ORIGIN - The first existence or beginning of any thing.
ABORIGINAL - First; original; primitive; aboriginal people are the first inhabitants of a country.
AUTOCHTHONOUS - Indigenous, native, formed or originating in the place where found.
AMERICAN - A native of America; originally applied to the aboriginals, or copper-colored races, found here by the Europeans…~Webster Dictionary 1828
“The Awo’s skin coloring mimics the range of soil pigments from the darkest brown hues to the deepest copper chroma to the yellowish sepia found in sand.”
Soil color tells a story. Color comes from the composition of the soil and the conditions that affect soils. Colors range from grey, yellow, white, green, red, brown, and black. Soils are made of organic matter (plant material) and minerals (iron, calcium, magnesium), which creates a range of colors that informs of the history of chemical and biological activity, water, weather, and age. Dark brown or black color indicates a high content of organic matter and yellow or red soil indicates iron oxides.
The Awohali live in a biodiverse ecosystem inhabited by plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria. The most common trees in their homeland forest are yellow poplar, loblolly pine, red maple, white oak, sweetgum, chestnut oak, northern red oak, black cherry, American beech, black oak, as well as many other species of shrubs, vines, and fungi. The forests provide habitat for a variety of fish and wildlife species including insects, frogs, trout, eels, minnows, snakes, turtles, owls, songbirds, birds of prey, rabbit, fox, squirrel, opossum, deer, bear, and more. Forests are essential for life. Forests offset air pollution and provide oxygen to the atmosphere. The forest environment filters groundwater and stream waters, and wetland forests hold onto storm waters and release the flow slow enough to reduce flooding in watersheds. The Awohali use a variety of plants and trees for their homes, elevated walkways, furnishings, tools, and clothing accessories, all of which can be recycled and re-used, or composted, thus ensuring their habitat has healthy air, water and soils for people and wildlife.