Many different Indian groups lived in North America.
Each groups had its own language and customs.
A custom is the special way a group of people does something.
Several groups of Indians often shared the same CULTURE.
A culture is the way of life of a group of people. The language they speak, the clothes they wear, the food they eat, and the religion they believe in are all part of a culture.
Indian groups that shared the same culture had the same way of finding food and building houses. They depended on the same natural resources and used them in the same way.
For example, the Plains Indians shared the same land, dressed the same way, spoke the same language, hunted for food, and practiced religion in the same way. That is why they are considered to be their own culture group.

North American Indians were divided into 5 cultures : the Northwest Culture, the California-Intermountain Culture, the Southwest Culture, the Plains Culture, the Eastern Woodland Culture.