Good morning, we are exploring the First Nations before the arrival of Columbus. I am pretty sure I am doing these episodes out of order. The episodes are not numbered on the Timeline YouTube Channel, which would be helpful. This episode is called Origins and was probably the first episode of the series. The run time for this documentary is 46:56.
The First Nations started off as small populations. Each of the First Nations had its own origin stories. The stories talk about how they emerged. Some people believe that they walked across the land bridge. Others say that they paddled on ocean-going canoes. All these stories begin with a journey. Tens of millions were living in every part of the Americas before Columbus. Each of these nations had its language and way of life. It took thousands of years to come to this point. The record is not clear on when the First Nations arrived. All the First Nations have their own creation story and these form a powerful sense of identity for each of the First Nations. The first story comes from the Anishinaabe Nation and it tells the story of a great flood. A few animals clung to life on logs. They wanted to look for land to live on. A tiny muskrat dove and found mud to put on the back of the turtle. This turtle would eventually become North America. The Mayans’ creation story begins with the sea and the sky. The gods had populated the earth with animals but they could not worship the gods. So the gods made the first human out of mud, then wood, and then made humans out of maize. Another creation story came from the Warao people and in the beginning, the people lived in the sky. They only knew the birds and when a hunter went out to hunt he shot down a bird. When he looked for the bird he saw a hole in the sky. When he told the others they did not want to come. The hunter went down and shot a bird. Eventually, the hunters came down to earth. They were prevented from returning to the Sky by a woman. The initial theory as to how the First Nations was over a land bridge in Alaska. Evidence shows that there was a land bridge. The land was known as Beringia. Eventually, the ice would retreat leaving the ocean in its place. However, there were people living in North and South America before the land bridge closed. Another theory is that the First Nations traveled across the oceans. In the 1970s researchers proposed that the coastal routes were viable. The evidence seems to suggest that there were waves of people coming over. In all likelihood, both routes were used. Traveling would have been dangerous for the people. Why did they move? We may never know the answers. Once they arrived in the land, these first people would have found themselves in a strange land. They would have seen different animals and experienced new foods. They would have had to rely on the skills they had brought with them in order to better their chances of survival. It would have taken a lot of trial and error to learn to live in the North and South American continents. Soon people would have lived all over the Americas. They would have traveled through the water because land travel would have been difficult. Monte Verde is an ancient site. It was located in Chile and was discovered in the 1970s. It was occupied at least, 14,000 years ago and was preserved in its wet environment. About twenty or thirty people lived in twenty hunts. They would have collected plants and traveled widely to gather food and building materials. They also fished and were well adapted to the marine lifestyle. Another site discovered in North America was made in Clovis and it was the site of one of the oldest villages in North America. To continue to learn more about the origins of the First Nations continue to watch this episode. So far, so good with the second episode of the series. I enjoyed learning about the different creation stories of the First Nations, as well as a look at the ancient sights. This would be another good episode to show in a classroom.
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