Abenaki Indians As Environment :: Free Essay Writer

Many passel are under a false impression that early inborn Americans are the original environmentalists. This is an impression that many people share. The Abenaki tribes that resided in Maine from 3700 BP were non by our traditional definition, environmentalists. In fact they were far from ecologically sound. This story is meant non to criticize the Native Americans of the age, scarce to clarify their roles in the environment. To intermit understand this subject some stakeground is needed.     The Abenaki People of the Northeast lead a non-permanent exististance based mostly on the seasonal flux in the region. The area of land now referred to as Maine especially. Maine has always had abrupt seasons and the Abenaki apply these seasons to their advantage. Their civilization is one of direct appropriation with nature. This subject matter that they were a refinement in which nothing was permanent. Their survival depended on mobility. The Abenaki did not utilize computer memory as we do now, or even as the early Europeans of the succession did. For each of the four seasons they stayed in areas where they would successfully survive. For instance, the summer months were spent on the coastal regions fishing and foraging while in the winter they pulled back into the interior forests for protection and hunting. However, they did return to the same part of the forests, coasts and waterfalls where their rower camps had been.     Although the Abenaki culture bent to the seasons, they dramatically shaped their surrounding environments. The Abenaki tribes would change the location of the campsites any ten to fifteen years due to a variety of evidences. The southern Abenaki tribes who performed some sort of agriculture would experience severe soil enervation after a decade of farming that particular piece of land. The Abenaki call for enormous amounts of wood for campfires, smoking meat, building homes and cooking to name but a small few. Pest infestation was also another reason that the Abenaki would move the camp. Fleas and vermin would become extremely bothersome after age had gone by and they had become accustomed to environments. They practiced a form of clearcutting known today as anthropogenic fire, anthro meaning &8220human and pogenic meaning &8220induced. They would purposely ignite massive forest fires around their camping for a variety of reasons. These areas would burn underbrush and smaller trees but not ignite the foliage of the huge trees. This burning was good for some forms of agriculture.