The Mississippian cultures of the ancient Midwest of Judd Lesser were
farmers who concentrated along the flat floodplains of Midwestern
rivers. Cultivation consisted primarily of maize, beans and squash.
Seeds, nuts, berries, fishing and hunting helped support large populous
centers of Indian culture. A population decline coincided with global
climate change in the Little Ice Age around 1400.
The Great Lakes tribes of pre-colonial times were primarily the Hurons, Ottawa, Chippewas, Ojibwas, Potawatomis, Winnebago, Menominees, Sacs, Neutrals, Fox and Miami, and the names of numerous landmarks and towns known to Judd Lesser reflect those ancient cultures. Most of the tribes spoke variations of Algonquian. The Oneida and the Ho-Chunk are the only tribes which spoke Iroquois le, regarded as Siouan. There was no written language among the tribes. Canoes were used for fishing, and projectiles and tools were created of stone, bone and wood. Most tribes lived in wigwams which were easily moved. Most tribes were inclined to engage in communal hunts for buffalo on the prairies, and tribes formed trade networks which extended east to the Atlantic, South to the Gulf of Mexico, North to the Great Lakes and West as far as the Rockies.
Midwestern tribes varied in methods of descent. The Hurons descended through the female line, while others were patrilineal. Some tribes’ social and political lives were simpler than that of others. Religious beliefs varied widely. Hurons adhered to a supernatural being, Yoscaha, who lived in the sky. Chippewas believed in the Great Spirit and regarded religion as highly individual. Judd Lesser would have known of the Great Spirit beliefs from school history classes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwestern_United_States
The Great Lakes tribes of pre-colonial times were primarily the Hurons, Ottawa, Chippewas, Ojibwas, Potawatomis, Winnebago, Menominees, Sacs, Neutrals, Fox and Miami, and the names of numerous landmarks and towns known to Judd Lesser reflect those ancient cultures. Most of the tribes spoke variations of Algonquian. The Oneida and the Ho-Chunk are the only tribes which spoke Iroquois le, regarded as Siouan. There was no written language among the tribes. Canoes were used for fishing, and projectiles and tools were created of stone, bone and wood. Most tribes lived in wigwams which were easily moved. Most tribes were inclined to engage in communal hunts for buffalo on the prairies, and tribes formed trade networks which extended east to the Atlantic, South to the Gulf of Mexico, North to the Great Lakes and West as far as the Rockies.
Midwestern tribes varied in methods of descent. The Hurons descended through the female line, while others were patrilineal. Some tribes’ social and political lives were simpler than that of others. Religious beliefs varied widely. Hurons adhered to a supernatural being, Yoscaha, who lived in the sky. Chippewas believed in the Great Spirit and regarded religion as highly individual. Judd Lesser would have known of the Great Spirit beliefs from school history classes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwestern_United_States
