Northeast

• British colonists relied on the Northeastern Native Americans for their survival.Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  The Iroquois Confederation and its tribes, including the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga and Seneca, called the Northeastern woodlands home. Native Americans of the region lived in wigwams or wooden longhouses and wore clothing made from animal skins. Their strong matrilineal culture and government provided them a stable hunting-and-gathering lifestyle. Famous Native Americans from this region include Pocahontas, Squanto, Tecumseh, and Pontiac.
  
  

Southeast

• The milder climate of the American Southeast allowed for permanent Native American farming settlements. Living in domed structures and, late,r wooden houses, these tribes farmed, hunted and fished for their subsistence. The Cherokee are the best-known tribe of the region, but were removed forcibly from their lands by the U.S. Army in an event known as "The Trail of Tears".
  
  

Great Plains

• The nomadic tribes of the Great Plains were mobile and resourceful. Living primarily from buffalo hunting, these were the only tribes to live in tepees. Traveling great distances, the plains tribes knew the region well. Sacagewea, a Shoshone, even helped Louis and Clark on their famous expedition to the Pacific Ocean. Plains tribes include the Sauk and Fox, Cheyenne, Comanche, Blackfeet, Pawnee, and many more. Famous tribal chiefs include Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph and Crazy Horse.
  
  

Southwest

• The desert tribes of the Southwest had limited resources for permanent settlement. While the Pueblo created adobe structures and farmed corn, squash and beans, tribes such as the Apache and Navajo lived in wickiups and hogans and continued as hunter/gatherers. The introduction of horses into the Southwest widened the territory of these tribes and helped them resist relocation. One famous for his resistance was Geronimo.
  
  

West Coast, Great Basin and Plateau

• Western Native Americans covered a large area from the California coast to the Great Basin of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Plateau region of the Pacific Northwest. All were great fishermen -- the Pomo tribe of California even became known for its waterproof baskets. The tribes of the Plateau, including the Nez Perce, Yakima, and others, traded with the Great Plains tribes as well. Seed-gathering and inter-region trading was common for all three regions.