Southwest Native Americans

The Natives of the Southwest can be divided into three main groups: Framers, Villagers, and Nomands. The Farmers are the Yuma and Pima, the villagers were Zuni, Pueblo, and Hopi and the nomads were the Apache and Navajo. The Natives lived in desert areas with little rainfall. It was hot and arid. Those that did not live a nomadic lifestyle resided in Adobe houses built of clay often with wooden ladders to reach the higher levels.

The Indians of the Southwest shared much of the same religious beliefs with other Indians based on Animism- which is the idea that all natural items have souls or spirits- that the souls of the departed are in animals or even plants. Southwest Indians also used Shaman or Medicine men as an intermediary. Some of the Natives of the Southwest made Kachina dolls which were made of wood, and they were used to invoke spirits.

The diet of the Natives of the area varied but usually included corn, beans square as well as turkeys. Many lives as close as possible to major waterways especially the Colorado River.

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