Daily Life
Native cultures during historic times were defined by two major lifeways—nomadic hunters and sedentary farmers. Each lifeway was based on the region in which the community lived and the resources available. As new technologies were introduced, such as the horse, or when climate change effected a region, communities that were once sedentary became nomadic and nomadic cultures became sedentary.
Nomadic hunters typically ate large and small game, fish, and harvested wild berries, roots, and nuts. Corn, beans, and squash (known as the three sisters in the Southwest) were the primary crops for most sedentary groups.
The most prominent icons of the nomadic lifeway, for tribes like the Kiowa, Comanche, Lakota, and Nez Perce, were the tipi and the horse. Brought by the Spanish to the Americas in the 1500s, horses afforded nomadic tribes greater and easier movement. Parfleche containers were an integral part of this lifestyle as they could be easily attached to a travois pulled by either horses or dogs.
More sedentary tribes, like the Caddo, Hopi, Cherokee, Wichita, Potawatomi, and Mandan, were noted for their large grass, earthen, or wooden lodges and advanced agricultural practices. In addition to durable items of rawhide and leather, sedentary tribes produced more fragile items like pottery and basketry for storage.
Commerce and trade between nomadic and sedentary groups were common. They exchanged hides, meats, and other materials for pottery, baskets, blankets, maize, melons, and beans.
Objects
![Corn Mortar and Pestle](/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/img_0719.jpg)
Corn Mortar and Pestle
Southeast, possibly Muscogee
![Parfleche](/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/h.192.23.jpg)
Parfleche
Central Plains, Cheyenne
![Bear Basket](/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2022.01.jpg)
Bear Basket
Great Lakes, Ojibwa
![Berry Basket](/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2022.01..jpg)
Berry Basket
Alaska, Tlingit
![Cherokee Basket](/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2019.29.4.jpg)
Cherokee Basket
Eastern Woodlands
![Water Bottle](/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1983.32.03-1.jpg)
Water Bottle
Southwest Apache
![Possible Bags](/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1991.1.1483.jpg)
Possible Bags
Northern Plains, Cree
![Burden Basket](/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1982.37.24.jpg)
Burden Basket
Southwest, Apache
![Bentwood box—Bear Design](/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2022.01.011.jpg)
Bentwood box—Bear Design
Ron Sebastian
Pacific Northwest, Gitxsan
![Cradleboard](/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/img_0047.jpg)
Cradleboard
Eastern Woodlands, Osage
![Toy Cradleboard](/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2013.17.1.jpg)
Toy Cradleboard
Richard Aitson
Southern Plains, Kiowa
![Cradleboard](/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1991.01.3384.jpg)
Cradleboard
Southwest, Apache
![Cradleboard](/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1983.06.63.jpg)
Cradleboard
Plateau, Nez Perce
![Lattice Cradleboard](/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/H.192.01.jpg)
Lattice Cradleboard
Central Plains, Cheyenne
![Cradle](/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2002.234.1.jpg)
Cradle
California, Pomo
![Cradle](/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2000.66.jpg)
Cradle
Plateau, Thompson River Salish
![Tobacco Bag](/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2000.37.78.jpg)
Tobacco Bag
Plateau, Nez Perce
![Cradleboard](/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2000.31.jpg)
Cradleboard
Southwest, Havasupai
![Olla](/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/1997.07.72.jpg)
Olla
Lucy Lewis
Southwest, Acoma Pueblo
![Cradleboard](/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/1989.48.jpg)
Cradleboard
Southwest, Diné (Navajo)
![Possible Bag](/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/1983.06.73.jpg)
Possible Bag
Northern Plains, Crow
![Frog Olla](/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/1983.06.58.jpg)
Frog Olla
Southwest, Zuni Pueblo
![Storage Basket](/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/1983.06.47.jpg)
Storage Basket
Southwest, Apache