Native Americans and smoke signals

The Native Americans of the North American continent used smoke signals for communication with tribes both near and far. In this essay I will describe how these Indian tribes used smoke signals for communication with other tribes, how they used it for their different geographical situations and how it evolved over time. Finally I will describe the lasting impact of smoke signals on society.

            Native Americans used some signals as a mean to communicate messages within their given tribe and with other tribes around them. Smoke signals consist of sending long columns or puffs of smoke in the air to send signals and messages that can be seen over long distances. In order to begin this process, tribes would have to first build a fire of wood and other burning materials to be able to generate smoke. They then used a wet blanket that would be placed over the fire. This blanket since it was wet, would not burn and it would be able to be placed above the fire and removed in different intervals and would generate different variations of smoke depending on what was needed in a given situation.

            White smoke was created when this process was begun with either a wet blanket or other materials. As the wet material used a different coloration of smoke was created and it eventually became darker and thicker. The blanket or other material used kept the smoke was rising. When the communicator was ready that person removed the covering and the smoke rose to the air. This user did this several times at different intervals so that their intended message could be sent. Once the message was sent the communicator either waited for a response from another smoke signaler or started the process again to send out another message.

When beginning this process the American Indians using this process would find an area best suited. In doing this, when the messenger sent smoke signals into the air then they were able to send these messages over long distances. This was very effective because they could communicate with people using a common language over far distances instead of having to be close to the person like they would have to be in order to do sign language or other forms of non-written communication. These messages could be seen by many people and because of this was another convenience all Native Americans had. This said geography wasn’t an issue because the tribes could just look to the sky to see these easy communacatable messages.

            In regards to messages that were sent over long distances there were 3 main types. The first type of message was a warning. This message was very extensive in that it could tell the receiver many different things. It could describe a warning or an alarm. If there was a stranger or someone unknown coming then smoke signals could be used to notify other tribes and if they were hostile what kind and what quantity of weapons they had with them. The next type of message was a message that could be sent during battle and the message would ask for reinforcements from either the tribe that was engaged or other tribes around. The final message of the three that would usually be sent was a report or update smoke signal. The smoke signal would be sent up and other surrounding Indian tribes could tell who won and lost the battle and how many casualties there had been taken on both sides. This was another convenience in that instead of having to ride around and going from village to village, finding the results was made easier by looking to the clouds.

There were also three different kinds of meanings of smoke signals in regards to the number of puffs of clouds of smoke that rose. One puff meant attention or was a warning. Two clouds meant that everything was okay and to just go about your business. Finally three smoke puffs meant that there was danger or to come help immediately.  This is the general code that was established so that the Native American Indians would be able to communicate with other friendly/ ally tribes without enemy tribes being able to decipher what was being said. These signals that went back and forth were only known to the messenger and the receiver and from there the messages would be shared keeping the confidentiality of the message a key component. This is how the smoke signals evolved over time. They went from Indians discovering how to use them to being able to send difficult messages to other tribes.

The art of smoke signals originated overseas in Europe and was used by the Greeks and later the chin ease. American Indians discovered how to use it and used that as their main form of communicating long distances with other tribes. This was the first form of long distance communication using a common language between all Indian tribes. Even though the method in which the messages were conceived differed it was the same concept. The Indians all used the same methodology when it came to the smoke puffs for signals. One for attention, two for all is good and three for a threat or other type of warning.

American Indians eventually stopped using these smoke signals as their main form of communication and began writing when Europeans came to the new world. The smoke signals stopped being their main form of communication. Today smoke signals are used by younger generations, such as boy and girl scouts as a form of communication in survival situations. They also would be used by campers who would be in need of help and would send the signals out to try and contact anyone who would be nearby to assist them.

In conclusion, American Indians first form of long distance non written communication was the smoke signal. By making a fire and covering the fire with a wet blanket or something similar in stature, the fire would bellow smoke signals. Once this skill was mastered, the technique evolved and these Indians realized they could use these fires to signal and communicate with tribes near and far. Using these signals they would be able to make smoke puffs and could signal ally tribes near and far. They would also use a string of smaller fires to implement details of the main message. This form of communicating was extremely effective in communicating several things with nearby tribes such as battle reports, outsiders coming into the area and so on. Eventually this form of communicating stopped when the Europeans came over to North America and the Indians were taught reading writing and other forms of communicating. This technique of signal fires is now used in survival situations if need be and by boy scouts learning to survive in the woods.

Bibliography

http://tribaldirectory.com/information/smoke-signals.html

http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-culture/smoke-signals.htm

used these two sites above and also used class notes.