Cherokee Indian Social Structure

November 2

Today we are going to dive into the Native American Indians called the Apache Indians. We are discussing there surprisingly large social structure, the old houses they would make from cottonwood and poles, how they got food. They didn’t have a Walmart to get food. No, they hunted and gathered wild berries and game.

Some people might think that Native American Indians don’t exist any more. But they do. If you come from a long line of Indian relatives then you and your family might still do the Indian traditions. There are six different regions of Apache Indians. -Western Apache, Kiowa, Lipan, Chiricahua, Mescalero, and Jicarilla- The housing and social structure has changed quite a bit in the twenty-first century. There dwellings had a dome shaped frame of

Men used to wear deerskin shirts, leggings with moccasins. The women’s clothing was almost the same but they wore short deerskin skirts with high boot top moccasins. They were never without loincloth. What is loincloth? Loincloth is a single piece of cloth that is wrapped around the hips. Apache Indians are nomadic hunters. When hunting they would kill deer, wild turkeys, rabbits, bears, buffalos, and mountain lions. They also planted corn, beans, and squash. If necessary they would live off the wild berries, roots, seeds of the mesquite tree, cactus fruits, and other wild plant foods on the land. Apaches had kind of a odd social structure. They lived in family clusters, or close together. Extended family consisted of a husband, wife unmarried children, married daughters, married daughters husband, and married daughters children. To speak to each other they’d speak in Southern Athabaskan. Some still speak it today. There current population 5000-6000 people that are Apache. The Apache Nation has six regional groups the Western Apache, Kiowa, Lipan, Chiricahua, Mescalero, and Jicarilla. The Apache Indians had ceremonial dances. The rain dance, puberty dance, harvest and good crop dance, and a spirit