Algonquin Indians

The Indians of North America belonged to many different small nations or tribes. Each tribe spoke a different language, but in some cases there were anywhere from a dozen to a hundred different tribes whose languages were much alike. Scientists call these a "language group" or "family." The largest of these is the Algonquin family of tribes.

The Algonquin Indians lived mostly in the northeastern part of America. Their territory stretched from the Atlantic coast westward to the Mississippi River, southward as far as Tennessee and Virginia, and northward as far as Hudson Bay in what is now Canada. A few Algonquin tribes, such as the Arapaho and Cheyenne, lived on the plains. Another tribe, called the Blackfoot, lived as far west as the Rocky Mountains. The first Indians met by the white settlers from Holland, France and England were Algonquins. There were about one hundred of these Algonquin tribes.

They were always at war with one another. They would make raids to get scalps, which were pieces of skin with hair on them, cut from the heads of enemies whom they had killed. Thehim from a raid on another tribe, the more he was admired. Many of the Algonquin tribes were friendly to the white settlers when they first arrived, but they were soon at war with the colonists because the white men wanted the Indians' land for farming. In these wars the whites were just as cruel as the Indians. Both sides burned villages and killed women and children. In the French and Indian Wars, when England fought to control the New World, the Algonquins fought on the French side. But in the end the British destroyed most of the New England Algonquin tribes.

Others were gradually pushed back into the forest by the whites and driven toward the west. Very often only a few Indians were left out of a tribe of several hundred. On their westward journeys they had to pass through the territory of unfriendly Indians who attacked and killed many of them. Some of the most famous Indians in the early history of the United States were Algonquin. Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoags in New England, welcomed the Pilgrims when they landed at Plymouth. He taught them how to raise corn and signed a peace treaty with them. He never broke this treaty, even though the Pilgrims sometimes were cruel and unfair to his people. Another famous Algonquin was Pocahontas, who saved the life of Captain John Smith, leader of the first English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, when he was captured by the Powhatan Indians. Later she married one of the English settlers, John Rolfe.

David is the author of many articles including Best Friend Quotes and also the author of Best life quotes

other articles:

airlines customer service
Cheap plane tickets