Question: When the Europeans arrived in America they found a land populated by numerous different peoples. In this activity you will learn more about these Native peoples and how historians research and study them today. Because few of them had writing, much of the research is based on what they left behind in the form of material culture, as well as documents written by the Europeans. As preparation for this discussion you will visit a virtual exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago. Anthropologists and archeologists at the Field Museum study objects created by these cultures to gain an understanding of the different societies.

How did Eastern Native American tribes differ from the European invaders in religion, economics, politics and gender roles? You may choose to focus on only one or two of these. How did Europeans interpret these differences and how did it affect their interactions with them?

In discussion with at least two of your classmates, who may have chosen different factors, explain how diversity among the Native tribes and ethnic/cultural dissimilarities among the invaders led to variations in the way that Native Americans were treated by the Europeans.

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