The Native Americans and Africans Slaves are two prominent groups seen in the Colonial Era with great influence, difficult challenges, and cultures that shaped the colonies into how we see them today. Both, the African Americans and Native Americans were challenged by the hardships of the whites throughout the midst of the eighteenth century. African Americans were found mainly in the North and South, while Native Americans were sprinkled all over the United States. .
In the Colonial Era, Native Americans had a community with a rich culture that defines them. There is a huge concept of "diversity" in American History. There was not one single kind of Native American, but many. The Southwest, Eastern Woodlands, Great Plains, Great Basin, Pacific Northwest, and Arctic and Subarctic are all areas in which the Native Americans that lived that made up the diverse native peoples. The Southwest peoples including the Hohokam, Mogollan, and Anasazi, originated out of New Mexico and Southern Arizona used Mesoamerican crops and farming techniques. They tended to live near streams and eat corn, beans, and squash. The most important crop of the Southwest people was corn. There is a striking mosaic strictly made out of corn to show its importance to the Southwest peoples (Slideshow 1:8). The buffalo on the top of the image represents that animals had a later importance to the Southwest peoples since it is the second largest feature on the image. Corn is the dominant part of the mosaic and the men harvesting the corn are working hard. Since it is the largest piece and in the middle of the mosaic, it conveys how vital corn was as a food source (Slideshow 1: 8). Therefore, corn (maize) meant a lot to the Southwest people and they were known for their corn. .
There are also the Eastern Woodlands who relied heavily on lakes and rivers. They served greatly as a means for transportation seen through the export and import routes on the map (Slideshow 1: 13).
