In 1492, Christopher Columbus made his famed voyage to the "New World," but the Western Hemisphere already had a population of around 75 million people. Native Americans not only lived in the Western Hemisphere but also North America. All of these Native Americans had their own tribes, that spoke many different languages and dialects. Even though tribes were important to each person, more important were their families and clans. Within their prospective clans, Native Americans interacted with each other and all of their spiritual beliefs. .
Clans linked varied groups within a tribe. Instead of living with just their own clan, Native Americans dwelled together in a village with a few different clans. Another big part of Native American's society was their kinship. They believed that kinship lasted forever, while they accepted divorce. Kinship was the basis for armed conflict, yet the amount of warfare remained very low in North America. .
Men and women both played parts in a Native American tribe. The women did field work, along with raising the children and gathering food. Since the women were producing more of the food, all of the communities gave women more power than the average European family. Some women even owned their own fields and even served as chiefs. Men did jobs like hunting, fishing, trading, fighting, and reasoning, which took them away from their families. Unlike European societies, the Native Americans had a balance of power or sometimes even the female had more power. .
The religions of Native Americans circled around the belief that all of nature was alive, holding a spiritual power. According to Native Americans, humanity was just one link that made up the chain of living nature. They had many ways to gain access to the spiritual power that they believed in. Dreaming was one way, for they held visions seen in dreams very seriously. Others altered their consciousness by undergoing physical ordeals.
