one of the most deeply rooted traditions of the Yaqui and Mayan communities.

Los Matachines de la Santa Cruz are a ritual dance troupe whose origin can be traced back to a festival on the feast day of the Holy Cross during the Colonial period in Real de Catorce, a mining town in Central Mexico.

Quoted from resource: "Los matachines denotes a traditional religious dance and the dancers, musicians, and elders who participate in it."

A film/video, from the Library of Congress. Summary: Joining Nakota and Steve LaRance in this performance of Native American hoop dancing are Steve LaRance's granddaughter Shade Phea Young and nephew Quotsvenma Denipah-Coo

Source, from the Sistema de Información Cultural-Secretaría de Cultura, is in Spanish.

You will find demographical and historical information on the various indigineous pueblos/tribes in Mexico, by state.

The Tarahumara, or self-called Rarámuri, are one of the largest indigenous tribes in North America with nearly 100,000 people.

Source: Milwaukee Public Museum

Quoted from resource: "The Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Cultural Center exists as a facility for cultural enrichment, as well as a collective site for centuries of tribal history. It aims to educate individuals about the culture and history of the oldest federally recognized tribe in Texas by providing information and interactive experiences that are unique to the area."

Quoted from source: "The Tonkawa, like most the Plains tribes, had a variety of dances that were performed regularly and ceremoniously. Among many dances belonging to the Tonkawa were the: Buffalo Dance, Deer Dance, Wild Hog Dance, Turkey Dance, Dance of the Short Steps, Notched Stick Dance, and a dance called "Singing All Around" which later became known as the "Back and Forth" dance."

Quoted from resource: "The Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Social Dancers are a tribal dance group which aim to educate audiences about Tigua heritage and culture through performances which facilitate cultural exchange. Comprised of Tigua youth, they present audiences with social dance performances that have a strong emphasis on Tigua ways of life. Audiences are granted the opportunity to view and experience historical dances, regalia, chants, and songs.."

The article provides information on the Atakapa Indians in Texas. These Indians came to Texas from Louisiana, and they settled along the northern part of the Gulf Coast. The main source of food for the Atakapans came from hunting and fishing. Their main article of clothing in the summer was a breechcloth. When the weather turned colder, they added a robe made of buffalo skin. Their homes had to be easy to take apart and carry. They were made of willow poles that were interwoven with vines.

The largest and most powerful of the Eastern Woodland tribes in what is now the southeastern part of the United States was the Cherokee. Their population in the sixteenth century is estimated to have been about twenty-five thousand. Between their first major contact with Europeans in 1540 and their forced removal to the west in 1838-1839, the Cherokee adopted many aspects of European civilization. The Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole, all southeastern tribes, became known as the Five Civilized Tribes.

At the beginning of the historic period, the Chickasaws inhabited an area encompassing modern western Tennessee and Kentucky, northern Mississippi, and northwestern Alabama. They are closely related linguistically to the Choctaws, and the two tribes may once have been one. The Chickasaw way of life was similar to that of other southeastern tribes. They lived in towns and pursued an economy based on farming, especially corn, and hunting. Chickasaw social structure was based on a clan system. One’s clan was derived from one’s mother, and marriage between clan members was forbidden. While most affairs were handled locally, the High Minko, or principal chief of the tribe, was chosen by a council of clan elders. Though a relatively small tribe (around forty-five hundred at the time of European contact), the Chickasaws had a reputation among neighboring tribes as fierce warriors.

The Choctaw, a subgroup of the Muskogean language family, first occupied portions of present-day Mississippi, Arkansas, and Alabama. By 1820 the Choctaw were considered part of the so-called Five Civilized Tribes because of their rapid adaptation to European culture. By 1830 the Choctaw were forced to cede all lands east of the Mississippi; their removal to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) took place between 1831 and 1833. Today tribal lands and businesses of the Choctaw are textbook examples of progressive farming, ranching, and industrial development. The Choctaw have grown from a few thousand to more than 100,000 persons (according the US Census's Choctaw tribal grouping), making them the sixth largest tribe in the United States.

The article provides information on the Coahuiltecan Indians in Texas. These Indians, who are now extinct, lived inland from Galveston Bay to the Rio Grande. They lived in groups called bands. Duties were usually evenly divided between the men and women. Because of their harsh environment, the Coahuiltecans had to use any food that was available to them. They wore very little clothing. The men usually wore a breechcloth that reached below their knees. They had mall moveable shelters for their homes. The main weapon of the Coahuiltecans was the bow and arrow.

While tribal tradition held that the Creeks, or Muskogees, originally came from west of the Mississippi River, they occupied large areas of Georgia and Alabama by the seventeenth century. The name “Creek” is of English origin and derived from Ochesee Creek, a tributary of the Ocmulgee River. (Ochesee was the name given the Muskogees by neighboring Indians.) English traders originally referred to the Muskogees as Ochesee Creeks but soon shortened the name to Creeks. The Creeks were not originally a single tribe, and not all Creeks spoke Muskogee. They were instead a collection of groups that included, among others, Muskogees, Alabamas, Hitchitis, Coushattas, Natchez, Yuchis, and even some Shawnees. Those living along the Alabama, Coosa, and Tallapoosa Rivers came to be regarded as Upper Creeks, while those along the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers came to be known as Lower Creeks. Over time, the English (and later American) habit of regarding the Creeks as a single nation and dealing with them as such encouraged more of a sense of overall Creek identity. Few tribes, however, could match the ethnic and linguistic diversity of the Creeks.

refers to the Native Americans of the Southwest. They are descendants of the Anasazi who lived in the region for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans. Among the Pueblo Indians were the Hopi and Zuni from the Colorado Plateau. Other Pueblo Indians were the Tewa, Tiwa, Towa, and Keres tribal groups that lived from the Southwest to the Gulf of Mexico. Pueblo Indians still live in this region today.

The Seminoles were the last of the major southeastern tribes to assimilate, long maintaining their customs and lands in face of constant pressure from white settlers. During the eighteenth century, Oconees, Sawoklis, and other groups from the Lower Creek (Muskogee) towns in modern Georgia and Alabama moved into northern Florida. The name Seminole, in fact, derived from the Muskogee word seminola (which in turn was borrowed from the Spanish cimarron), meaning “wild,” and carried the sense of one going to live in an untamed area. The Creeks themselves were a diverse group, and many of those whose descendants became Seminoles sought to escape control by the dominant Muskogees and spoke Hitchiti and other non-Muskogee languages. Others hoped to distance themselves from the growing presence of English colonists in Georgia. The Seminoles also absorbed the remnants of earlier Florida tribes such as the Apalachees and Tocobogas. Lacking a central tribal government, the Seminoles did generally acknowledge a principal chief from the line established by Cowkeeper. Only gradually did the Seminoles acquire a sense of separate identity from their Creek relatives.

The article provides information on the Tigua Indians in Texas. These Indians of El Paso are known as the oldest ethnic group in Texas. They farmed the land and raised corn, tomatoes, squash, beans, and other crops. They hunted antelope, buffalo and deer. The Tiguas wore clothes made mainly from cotton. Their homes were called pueblos and were made of adobe bricks. They believed the sun was the father of life on earth, because nothing could grow without the sun.

The article features the Wichita Indians in Texas. These Indians lived along the Red River. Their tribes and subtribes spoke a common language. The Wichitas were primarily farmers. Since they lived along the rivers, rich bottomland produced large fields of maize. Men wore leggings made from fur or skins of the deer and buffalo. They lived in permanent homes, except when they were on a buffalo hunt. They believed in many gods and goddesses.