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Article: Recreation
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
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RECREATION
RECREATION.
America's indigenous peoples enjoyed a wide array of recreational activities. Indians in the upper Midwest played lacrosse, while those living in the Spanish borderlands played versions of a Mesoamerican ball game. Native Americans throughout California chewed milkweed gum for pleasure, while boys from some Wisconsin tribes made tops of acorns, nuts, and oval stones. Singing, dancing, drumming, gambling, and smoking all played important roles in the social lives of many native peoples.
When English settlers first arrived on the eastern shore of North America, their view of the continent's native inhabitants was powerfully shaped by differing attitudes towards ...