Native American Cultures — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. Northwest Coast tribes built large boats called canoes from cedar trees.
Cedar trees on the Northwest Coast grew tall and straight, perfect for hollowing into long canoes. Tribes used these canoes to fish in the ocean and travel along the rivers.
2. Plains women dried buffalo meat into strips called jerky.
Drying buffalo meat into thin strips called jerky kept it from spoiling. Plains tribes could carry jerky on long journeys when they followed the herds.
3. The Pueblo were a Southwest tribe known for building cliff dwellings.
The Pueblo people built homes right into the sides of cliffs in the Southwest. The cliffs gave them shade, protection from enemies, and shelter from the desert heat.
4. Inuit hunters traveled across snow using sleds pulled by dogs.
Strong dogs pulled Inuit sleds across the snow and ice when there were no roads. Dog teams let hunters travel far and bring back seals or caribou for the village.
5. Eastern Woodlands tribes used bows and arrows for hunting deer.
A bow shoots arrows quickly and quietly, which was useful for sneaking up on deer in the forest. Eastern Woodlands hunters became skilled at making and using bows.
6. The Three Sisters crops were corn, beans, and squash.
Squash spreads along the ground beside corn and beans, and its big leaves shade the soil. Together corn, beans, and squash are called the Three Sisters because they help each other grow.
7. Plains tribes communicated over long distances using smoke signals.
Plains tribes used smoke signals to send messages across the wide grasslands. By covering and uncovering a fire, they could share news that others could see from far away.
8. Southwest tribes performed rain dances to ask for water for their crops.
Crops in the Southwest depended on rare rainfall, so tribes performed rain dances as a prayer for water. The dances were a way to ask the spirits to bring storms to the dry fields.
9. Northwest Coast art often featured animals like eagles, bears, and whales.
The ocean and forests of the Northwest Coast were full of whales, eagles, and bears. Carvers and weavers featured these animals on totem poles, masks, and blankets to honor them.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
Plains
→ Buffalo
Deer and crops
Northwest Coast
→ Salmon and fish
Salmon and fish
Arctic
→ Seals and caribou
Buffalo
Eastern Woodlands
→ Deer and crops
Seals and caribou
Each region's main food came from its land. The Plains had buffalo, the Northwest Coast had salmon-filled rivers, the Arctic had seals and caribou on the ice, and the Eastern Woodlands had deer in the forests and crops in cleared fields.