First Nations & Biome Coping Presentation

Name(s): _________________________
First Nations & Their Coping to Biomes
First Nations and the Four Geographical Realms
We’ve seen that there are 4 components to Earth’s physical geography: the atmosphere, the
lithosphere, the hydrosphere and the biosphere. Most ecosystems involve most of these realms.
An ecosystem is thus depending on most, if not all, realms. If one of them is unbalanced, then it can
bring down the entire ecosystem.
Many First Nations tribes of the Americas understood this (although they may have used categorized
Earth’s realms differently). Many First Nations’ teachings and mythology reflect this. In fact, most, if not
all, pre-modern civilizations had a much stronger relationship with their environment than we currently
have. For instance, humans were more acquainted with the stars before city lighting, and we were
forced to know more about local species in the hunter-gatherer days when everyone had to forage for
food. Many pre-modern cultures therefore saw the importance of sustaining healthy ecosystems. Even
when altering the ecosystems (such as the intentional burning a section of forest for hunting purposes),
it was extremely important maintain the altered environment to a sustainable level. This means no
overhunting (affects biosphere), no polluting (affects lithosphere and hydrosphere), etc.
Coping with Geographical Demands
Before modern society, humans didn’t have luxuries such as interior heating, plumbing, transportation
and global supply chains that we do today. As a result, pre-modern humans were more dependent on
nearby land, water, air and plants/animals than we are today. Many of these environments are harsh.
Humans, having evolved in the subtropical highlands of African plateaus, would have had to cope once
they migrated to different, and sometimes rather extreme, environments. Many living in cold regions
coped by wearing more clothing, those living by the sea benefited by building boats and those living on
the coasts of rivers that flooded yearly learned to farm, each of which are crucial strategies needed for a
human community to survive and thrive.
North America presents an effective case study regarding this: North America contains a sample of each
of Earth’s major biomes, each of which was colonized by North American First Nations and Inuit peoples.
These people didn’t originate here but migrated from Eurasia. Yet, they settled into various biomes,
some of which with very difficult living conditions. To survive and thrive, these First Nation groups
needed to cope to their climates.
By focusing on what we see in First Nations’ cultures today, we can get a sense as to which items
(clothes, boats, weapons, etc.) and practice were important for each group. Once we know which type
of biome or climate they lived in, the choice of these items/practices becomes obvious. (For example,
the Coast Salish people have many boats. Why? Since there’s of water that can help with food and
transportation).
In this assignment, you’ll be examining 1 North American indigenous cultural group and researching
ways that they’ve coped to their climates.
Assignment: Spend ~60 minutes to research ways that the group selected were coped to the biome in
which they lived. Then, your group will present over 3-5 minutes. Groups of 2-3.
Visuals: Visual are strongly suggested (but no text!) using Google Slides. You can email the slides to
your teacher, who will project them to the class. Remember that no text is allowed. You must
simply briefly summarize each topic.
What to Include: You should mention or show a map as to the geographical distribution of each group,
describe the climate of their home biome, and what they used or did to best cope to it.
Specific examples can include the types of clothing/shelter, weapons/tools/boats, lifestyle
(nomadic, semi-nomadic, sedentary), farming practices (if they had any), etc. You don’t
need to include every topic but select the ones that best show how they were coped to
the extremes of that environment.
Grading: You’ll be awarded a grade out of 10 (which will then be converted into a percentage):
0 – 5: incomplete or impertinent info

6 – 7: some decent info, but not in depth or incorrect
8 – 9: lots great info, but not as complete or in-depth as it could be
10: excellent amount of great info, no inaccuracies
Topic: How did the ___________ culture cope to the elements found within their ___________ biome?
Culture Biome(s)
Inuit Tundra, Subarctic, Glacier
Coast Salish Mediterranean, Oceanic, Temperate Rainforest
Blackfoot Prairies
Iroquois Mixed Forest, Subtropical Humid, Great Lakes
Pueblo Desert
Aztec Subtropical Alpine, Subtropical Wet/Dry
Maya Subtropical Forest, Tropical Rainforest

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Name(s): _________________________

First Nations & Their Coping to Biomes

First Nations and the Four Geographical Realms

Coping with Geographical Demands

0 – 5: incomplete or impertinent info

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