History of the United States I / Unit 1 USH1 0016 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Eastern Woodlands
Captions available
The idea
Eastern Woodland peoples lived in small autonomous clans, not the settled civilisations European explorers expected. Most major eastern societies were matriarchal, including the Iroquois, Lenape, Muscogee and Cherokee.
In practice
A leader typically male, whom the women selected and counselled.
Where people slip
Explorers met communities already ravaged by European diseases the Spanish had transmitted. What they found instead was land, timber and fur.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
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