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			{{Short description|Indigenous peoples of the United States}}
	{{about|the indigenous people of the United States|other indigenous people|Indigenous peoples by geographic regions}}
			{{pp-pc|small=yes}}
	{{very long|date=January 2013}} {{split-apart|date=January 2013|discuss=Talk:Native Americans in the United States#Size split?}}
			{{pp-move}}
	{{Infobox ethnic group
			{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
	|group = Native Americans
			{{very long|date=October 2024}}{{Infobox ethnic group
	|image = <div style="white-space:nowrap;"><!--If taşaksız swap out an image, change the "x##px" entry for EACH image in the row so that the width of the row lines up with the others-->
			| group = Native Americans
	] ] ]<br>] ] ]<br>] ] ]<br>] ] ]
			| image = Indigenous Americans by county.png
	|caption = Native Americans of the United States<br>(from left to right by row):<br>
			| image_caption = <div style="text-align: center">Proportion of Native Americans in each county as of the ]</div>
	]{{·}}]{{·}}]<br>]{{·}}]{{·}}]<br>]{{·}}]{{·}}]<br>]{{·}}]{{·}}]
			| population = '''Alone (one race)'''<br />{{increase}} '''3,727,135''' (])<ref name="Native Population 2020">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html|title=Race and Ethnicity in the United States|date=August 12, 2021|publisher=]|access-date=August 17, 2021}}</ref><br />{{increase}} 1.12% of the total US population<br /><br />'''In combination (])'''<br />{{increase}} '''5,938,923''' (])<ref name="Native Population 2020"/><br />{{increase}} 1.79% of the total US population<br /><br />'''Alone or in combination'''<br />{{increase}} '''9,666,058''' (])<ref name="Native Population 2020"/><br />{{increase}} 2.92% of the total US population
	|population = '''American Indian and Alaska Native''' (2010 Census Bureau)<ref name="2010census">http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-02.pdf 2010 Census Bureau</ref><br>'''One race''': 2,932,248 are registered. <br>'''In combination with one or more of the other races listed''': 2,288,331. <br>'''Total''': 5,220,579.
	|popplace = Predominantly in the ]		| popplace = Predominantly in ], the ] and ], with smaller communities in the ] United States.
			| region1 = {{flagicon|California}} ]
	|languages = ], ], ]
			| pop1 = 631,016
	|religions = ]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>Traditional Ceremonial Ways<br>(Unique to Specific Tribe or Band)
			| ref1 = <ref name="Native Population 2020"/>
	|related = ], ], ], ]
			| region2 = {{flagicon|Oklahoma}} ]
			| pop2 = 332,791
			| ref2 = <ref name="Native Population 2020"/>
			| region3 = {{flagicon|Arizona}} ]
			| pop3 = 319,512
			| ref3 = <ref name="Native Population 2020"/>
			| region4 = {{flagicon|Texas}} ]
			| pop4 = 278,948
			| ref4 = <ref name="Native Population 2020"/>
			| region5 = {{flagicon|New Mexico}} ]
			| pop5 = 212,241
			| ref5 = <ref name="Native Population 2020"/>
			| languages = ''']''' <br /> ''']'''<br />(including ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ]<ref>Siebens, J & T Julian. ''Native North American Languages Spoken at Home in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2006–2010''. United States Census Bureau. December 2011.</ref>) <br /> ''']''' <br /> ''']''' (extinct) <br /> ''']'''
			| religions = {{plainlist|
			** Predominantly Traditional ]s, unique to specific tribes or bands<ref name="pritzker331">Barry Pritzker, ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples'' (Oxford University Press, 2000), 331.</ref>
			* ]<ref name="pritzker331" />
			* ], denomination dependent on tribe
			* ]
			* ]
			* ] (mostly in ])<ref>Barry Pritzker, ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples'' (Oxford University Press, 2000), 335.</ref> }}
			| related-c = {{plainlist|
			** ]
			** ]
			** ]
			** ]
	}}		}}
	'''Native Americans in the United States''' are the ] within the boundaries of the present-day ] ], ], and the island state of ]. They are composed of numerous, distinct ] and ]s, many of which survive as intact political communities. The terms used to refer to Native Americans have been ]. According to a 1995 ] set of home interviews, most of the respondents with an expressed preference refer to themselves as '''American Indians''' (or simply '''Indians''' – see ]), and this term has been adopted by major newspapers and some academic groups; however, this term does not typically include ] or certain ], such as ], ], or ] peoples.
	Since the end of the 15th&nbsp;century, the ] of Europeans to the Americas, and their importation of ] as ], has led to centuries of conflict and adjustment between ] and ] societies. Europeans created most of the early written historical record about Native Americans after the colonists' immigration to the Americas.<ref name="test">Calloway, Colin G. ''American Heritage'', Spring 2009. Retrieved 2011-12-29</ref> Many Native Americans lived as ] societies and told their histories by oral traditions. In many groups, women carried out sophisticated cultivation of numerous varieties of staple crops: maize, beans and squash. The indigenous cultures were quite different from those of the ], proto-industrial, mostly Christian ] from western ]. Many Native cultures were ]; the people occupied lands for use of the entire community, for hunting or agriculture. Europeans at that time had ] cultures and had developed concepts of individual property rights with respect to land that were extremely different.
	The differences in cultures between the established Native Americans and immigrant Europeans, as well as shifting alliances among different nations of each culture through the centuries, caused extensive political tension, ethnic violence and social disruption. The Native Americans suffered high fatalities from the contact with ] Eurasian diseases, to which they had no acquired ]. ] after European contact caused the greatest loss of life for indigenous populations. Estimates of the pre-Columbian population of what today constitutes the U.S. vary significantly, ranging from 1 million to 18 million.<ref name="ggbook">{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=yiKgBuSUPUIC&lpg=RA1-PA44|title=The Native Peoples of North America |author= Bruce E. Johansen |accessdate=2009-06-28 |publisher=]|isbn=978-0-8135-3899-0 |date=2006-11}}</ref><ref name="encbrit">{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1357826/Native-American/273135/North-America-and-Europe-circa-1492 |title=Native American |accessdate=2009-06-28 |publisher=]}}</ref>
	After the colonies revolted against ] and established the United States of America, President ] and ] conceived of the idea of "civilizing" Native Americans in preparation for assimilation as U.S. citizens.<ref name="perdue">
	{{Cite book
	|last = Perdue
	|first = Theda
	|title = Mixed Blood Indians: Racial Construction in the Early South
	|publisher = The University of Georgia Press
	|chapter = Chapter 2 "Both White and Red"
	|page = 51
	|isbn = 0-8203-2731-X
	|year = 2003
	}}
	</ref><ref name="remini_reform_begins">
	{{Cite book
	|last = Remini
	|first = Robert
	|title = Andrew Jackson
	|publisher = History Book Club
	|chapter = "The Reform Begins"
	|page = 201
	|isbn = 0-06-080132-8
	|year = 1977, 1998
	}}</ref><ref name="remini_submit_adoption">
	{{Cite book
	|last = Remini
	|first = Robert
	|title = Andrew Jackson
	|publisher = History Book Club
	|chapter = "Brothers, Listen ... You Must Submit"
	|page = 258
	|isbn = 0-06-080132-8
	|year = 1977, 1998
	}}</ref><ref name="eric_miller">
	{{cite web
	|url = http://www.dreric.org/library/northwest.shtml
	|title = George Washington and Indians
	|accessdate = 2008-05-02
	|author = Eric Miller
	|year = 1994
	|chapter = Washington and the Northwest War, Part One
	|publisher = Eric Miller
	}}
	</ref><ref name="Tom_Jewett">
	{{cite web
	|url = http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2002_summer_fall/tj_views.htm
	|title = Thomas Jefferson's Views Concerning Native Americans
	|accessdate = 2009-02-17
	|author = Tom Jewett
	|year = 1996–2009
	|publisher = Archiving America
	}}
	</ref> Assimilation (whether voluntary as with the ],<ref name="us_congress2">
	{{Cite news
	| title = An Indian Candidate for Congress
	| publisher = Christian Mirror and N.H. Observer, Shirley, Hyde & Co.
	| date = July 15, 1830
	}}</ref><ref name="us_citizenship">
	{{cite web
	| url = http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/cho0310.htm
	| title = Indian affairs: laws and treaties Vol. II, Treaties
	| accessdate = 2008-04-16
	| author = Charles Kappler
	| year = 1904
	| publisher = Government Printing Office
	}}		}}
			{{Native American topics sidebar}}
	</ref> or forced) became a consistent policy through American administrations. During the 19th&nbsp;century, the ideology of ] became integral to the American nationalist movement. Expansion of European-American populations to the west after the American Revolution resulted in increasing pressure on Native American lands, warfare between the groups, and rising tensions. In 1830, the U.S. Congress passed the ], authorizing the government to relocate Native Americans from their homelands within established states to lands west of the ], accommodating European-American expansion.
			] tribe by ], now on display at the ] in ]]]
	The first European Americans to encounter the western interior tribes were generally fur traders and trappers. There were also ] ] active in the Northern Tier. As United States expansion reached into the ], settler and miner migrants came into increasing conflict with the ], ], and other Western tribes. These were complex ] cultures based on ] and seasonal ] hunting. They carried out strong ] to United States incursions in the decades after the ], in a series of ], which were frequent up until the 1890s, but continued into the 20th century. The ] brought more non-Natives into tribal land in the west. Over time, the U.S. forced a series of treaties and land cessions by the tribes, and established reservations for them in many western states. U.S. agents encouraged Native Americans to adopt European-style farming and similar pursuits, but European-American agricultural technology of the time was inadequate for often dry reservation lands. In 1924, Native Americans who were not already U.S. citizens were ] by ].
			'''Native Americans''' (also called '''American Indians''', '''First Americans''', or '''Indigenous Americans''') are the ] of the ], particularly of the ] and ]. They may also include any Americans whose origins lie in any of the indigenous peoples of North or South America. The ] publishes data about "American Indians and ]", whom it defines as anyone "having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America ... and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment".<ref name="US Census Race definitions">{{cite web |title=About the Topic of Race |url=https://www.census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html|access-date=2024-06-29 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref> The ] does not, however, enumerate "Native Americans" as such, noting that the latter term can encompass a broader set of groups, e.g. ], which it tabulates separately.<ref name=uscb>{{cite web|title=U.S. Census Bureau History: American Indians and Alaska Natives|url=https://www.census.gov/history/www/homepage_archive/2021/november_2021.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=30 July 2023}}</ref>
			The ] from 1492 resulted in a ] because of ], including weaponized diseases and biological warfare by colonizers,<ref name="Alibek 2004 pp. 3–8">{{cite journal | last=Alibek | first=Ken | title=Smallpox: a disease and a weapon | journal=International Journal of Infectious Diseases | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=8 | year=2004 | issn=1201-9712 | doi=10.1016/j.ijid.2004.09.004 | pages=3–8| pmid=15491869 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":7">], ''CW Journal'' (Spring 2004), </ref><ref name=":8">{{cite book |last1=Fenn |first1=Elizabeth A. |title=Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775–82 |date=2001 |publisher=Hill and Wang |isbn=080907821X |pages=88–89, 275–276 |edition=1st}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{cite journal |last1=Fenn |first1=Elizabeth A |title=Biological Warfare in Eighteenth-Century North America: Beyond Jeffrey Amherst |journal=Journal of American History |date=March 2000 |volume=86 |issue=4 |page=1553|doi=10.2307/2567577 |jstor=2567577 |issn=0021-8723}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{cite book |last1=Robertson |first1=Roland G. |title=Rotting Face: Smallpox and the American Indian |date=2001 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=0870044192 |pages= |edition=1st |url=https://archive.org/details/rottingfacesmall0000robe/page/119}}</ref> ], ], and ]. Numerous scholars have classified elements of the colonization process as comprising ] against Native Americans. As part of a policy of white ], European settlers continued to wage war and perpetrated massacres against Native American peoples, ] them from their ], and subjected them to ] and discriminatory government policies. Into the 20th century, these policies focused on forced ].<ref name=":1">{{cite journal|first1=Patrick|last1=Wolfe|title=Settler colonialism and the elimination of the native|journal=Journal of Genocide Research|date=December 1, 2006|issn=1462-3528|pages=387–409|volume=8|issue=4|doi=10.1080/14623520601056240|s2cid=143873621|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{cite book|first1=W.|last1=Hixson|title=American Settler Colonialism: A History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tiKuAgAAQBAJ|publisher=Springer|date=December 5, 2013|isbn=978-1-137-37426-4|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{cite book|first1=Laurelyn|last1=Whitt|first2=Alan W.|last2=Clarke|title=North American Genocides: Indigenous Nations, Settler Colonialism, and International Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7r0avgEACAAJ|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=2019 |isbn=978-1-108-42550-6|via=Google Books}}</ref>
	Contemporary Native Americans have a unique relationship with the United States because they may be members of nations, tribes, or bands with sovereignty and ]. Since the late&nbsp;1960s, Native American activism has led to the building of cultural infrastructure and wider recognition: they have founded independent newspapers and online media; ], the first Native American television channel (2011),<ref name="NATV">, NAFSA News (Native American Faculty and Staff Association), University of California, Davis, accessed 2011-10-25.</ref> community schools, ], and tribal museums and language programs; ] programs in major universities; and national and state museums. Native American and Alaskan Native authors have been increasingly published; they work as academics, policymakers, doctors, and in a wide variety of occupations. Cultural activism has led to an expansion of efforts to teach and preserve indigenous languages for younger generations. Their societies and cultures exist within a larger population of descendants of immigrants (both voluntary and involuntary): ], ], ], ], and other peoples.
			When the United States was established, Native American tribes were considered semi-independent nations, because they generally lived in communities which were separate from communities of ] ]. The federal government signed treaties at a government-to-government level until the ] ended recognition of independent Native nations, and started treating them as "domestic dependent nations" subject to applicable federal laws. This law did preserve rights and privileges, including a large degree of ]. For this reason, many Native American reservations are still independent of state law and the actions of tribal citizens on these reservations are subject only to tribal courts and federal law. The ] of 1924 granted US citizenship to all Native Americans born in the US who had not yet obtained it. This emptied the "Indians not taxed" category established by the ], allowed Natives to vote in elections, and extended the ] protections granted to people "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States. However, some states continued to deny ] for decades. Titles II through VII of the ] comprise the Indian Civil Rights Act, which applies to Native American tribes and makes many but not all of the guarantees of the ] applicable within the tribes.<ref>{{Cite web|title="Civil Rights Act of 1968" full text|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-343/pdf/COMPS-343.pdf|date=14 November 2018|publisher=U.S. Government Publishing Office|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200508013659/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-343/pdf/COMPS-343.pdf|archive-date=8 May 2020|access-date=8 May 2020}}</ref>
	{{TOC limit|5}}
			Since the 1960s, ] movements have resulted in positive changes to the lives of many Native Americans, though there are still many ]. Today, there are over five million Native Americans in the US, about 80% of whom live outside reservations. As of 2020, the states with the highest percentage of Native Americans are ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Sánchez-Rivera |first1=Ana I |last2=Jacobs |first2=Paul |last3=Spence |first3=Cody |date=2023-12-03 |title=A Look at the Largest American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes and Villages in the Nation, Tribal Areas and States |url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/10/2020-census-dhc-a-aian-population.html |access-date=2024-12-03 |website=US Census Bureau |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=2020 Census: Native population increased by 86.5 percent | newspaper=ICT News | date=August 13, 2021 | url=https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/2020-census-native-population-increased-by-86-5-percent | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220025418/https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/2020-census-native-population-increased-by-86-5-percent | access-date=November 24, 2022| archive-date=December 20, 2021 }}</ref>
	==History==
			{{TOC limit|3}}
	{{main|History of Native Americans in the United States}}
	===Pre-Columbian===		==Background==
			]s of Indigenous peoples of ] during the ], according to anthropologist ]]]
	{{further2|]|]|]}}
	]).]]
	"]" is not generally used to describe indigenous cultures in the Americas, see ].
			Beginning toward the end of the 15th century, the ] led to centuries of population, cultural, and agricultural transfer and adjustment between ] and ] societies, a process known as the ]. Because most Native American groups had preserved ] by means of ]s and artwork, the ].<ref name="test">Calloway, Colin G. . ''American Heritage'', Spring 2009. Retrieved December 29, 2011</ref>
	The usual theory of the ] is that earliest ancestors of the peoples of the Americas came from ] over a ] which connected the two continents across what is now the ] during a period of glaciation, when the sea water level was lower. The number and nature of these migrations is uncertain but the land bridge is believed to have existed only until about 12,000 years ago, when the land bridge was flooded.<ref name="ReferenceA">Ehlers, J., and P.L. Gibbard, 2004a, ''Quaternary Glaciations: Extent and Chronology 2: Part II North America'', Elsevier, Amsterdam. ISBN 0-444-51462-7.</ref><ref name="SpencerWells2">{{Cite book |first1=Spencer |last1=Wells |first2=Mark |last2=Read |title=The Journey of Man – A Genetic Odyssey |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WAsKm-_zu5sC&lpg=PP1&dq=The%20Journey%20of%20Man&pg=PA138|format=Digitised online by Google books |publisher=Random House |isbn= 0-8129-7146-9 |accessdate=2009-11-21 |year=2002 |pages=138–140}}</ref><ref>Dyke A.S. & Prest V.K. (1986). ''Late Wisconsinian and Holocene retreat of the Larentide ice sheet: Geological Survey of Canada Map'' 1702A</ref>
			] classify the ] into ten geographical regions which are inhabited by groups of people who share certain ] traits, called cultural areas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/tresors/ethno/etb0170e.shtml |title=Culture Areas Index |website=the Canadian Museum of Civilization}}</ref> The ten cultural areas are:{{cn|date=May 2024}}
	Three major migrations occurred, as traced by linguistic and genetic data; the early ]s soon spread throughout the Americas, diversifying into many hundreds of culturally distinct nations and tribes.<ref>Dickason, Olive. ''Canada's First Nations: A History of the Founding Peoples from the Earliest Times''. 2nd edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1997.</ref><ref>Native American populations descend from three key migrations http://phys.org/news/2012-07-native-american-populations-descend-key.html</ref> By 8000 ] the North American climate was very similar to today's.<ref name="icaage">J. Imbrie and K.P.Imbrie, ''Ice Ages: Solving the Mystery'' (Short Hills, NJ: Enslow Publishers) 1979.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/opinion/columnist1/26801-native-americans-descended-from-three-asian-groups-study|title=Native Americans descended from three Asian groups: study|publisher=The Manila Times|date=July 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11258.html|title=Reconstructing Native American population history|journal=Nature|date=July 11, 2012|doi=10.1038/nature11258}}</ref>
			* ], including ], ], and ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ] (])
			At the time of the first contact, the Indigenous cultures were different from those of the proto-industrial and mostly ] immigrants. Some Northeastern and Southwestern cultures, in particular, were ] and they were organized and operated on a more collective basis than the culture which Europeans were familiar with. Most Indigenous American tribes treated their hunting grounds and agricultural lands as land that could be used by their entire tribe. Europeans had developed concepts of individual ] with respect to land that were extremely different. The differences in cultures, as well as the shifting alliances among different nations during periods of warfare, caused extensive political tension, ethnic violence, and social disruption.{{cn|date=May 2024}}
	The ], a ] hunting culture of about 11,000 ], ranged over much of North America and also appeared in South America has been identified by the distinctive ]. Dating of Clovis materials has been by association with animal bones and by the use of ] methods.
			Native Americans suffered high fatality rates from ] that were new to them, and to which they had not acquired ].<ref name="mann"/> ] are thought to have caused the greatest loss of life for Indigenous populations. "The decline of native American populations was rapid and severe, probably the greatest demographic disaster ever. Old World diseases were the primary killer. In many regions, particularly the tropical lowlands, populations fell by 90 percent or more in the first century after the contact."<ref name="denevan"/><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1467-8306.1992.tb01965.x | volume=82 | issue=3 | title=The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americas in 1492 | year=1992 | journal=Annals of the Association of American Geographers | pages=369–385 | last1 = Denevan | first1 = William M.}}</ref>
	Numerous ] cultures occupied North America. According to their oral histories they have been living on this continent since their genesis, described by a wide range of traditional ]. However, genetic and linguistic data connect the indigenous people of this continent with ancient northeast Asians.
			Estimates of pre-Columbian population of the United States vary from 4 to 18&nbsp;million.<ref name="mann">{{cite web |url = https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/03/1491/302445/ |first = Charles C. |last = Mann|title= 1491|website =The Atlantic|date = March 2002}}</ref><ref name="denevan">, posted at Northern Arizona University, published in Sept. 1992, ''Annals of the Association of American Geographers''</ref><ref name="encbrit">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1357826/Native-American/273135/North-America-and-Europe-circa-1492 |title=Native American |access-date=June 28, 2009 |encyclopedia=]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/9392931|title=Their number become thinned: native American population dynamics in eastern North America|date=April 8, 1983|publisher=Published by the University of Tennessee Press in cooperation with the Newberry Library Center for the History of the American Indian|oclc=9392931|via=Open WorldCat}}</ref> Jeffrey Ostler writes: "Most Indigenous communities were eventually afflicted by a variety of diseases, but in many cases this happened long after Europeans first arrived. When severe epidemics did hit, it was often less because Native bodies lack immunity than because European colonialism disrupted Native Communities and damaged their resources, making them more vulnerable to pathogens."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Ostler |first=Jeffrey |title=Surviving Genocide : Native Nations and the United States from the American Revolution to Bleeding Kansas |publisher=New Haven Yale University Press |year=2019}}</ref>
	] for a spear.]]
	The ] was characterized by use of ]s as projectile tips, and data from kill sites, where slaughter and butchering of ] took place. Folsom tools were left behind between 9000&nbsp;BCE and 8000&nbsp;BCE.<ref>Hillerman, Anthony G. (1973). "The Hunt for the Lost American", in ''The Great Taos Bank Robbery and Other Indian Country Affairs'', University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-8263-0306-4.</ref>
			After the ] revolted against ] and established the United States, ] ] and ] ] conceived the idea of "]" Native Americans in preparation for their assimilation as U.S. citizens.<ref name="perdue">{{Cite book|last=Perdue|first=Theda|title=Mixed Blood Indians: Racial Construction in the Early South|publisher=The University of Georgia Press|chapter=Chapter 2 "Both White and Red"|page=51|isbn=978-0-8203-2731-0|year=2003}}</ref><ref name="remini_submit_adoption">{{Cite book|last=Remini|first=Robert|title=Andrew Jackson|publisher=History Book Club|chapter=Brothers, Listen&nbsp;... You Must Submit|page=258|isbn=978-0-06-080132-8|orig-year=1977|year=1998}}</ref><ref name="eric_miller">{{cite web|url=http://www.dreric.org/library/northwest.shtml|title=George Washington and Indians, Washington and the Northwest War, Part One|access-date=May 2, 2008|last=Miller|first=Eric|year=1994|publisher=Eric Miller}}</ref><ref name="Tom_Jewett">{{cite web|url=http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2002_summer_fall/tj_views.htm|title=Thomas Jefferson's Views Concerning Native Americans|access-date=February 17, 2009|first=Tom|last=Jewett|year=1996–2009|publisher=Archiving America}}</ref> Assimilation, whether it was voluntary, as it was with the ],<ref name="us_congress2">{{Cite news|title=An Indian Candidate for Congress|publisher=Christian Mirror and N.H. Observer, Shirley, Hyde & Co.|date=July 15, 1830}}</ref><ref name="us_citizenship">{{cite web|url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/cho0310.htm|title=Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties Vol. II, Treaties|access-date=April 16, 2008|first=Charles|last=Kappler|year=1904|publisher=Government Printing Office|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517182743/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/cho0310.htm|archive-date=May 17, 2008}}</ref> or ], was consistently maintained as a matter of policy by consecutive American administrations.
	]-speaking peoples entered North America starting around 8000 BCE, reaching the ] by 5000 BCE,<ref>, American Anthropological Association, 1969. Retrieved 2010-03-30.</ref> and from there migrating along the ] and into the interior. It is believed that their ancestors comprised a separate migration into North America, later than the first Paleo-Indians. They migrated into Alaska and northern Canada, south along the Pacific Coast, into the interior of Canada, and south to the Great Plains and the American Southwest. They were the earliest ancestors of the ]- speaking peoples, including the present-day and historical ] and ].<ref>Leer, Jeff, Doug Hitch, & John Ritter. 2001. ''Interior Tlingit Noun Dictionary: The Dialects Spoken by Tlingit Elders of Carcross and Teslin, Yukon, and Atlin, British Columbia'', Whitehorse, Yukon Territory: Yukon Native Language Centre. ISBN 1-55242-227-5.</ref>
			During the 19th century, the ideology known as ] became integral to the American nationalist movement. Westward expansion of ] populations after the ] resulted in increasing pressure on Native Americans and their lands, warfare, and rising tensions. In 1830, the ] passed the ], authorizing the ] to relocate Native Americans from their homelands within established states to lands west of the ], in order to accommodate continued European American expansion. This resulted in what amounted to the ] or ] of many tribes, who were subjected to brutal ]. The most infamous of these came to be known as the ].
	Since the 1990s, archeologists have explored and dated eleven Middle ] sites in present-day Louisiana and Florida at which early cultures built complexes with multiple ] ]s; they were societies of hunter-gatherers rather than the settled agriculturalists believed necessary according to the theory of ] to sustain such large villages over long periods. The prime example is ] in northern Louisiana, whose 11-mound complex is dated to 3500&nbsp;BCE, making it the oldest, dated site in the Americas for such complex construction. Construction of the mounds went on for 500&nbsp;years until was abandoned about 2800 BCE, probably due to changing environmental conditions.<ref name="Saunders1">, ''Science'', September 19, 1997: Vol. 277 no. 5333, pp. 1796-1799, accessed 2011-10-27</ref> ] is a Late Archaic ] that inhabited the area of the lower Mississippi Valley and surrounding Gulf Coast. The culture thrived from 2200&nbsp;BCE to 700&nbsp;BCE, during the Late Archaic period.<ref>^ Fagan, Brian M. 2005. ''Ancient North America: The Archaeology of a Continent''. Fourth Edition. New York. Thames & Hudson Inc. p. 418.</ref> Artifacts show the people traded with other Native Americans located from Georgia to the Great Lakes region. This is one among numerous mound sites of complex indigenous cultures throughout the Mississippi and Ohio valleys. They were one of several succeeding cultures often referred to as ].
			Contemporary Native Americans have a unique relationship with the United States because they may be members of nations, tribes, or bands that have ] and ] upon which federal Indian law and a federal Indian trust relationship are based.<ref name="BIA">, Native American Faculty and Staff Association News. University of California, Davis. Accessed October 25, 2011.</ref> Cultural activism since the late 1960s has increased the participation of Indigenous peoples in American politics. It has also led to expanded efforts to teach and preserve Indigenous languages for younger generations, and to establish a more robust cultural infrastructure: Native Americans have founded independent newspapers and online media outlets, including ], the first Native American television channel;<ref name="NATV">, Native American Faculty and Staff Association News. University of California, Davis. Accessed October 25, 2011.</ref> established ] programs, tribal schools ], museums, and language programs. Literature is at the growing forefront of American Indian studies in many genres, with the notable exception of fiction—some traditional American Indians experience fictional narratives as insulting when they conflict with traditional oral tribal narratives.<ref name="NAP">{{Cite book|url=https://www.nap.edu/read/9599/chapter/6|title=Read "America Becoming: Racial Trends and Their Consequences: Volume I" at NAP.edu|year=2001|publisher=National Academies Press |doi=10.17226/9599|isbn=978-0-309-06838-3|via=www.nap.edu}}</ref>
	The ] of ]n ] cultures refers to the time period from roughly 1000&nbsp;BCE to 1,000&nbsp;CE in the eastern part of North America. The term "Woodland" was coined in the 1930s and refers to prehistoric sites dated between the ] and the ]s. The ] is the term for the common aspects of the Native American culture that flourished along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern ] from 200 BCE to 500 CE.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1283 |title=Hopewell |publisher=Ohio History Central}}</ref><ref name="Price">{{Cite book |author=Douglas T. Price, and Gary M. Feinman |year=2008 |title=Images of the Past, 5th edition |pages=274–277 |location=New York |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0-07-340520-9}}</ref>
			The terms used to refer to Native Americans ]. The ways Native Americans refer to themselves vary by region and generation, with many older{{fact|date=December 2023}} Native Americans self-identifying as "Indians" or "American Indians", while younger{{fact|date=December 2023}} Native Americans often identify as "Indigenous" or "Aboriginal". The term "Native American" has not traditionally included ] or certain ],<ref>{{cite web|title=Reporter's Indigenous Terminology Guide|publisher=Native American Journalists Association|url=http://www.naja.com/reporter-s-indigenous-terminology-guide/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116050310/https://www.naja.com/reporter-s-indigenous-terminology-guide/|archive-date=November 16, 2018|quote=Over time, Native American has been expandedsome in Alaska.}} - The absence of Hawaiian and other Alaskan groups implies that it does not include them.</ref> such as ], ], or ] peoples. By comparison, the ] are generally known as ], ] and ] (]).{{fact|date=December 2023}}
	]s of ], according to ].]]
	] is one of the four major prehistoric archaeological traditions of the present-day ].<ref name="mark">Chenault, Mark, Rick Ahlstrom, and Tom Motsinger, (1993) ''In the Shadow of South Mountain: The Pre-Classic Hohokam of 'La Ciudad de los Hornos','' Part I and II.</ref> Living as simple farmers, they raised corn and beans. The early Hohokam founded a series of small villages along the middle ]. The communities were located near good arable land, with ] common in the earlier years of this period.<ref name="mark"/>
			{{TOC limit|3}}
	The ], which extended throughout the Ohio and Mississippi valleys and built sites throughout the Southeast, created the largest ] in North America north of Mexico, most notably at ], on a tributary of the Mississippi River in present-day Illinois. The society began building at this site about 950&nbsp;CE, and reached its peak population in 1,250&nbsp;CE of 20,000–30,000 people, which was not equalled by any city in the present-day United States until after 1800.
			==History==
	]'', painting by ], 1818]]
			{{Main|History of Native Americans in the United States|Population history of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas}}
	Sophisticated pre-Columbian sedentary societies evolved in North America. The rise of the complex cultures was based on the people's adoption of ] agriculture, development of greater population densities, and ]-level complex social organization from 1200 CE to 1650 CE.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.siu.edu/~anthro/muller/SECC/sld008.htm |title=Connections |author=muller}}{{dead link|date=August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Townsend |first=Richard F., and Robert V. Sharp, eds. |title=Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand |publisher=The Art Institute of Chicago and Yale University Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-300-10601-7}}</ref> The introduction of ] from ] allowed the accumulation of crop surpluses to support a higher density of population and led to development of specialized skills.<ref>{{Cite book |editors=F. Kent Reilly and James Garber |title=Ancient Objects and Sacred Realms |publisher=]|year=2007 |isbn=978-0-292-71347-5}}</ref>
			] and ] settlements during the era of ]]]
			] and the ] (on the left), {{Circa|200 BCE}} to {{Circa|500 CE}}, depicted in a 2019 portrait]]
			The history of Native Americans in the United States began before the founding of the U.S., tens of thousands of years ago with the ] by the ]. The Eurasian migration to the Americas occurred over millennia via ], a land bridge between ] and ], as early humans spread southward and eastward, forming distinct cultures and societies. Archaeological evidence suggests these migrations began 60,000 years ago and continued until around 12,000 years ago. Some may have arrived even before this time fishing in kayaks along what is known as the "]". The early inhabitants by land were classified as ], who spread throughout the Americas, diversifying into numerous culturally distinct nations. Major Paleo-Indian cultures included the ] and ], identified through unique spear points and large-game hunting methods, especially during the ].
	The ] or "People of the Long House", based in present-day upstate and western ], had a ] model from the mid-15th&nbsp;century. It has been suggested that their culture contributed to political thinking during the development of the later United States government. Their system of affiliation was a kind of federation, different from the strong, centralized European monarchies.<ref>{{cite book |title=33 questions about American history you're not supposed to ask |first=Thomas E |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=dCMcnBRKR-0C&pg=PA62 |last= Woods |page=62|publisher=Crown Forum |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-307-34668-1 |accessdate=2010-10-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wright |first=R |year=2005 |title=Stolen Continents: 500 Years of Conquest and Resistance in the Americas |publisher=Mariner Books |isbn=0-618-49240-2}}</ref><ref name="Tooker">{{cite book |editor=Clifton JA |title=The Invented Indian: Cultural Fictions and Government Policies |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ARbVmr941TsC&pg=PA107|publisher=Transaction Publishers |location=New Brunswick, N.J., U.S.A |year=1990 |pages=107–128 |chapter=The United States Constitution and the Iroquois League |isbn=1-56000-745-1 |accessdate=2010-11-24 |author=Tooker E}}</ref>
			Around 8000 BCE, as the climate stabilized, new cultural periods like the ] arose, during which hunter-gatherer communities developed complex societies across North America. The ] created large earthworks, such as at ] and ], which date to 3500 BCE and 2200 BCE, respectively, indicating early social and organizational complexity. By 1000 BCE, Native societies in the ] developed advanced social structures and trade networks, with the ] connecting the Eastern Woodlands to the ] and the ]. This period led to the ], with large urban centers like ]—a city with complex mounds and a population exceeding 20,000 by 1250 CE.
	Inter-tribal warfare was endemic resulting in displacement and migration of numerous tribes.<ref name="Burns">{{cite web |url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/O/OS001.html |title=Osage |publisher=Oklahoma Encyclopedia of History and Culture |accessdate=2010-11-29|last=Burns |first=LF}}</ref>
			From the 15th century onward, European contact drastically reshaped the Americas. Explorers and settlers introduced diseases, causing massive Indigenous population declines, and engaged in violent conflicts with Native groups. By the 19th century, westward U.S. expansion, rationalized by ], pressured tribes into forced relocations like the ], which decimated communities and redefined Native territories. Despite resistance in events like the ] and ], Native American lands continued to be reduced through policies like the ] of 1830 and later the ], which undermined communal landholding.
	===European exploration and colonization===
	{{Main|Age of Discovery|European colonization of the Americas}}
	] (1823–1879) is a ] depiction of de Soto's seeing the Mississippi River for the first time. It hangs in the ].]]
	After 1492 ] ] revolutionized how the ] and ]s perceived themselves. Many of the first major contacts were in Florida and the Gulf coast by Spanish explorers.<ref>{{Cite book
	|title=Globalization and educational rights: an intercivilizational analysis
	|author=Joel H. Spring
	|publisher=Routledge
	|year=2001
	|isbn=978-0-8058-3882-4
	|page=
	}}</ref>
			]'' sculpture stood outside the ] between 1853 and 1958. Commissioned by the ], its sculptor ] wrote that it was "to convey the idea of the triumph of the whites over the savage tribes".<ref>] (2004), , (Series: Social History of Modern Art); ], p. 527.</ref>]]
	====Impact on native populations====
			A justification for the policy of conquest and subjugation of the Indigenous people emanated from the stereotyped perceptions of Native Americans as "merciless Indian savages" (as described in the ]).<ref>{{cite book|title=Out West|date=2000|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|page=96}}</ref> Sam Wolfson in '']'' writes, "The declaration's passage has often been cited as an encapsulation of the dehumanizing attitude toward Indigenous Americans that the US was founded on."<ref>{{cite news |title=Facebook labels declaration of independence as 'hate speech' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/05/facebook-declaration-of-independence-hate-speech |access-date=August 7, 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>
	From the 16th through the 19th&nbsp;centuries, the population of Indians sharply declined.<ref>{{cite web |author= |title=''The Wild Frontier: Atrocities During the American-Indian War'' |publisher=Amazon.com |asin=0375503749}}</ref> Most mainstream scholars believe that, among the various contributing factors,<ref name="accessgenealogy1">, Frederick W. Hodge, ''Handbook of American Indians'', 1906.</ref> ] ] was the overwhelming cause of the population decline of the American natives because of their lack of ] to new diseases brought from Europe.<ref>"''''". Arthur C. Aufderheide, Conrado Rodríguez-Martín, Odin Langsjoen (1998). ]. p.205. ISBN 0-521-55203-6</ref><ref>{{Cite book | first = George C. | last = Kohn | title = Encyclopedia of plague and pestilence: from ancient times to the present | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=tzRwRmb09rgC&pg=PA33 | publisher = Infobase Publishing | year = 2008 | page = 33 | isbn = 0-8160-6935-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/smallpox_01.shtml |title=Smallpox: Eradicating the Scourge |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=November 5, 2009 |accessdate=2010-08-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/variables/smallpox.html |title=The Story Of... Smallpox—and other Deadly Eurasian Germs |publisher=Pbs.org |accessdate=2010-08-22}}</ref> It is difficult to estimate the number of Native Americans living in what is today the United States of America.<ref>"". '']'' June 16, 1995: Vol. 268. no. 5217, pp. 1601–1604 {{doi|10.1126/science.268.5217.1601}}.</ref> Estimates range from a low of 2.1 million to a high of 18&nbsp;million (Dobyns 1983).<ref name="ggbook"/><ref name="encbrit"/><ref>{{Cite book
	|first=Russell
	|last=Thornton
	|title=American Indian holocaust and survival: a population history since 1492
	|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press
	|year=1990
	|pages=26–32
	|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=9iQYSQ9y60MC&printsec=frontcover&dq=American+Indian+holocaust+and+survival:+a+population+history+since+1492#v=onepage&q&f=true
	|isbn=0-8061-2220-X}}</ref><ref>, History News Network, 11–22–04.</ref> By 1800, the Native population of the present-day United States had declined to approximately 600,000, and only 250,000 Native Americans remained in the 1890s.<ref>Thorton, Russel (1990). ''American Indian holocaust and survival: a population history since 1492''. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 43. ISBN 0-8061-2220-X.</ref> ] and ], ] but rarely fatal among Europeans (long after being introduced from ]), often proved deadly to Native Americans.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Greg |last=Lange |url=http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=5100|title=Smallpox epidemic ravages Native Americans on the northwest coast of North America in the 1770s |encyclopedia=Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History |date=January 23, 2003|accessdate=2011-04-24 |quote=Worldwide studies show that the fatality rates to people never before exposed to smallpox are at least 30 percent of the entire population and sometimes as high as 50 to 70 percent.}}</ref><ref>Native American History and Cultures, http://www.meredith.edu/nativeam/setribes.htm Susan Squires and John Kincheloe, syllabus for HIS 943A, ], 2005. Retrieved 2006-09-19.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9968/9968.ch01.html |title=David A. Koplow, '' Smallpox: The Fight to Eradicate a Global Scourge'' |publisher=Ucpress.edu |accessdate=2011-02-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=M. Paul |last=Keesler |chapterurl=http://www.mpaulkeeslerbooks.com/Chap5Iroquois.html#DutchChildren |chapter=Chapter 5 - Iroquois (Dutch Children's Disease Kills Thousands of Mohawks) |title=Mohawk: Discovering the Valley of the Crystals |year=2008 |publisher=North Country Press |isbn=9781595310217 |accessdate=2012-07-27}}</ref>
			Native American nations on the plains in the west continued armed conflicts with the U.S. throughout the 19th century, through what were called generally ].<ref>Thornton, Russell (1990). . University of Oklahoma Press. p. 48. {{ISBN|978-0-8061-2220-5}}</ref> Notable conflicts in this period include the ], ], ], ], and ]. Expressing the frontier anti-Indian sentiment, ] believed the Indians were destined to vanish under the pressure of white civilization, stating in an 1886 lecture:
	In 1634, Fr. Andrew White of the ] established a mission in what is now the state of ], and the purpose of the mission, stated through an interpreter to the chief of an Indian tribe there, was "to extend civilization and instruction to his ignorant race, and show them the way to heaven."<ref>Foley, Henry. . 1875. London: Burns and Oates. .</ref> Fr. Andrew's diaries report that by 1640, a community had been founded which they named St. Mary's, and the Indians were sending their children there "to be educated among the English."<ref>ibid., </ref> This included the daughter of the Pascatoe Indian chief Tayac, which exemplifies not only a school for Indians, but either a school for girls, or an early co-ed school. The same records report that in 1677, "a school for humanities was opened by our Society in the centre of , directed by two of the Fathers; and the native youth, applying themselves assiduously to study, made good progress. Maryland and the recently established school sent two boys to St. Omer who yielded in abilities to few Europeans, when competing for the honour of being first in their class. So that not gold, nor silver, nor the other products of the earth alone, but men also are gathered from thence to bring those regions, which foreigners have unjustly called ferocious, to a higher state of virtue and cultivation."<ref>ibid., </ref>
			{{blockquote|I don't go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of ten are, and I shouldn't like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth.<ref name="Carney">Cary Michael Carney (1999). "Native American Higher Education in the United States". pp. 65–66. Transaction Publications</ref>}}
	In 1727, ] founded ], which is currently the oldest, continuously-operating school for girls and the oldest Catholic school in the United States. From the time of its foundation it offered the first classes for Native American girls, and would later offer classes for female African-American slaves and free women of color.
	] warriors who fought with the British in the ].]]		] for the dead ] after the ], which took place on December 29, 1890, during the ]]]
			One of the last and most notable events during the Indian wars was the ] in 1890.<ref name="Wounded Knee"/> In the years leading up to it the U.S. government had continued to seize ] lands. A ] ritual on the Northern Lakota reservation at Wounded Knee, ], led to the U.S. Army's attempt to subdue the Lakota. The dance was part of a religious movement founded by the ] spiritual leader ] that told of the return of the Messiah to relieve the suffering of Native Americans and promised that if they would live righteous lives and perform the Ghost Dance properly, the European American colonists would vanish, the bison would return, and the living and the dead would be reunited in an ]<nowiki/>ic world.<ref name="Wounded Knee"/> On December 29 at Wounded Knee, gunfire erupted, and U.S. soldiers killed up to 300 Indians, mostly old men, women, and children.<ref name="Wounded Knee">{{cite web|title=Plains Humanities: Wounded Knee Massacre|url=http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.war.056|access-date=August 9, 2016|publisher=University of Nebraska–Lincoln}}</ref>
	Between 1754 and 1763, many Native American tribes were involved in the ]/]. Those involved in the ] tended to ally with French forces against British colonial militias. The British had made fewer allies, but it was joined by some tribes that wanted to prove assimilation and loyalty in support of treaties to preserve their territories. They were often disappointed when such treaties were later overturned. The tribes had their own purposes, using their alliances with the European powers to battle traditional Native enemies. Some ] who were loyal to the British, and helped them fight in the ], fled north into Canada.
			Days after the massacre, the author ] wrote:
	After European explorers reached the West Coast in the 1770s, smallpox rapidly killed at least 30% of ] Native Americans. For the next 80 to 100 years, smallpox and other diseases devastated native populations in the region.<ref>, History Net, Missouri State University, Humanities & Social Sciences Online.</ref> ] area populations, once estimated as high as 37,000 people, were reduced to only 9,000 survivors by the time settlers arrived en masse in the mid-19th century.<ref>Greg Lange,, ''The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History'', January 23, 2003. Retrieved 2008-08-09.</ref>
			{{blockquote|The Pioneer has before declared that our only safety depends upon the total extermination of the Indians. Having wronged them for centuries, we had better, in order to protect our civilization, follow it up by one more wrong and wipe these untamed and untamable creatures from the face of the earth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northern.edu/hastingw/baumedts.htm |title="L. Frank Baum's Editorials on the Sioux Nation" |accessdate=2007-12-09 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071209193251/http://www.northern.edu/hastingw/baumedts.htm |archivedate=2007-12-09 }} Full text of both, with commentary by professor A. Waller Hastings</ref>}}
			In the 20th century, Native Americans served in significant numbers during World War II, marking a turning point for Indigenous visibility and involvement in broader American society. Post-war, Native activism grew, with movements such as the ] (AIM) drawing attention to Indigenous rights. Landmark legislation like the ] of 1975 recognized tribal autonomy, leading to the establishment of Native-run schools and economic initiatives. Tribal sovereignty has continued to evolve, with legal victories and federal acknowledgments supporting cultural revitalization.
	Smallpox epidemics in ] and ] brought devastation and drastic depopulation among the ].<ref>, National Institutes of Health.</ref><ref>, The Fur Trapper.</ref> By 1832, the federal government established a ] program for Native Americans (''The Indian Vaccination Act of 1832''). It was the first federal program created to address a health problem of Native Americans.<ref>, ''Project Muse'', Johns Hopkins University.</ref><ref>.</ref>
			By the 21st century, Native Americans had achieved increased control over tribal lands and resources, although many communities continue to grapple with the legacy of displacement and economic challenges. Urban migration has also grown, with over 70% of Native Americans residing in cities by 2012, navigating issues of cultural preservation and discrimination. Continuing legal and social efforts address these concerns, building on centuries of resilience and adaptation that characterize Indigenous history across the Americas.
	====Animal introductions====
	With the meeting of two worlds, animals, insects, and plants were carried from one to the other, both deliberately and by chance, in what is called the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/htallant/courses/his111/columb.htm |title=The Columbian Biological Exchange |publisher=Spider.georgetowncollege.edu |date= |accessdate=2013-02-16}}</ref> In the 16th&nbsp;century, Spaniards and other Europeans brought ]s to Mexico. Some of the horses escaped and began to breed and increase their numbers in the wild. As Native Americans adopted use of the animals, they began to change their cultures in substantial ways, especially by extending their nomadic ranges for hunting. The reintroduction of the horse to ] had a profound impact on ].
			==Demographics==
	===King Philip's War===
			{{Further|Modern social statistics of Native Americans}}
	{{Main|King Philip's War}}
			{{See also|Population history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas}}
			], and ] as of the ]</div>]]
			], ], and ] as of the ]</div>]]
			]
			According to the 2020 census, the U.S. population was 331.4 million. Of this, 3.7 million people, or 1.1 percent, reported American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry alone. In addition, 5.9 million people (1.8 percent), reported American Indian or Alaska Native in combination with one or more other races.<ref>{{cite web|title=P1 RACE|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=P1%3A%20RACE&g=0100000US&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P1|publisher=U.S. Census|access-date=August 11, 2022}}</ref>
	], also called ]'s War or Metacom's Rebellion, was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day southern ] and English colonists and their Native American allies from 1675 to 1676. It continued in northern New England (primarily on the Maine frontier) even after King Philip was killed, until a ] at ] in April 1678.<ref>Giersbach, Walter. , MilitaryHistoryOnline.com</ref>
			The definition of American Indian or Alaska Native used in the 2010 census was as follows:
	===Foundations for freedom===
	{{Further|Great Law of Peace}}
	]'' by ] painted in 1771.]]
	Some Europeans considered Native American societies to be representative of a golden age known to them only in folk history.<ref name="rousseau_freedom">
	{{cite web
	|url = http://www.ratical.org/many_worlds/6Nations/EoL/chp4.html
	|title = Ennobling 'Savages'
	|accessdate = 2008-09-05
	|author = Jean Jacques Rousseau
	|date = 1700s
	}}
	</ref> In the 20th century, some writers have credited the ]' political confederacy and ] ] as being influences for the development of the ] and the ].<ref name="danile_usner_1992">
	{{Cite book
	|last = Armstrong
	|first = Virginia Irving
	|title = I Have Spoken: American History Through the Voices of the Indians
	|publisher = Pocket Books
	|page = 14
	|isbn =0-671-78555-9
	|year = 1971
	|isbn = 0-8040-0530-3
	}}
	</ref><ref>Mee, Charles L., Jr. ''The Genius of the People''. New York: Harper & Row, 1987. p. 237. Note: ] of ] is said to have read lengthy tracts of Iroquoian law to the other framers of the Constitution, beginning with the words, "We, the people, to form a union, to establish peace, equity, and order..."</ref>
			<blockquote>According to Office of Management and Budget, "American Indian or Alaska Native" refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.<ref name="2010 Census AMAN">{{cite web|title=The American Indian and Alaska Native Population: 2010|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-10.pdf|publisher=U.S. Census|access-date=2010-06-02|first1=Tina |last1=Norris |first2=Paula L. |last2=Vines |first3=Elizabeth M. |last3=Hoeffel|date=January 2012}}</ref></blockquote>
	===American Revolution===
	] Native Americans meet with the Trustee of the colony of Georgia in England, July 1734. The painting shows a Native American boy (in a blue coat) and woman (in a red dress) in European clothing.]]
			Despite generally referring to groups indigenous to the continental US and Alaska, this demographic as defined by the US Census Bureau includes all ], including ] peoples such as the ], as well as ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|author=United States Census Bureau|title=About the Topic of Race|url=https://www.census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html|access-date=2024-06-29|website=Census.gov}}</ref> In 2022, 634,503 Indigenous people in the United States identified with Central American Indigenous groups, 875,183 identified with the ], and 47,518 identified with Canadian ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Grid View: Table B02017 - Census Reporter |url=https://censusreporter.org/data/table/?table=B02017&geo_ids=01000US&primary_geo_id=01000US |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=censusreporter.org}}</ref> Of the 3.2 million Americans who identified as American Indian or Alaska Native alone in 2022, around 45% are of ] ethnicity, with this number growing as increasing numbers of Indigenous people from Latin American countries immigrate to the US and more Latinos self-identify with indigenous heritage.<ref>{{cite web |title=Grid View: Table B03002 - Census Reporter |url=https://censusreporter.org/data/table/?table=B03002&geo_ids=01000US&primary_geo_id=01000US |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=censusreporter.org}}</ref> Of groups Indigenous to the United States, the largest self-reported tribes are ] (1,449,888), ] (434,910), ] (295,373), ] (288,255), ] (220,739), and ] (191,823).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Grid View: Table B02017 - Census Reporter |url=https://censusreporter.org/data/table/?table=B02017&geo_ids=01000US&primary_geo_id=01000US |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=censusreporter.org}}</ref> 205,954 respondents specified an ] identity.
	During the ], the newly proclaimed ] competed with the British for the allegiance of Native American nations east of the ]. Most Native Americans who joined the struggle sided with the British, based both on their trading relationships and hopes that colonial defeat would result in a halt to further colonial expansion onto Native American land. Many native communities were divided over which side to support in the war and others wanted to remain neutral. The first native community to ] was the ]. For the ] Confederacy, based in New York, the American Revolution resulted in ]. The British made peace with the Americans in the ], through which they ceded vast Native American territories to the United States without informing or consulting with the Native Americans.
			] are counted separately from Native Americans by the census, being classified as ]. According to 2022 estimates, 714,847 Americans reported Native Hawaiian ancestry.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Grid View: Table B02019 - Census Reporter |url=https://censusreporter.org/data/table/?table=B02019&geo_ids=01000US&primary_geo_id=01000US#valueType%7Cestimate |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=censusreporter.org}}</ref>
	===18th century United States===
	The United States was eager to expand, to develop farming and settlements in new areas, and to satisfy land hunger of settlers from New England and new immigrants. The national government initially sought to purchase Native American land by ]. The states and settlers were frequently at odds with this policy.<ref>, AmericanRevolution.org, History Channel Network. Retrieved 2006-02-23.</ref>
			The 2010 census permitted respondents to self-identify as being of one or more races. Self-identification dates from the census of 1960; prior to that the race of the respondent was determined by the opinion of the census taker. The option to select more than one race was introduced in 2000.<ref name="Newest Indians">{{cite news|title=The Newest Indians|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0F17FD3A580C728EDDA10894DD404482|access-date=June 2, 2012|work=The New York Times Magazine|date=August 21, 2005|first=Jack|last=Hitt}}</ref> If American Indian or Alaska Native was selected, the form requested the individual provide the name of the "enrolled or principal tribe".
	United States policy toward Native Americans continued to evolve after the American Revolution. ] and ] believed that Native Americans were equals but that their society was inferior. Washington formulated a policy to encourage the "civilizing" process.<ref name="remini_reform_begins" /> Washington had a six-point plan for civilization which included:
			===Population since 1880===
	# impartial justice toward Native Americans
			Censuses counted around 346,000 Native Americans in 1880 (including 33,000 in Alaska and 82,000 in Oklahoma, back then known as ]), around 274,000 in 1890 (including 25,500 in Alaska and 64,500 in Oklahoma), 362,500 in 1930 and 366,500 in 1940, including those on and off reservations in the 48 states and Alaska. Native American population rebounded sharply from 1950, when they numbered 377,273; it reached 551,669 in 1960, 827,268 in 1970, with an annual growth rate of 5%, four times the national average.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rosenthal |first=Jack |date=1971-10-20 |title=1970 Census Finds Indian No Longer the Vanishing American |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/10/20/archives/1970-census-finds-indian-no-longer-the-vanishing-american.html |accessdate=2023-02-11 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Total spending on Native Americans averaged $38 million a year in the late 1920s, dropping to a low of $23 million in 1933, and returning to $38&nbsp;million in 1940. The ] counted more American Indians than the ] until 1930:
	# regulated buying of Native American lands
			{| class="wikitable"
	# promotion of commerce
			|+American Indians according to the Census Bureau and the Office of Indian Affairs 1890-1930
	# promotion of experiments to civilize or improve Native American society
			!Decade
	# presidential authority to give presents
			!American Indians, Census Bureau
	# punishing those who violated Native American rights.<ref name="eric_miller">
			!American Indians, Office of Indian Affairs
	{{cite web
			!Alaska Natives
	|url = http://www.dreric.org/library/northwest.shtml
	|title = George Washington And Indians
	|accessdate = 2008-05-02
	|author = Eric Miller
	|last = Miller
	|first = Eric
	|year = 1994
	|chapter = Washington and the Northwest War, Part One
	|publisher = Eric Miller
	}}
	</ref>
	], seen here on his plantation, teaches ] Native Americans how to use European technology. Painted in 1805.]]
	In the late 18th century, reformers starting with Washington and Knox,<ref>''The Great Confusion in Indian Affairs: Native Americans and Whites in the Progressive Era'', Tom Holm, http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/exholgre.html</ref> supported educating native children and adults, in efforts to "]" or otherwise assimilate Native Americans to the larger society (as opposed to relegating them to ]). The ] of 1819 promoted this civilization policy by providing funding to societies (mostly religious) who worked on Native American improvement.<ref name="Jefferson_treaty_CCC">
	{{cite web
	|url = http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/jeffind3.asp
	|title = To the Brothers of the Choctaw Nation
	|accessdate = 2010-10-24
	|publisher = Yale Law School
	|year = 1803
	}}
	</ref>
	===19th century===
	] was the Shawnee leader of ] who attempted to organize an alliance of Native American tribes throughout North America.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.snowwowl.com/swolfpastnotables.html |title=Past Notable Native Americans |publisher=Snowwowl.com |accessdate=2010-08-22}}</ref>]]
	As American expansion continued, Native Americans resisted settlers' encroachment in several regions of the new nation (and in unorganized territories), from the Northwest to the Southeast, and then in the West, as settlers encountered the tribes of the ]. East of the Mississippi River, an intertribal army led by ], a Shawnee chief, fought a number of engagements in the Northwest during the period 1811–12, known as ]. Conflicts in the Southeast include the ] and ], both before and after the ]s of most members of the ]. Native American nations on the plains in the west continued armed conflicts with the United States throughout the 19th century, through what were called generally "]."<ref>Thornton, Russell (1990). ''. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-8061-2220-5</ref>
	In the 1830s President Jackson signed the ] a policy of relocating Indians from the Southeast to the Midwest for their own protection.<ref>The "Indian Homestead Act" of 1871 or the Dawes Act stated:"PROVIDED, That hereafter no Indian nation or tribe within the territory of the United Sates shall be acknowledged or recognized as an independent nation, tribe, or power with whom the United States may contract by treaty." </ref> The resulting forced emigration is known as the ].
	In July 1845, the New York newspaper editor John L. O’Sullivan coined the phrase, "Manifest Destiny," as the "design of Providence" supporting the territorial expansion of the United States.<ref>Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, Robert Tignor, Jeremy Adelman, Stephen Aron, Stephen Kotkin, Suzanne Marchand, Gyan Prakash, Michael Tsin, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 2000, p. 274.</ref> ] had serious consequences for Native Americans, since continental expansion for the United States took place at the cost of their occupied land.<ref name="manifestquote">{{cite web
	|url = http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20090105132255/http://www.enotes.com/famous-quotes/what-a-prodigious-growth-this-english-race
	|title = Hayes Quotes: What a prodigious growth this English race, ..
	|accessdate = 2008-09-04
	|author = Rutherford Birchard Hayes
	|year = 1857
	}}</ref>
	The ] of 1851 set the precedent for modern-day Native American reservations through allocating funds to move western tribes onto reservations since there were no more lands available for relocation.
	====Civil War====
	{{details|Native Americans in the American Civil War}}
	] was a Union Civil War General who wrote the terms of surrender between the United States and the ].<ref>Ely Parker .</ref>]]
	Many Native Americans served in the military during the ], on both sides.<ref name="clr">{{cite web |title="We are all Americans", Native Americans in the Civil War
	|url=http://oha.alexandriava.gov/fortward/special-sections/americans/ |date=January 5, 2009 |accessdate=2009-01-05 |publisher=Native Americans.com |author=W. David Baird et al.}}</ref><ref name="ab">{{cite web |title=Union and Confederate Indians in the Civil War "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War" |url=http://www.civilwarhome.com/unionconfedindians.htm |date=January 5, 2009 |accessdate=2009-01-05 |publisher=Civil War Potpourri |author=Wiley Britton}}</ref>
	====Removals and reservations====
	{{main|Americanization of Native Americans}}
	{{Further|List of Native American reservations in the United States}}
	{{Further|Native American reservation politics}}
	In the 19th century, the incessant ] incrementally compelled large numbers of Native Americans to resettle further west, often by force, almost always reluctantly. Native Americans believed this forced relocation illegal, given the ]. Under President ], ] passed the ] of 1830, which authorized the President to conduct treaties to exchange Native American land east of the ] for lands west of the river.
	As many as 100,000 Native Americans relocated to the West as a result of this ] policy. In theory, relocation was supposed to be voluntary and many Native Americans did remain in the East. In practice, great pressure was put on Native American leaders to sign removal treaties. The most egregious violation, the ], was removal of the Cherokee by President Jackson to ].<ref>Carter (III), Samuel (1976). ''Cherokee Sunset: A Nation Betrayed : A Narrative of Travail and Triumph, Persecution and Exile''. New York: Doubleday, p. 232.</ref>
	====Native Americans and U.S. Citizenship====
	In 1817, the Cherokee became the first Native Americans recognized as U.S. citizens. Under Article 8 of the 1817 Cherokee treaty, "Upwards of 300 Cherokees (Heads of Families) in the honest simplicity of their souls, made an election to become American citizens."<ref name="McLoughlin">
	{{cite web
	| url = http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2712531?uid=3739760&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=47699099097037
	| title = Experiment in Cherokee Citizenship, 1817-1829
	| accessdate = 2012-06-22
	| author = William G. McLoughlin
	| year = 1981
	| format = PDF
	| publisher = American Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Spring, 1981), pp. 3-25
	}}
	</ref><ref name="Cherokee_us_citizenship">
	{{cite web
	| url = http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/che0140.htm#mn1
	| title = INDIAN AFFAIRS: LAWS AND TREATIES Vol. II, Treaties
	| accessdate = 2012-06-22
	| author = Charles Kappler
	| year = 1904
	| publisher = Government Printing Office
	}}
	</ref>
	Factors establishing citizenship included:
	<blockquote>
	1. Treaty provision (as with the Cherokee) <br>
	2. Registration and land allotment under the ]<br>
	3. Issuance of Patent in ] <br>
	4. Adopting Habits of Civilized Life <br>
	5. Minor Children <br>
	6. Citizenship by Birth <br>
	7. Becoming Soldiers and Sailors in the U.S. Armed Forces <br>
	8. Marriage to a U.S. citizen <br>
	9. Special Act of Congress. <br>
	</blockquote>
	After the American Civil War, the ] states, "that all persons born in the United States, and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States".<ref name="McCool">McCool, Daniel, Susan M. Olson, and Jennifer L. Robinson. ''Native Vote'', Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2007.</ref>
	=====Indian Appropriations Act of 1871=====
	In 1871 Congress added a ] to the ] ending United States recognition of ] or independent nations, and prohibiting additional treaties.<ref name="App_act">
	{{cite web
	|url = http://law.onecle.com/constitution/article-2/21-indian-treaties.html
	|title = Indian Treaties
	|accessdate = 2009-03-31
	|author = Onecle
	|date = Last modified: November 8, 2005
	}}
	</ref>
	====Education and Indian boarding schools====
	{{main|Indian boarding schools}}
	After the Indian wars in the late 19th century, the United States established ], initially run primarily by or affiliated with Christian missionaries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?AuthorID=2616&id=7375 |work=authorsden.com |title=What Were Boarding Schools Like for Indian Youth? |accessdate=2006-02-08}}</ref> At this time American society thought that Native American children needed to be acculturated to the general society. The ] experience often proved traumatic to Native American children, who were forbidden to speak their ], taught ] and denied the right to practice their native religions, and in numerous other ways forced to abandon their Native American identities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacbee.com/static/archive/news/projects/native/day2_main.html
	|work=California's Lost Tribes |title=Long-suffering urban Indians find roots in ancient rituals |accessdate=2006-02-08 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20050829051045/http://sacbee.com/static/archive/news/projects/native/day2_main.html |archivedate=2005-08-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prsp.bc.ca |work=PRSP Disabilities |title=Developmental and learning disabilities |accessdate=2006-02-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/amnestynow/soulwound.html |work=Amnesty International USA |title=Soul Wound: The Legacy of Native American Schools |accessdate=2006-02-08}}</ref>
	Since the rise of self-determination for Native Americans, they have generally emphasized education of their children at schools near where they live. In addition, many ] have taken over operations of such schools and added programs of language retention and revival to strengthen their cultures. Beginning in the 1970s, tribes have also founded ] at their reservations, controlled and operated by Native Americans, to educate their young for jobs as well as to pass on their cultures.
	===20th century===
	], of ], ], ], ] and ] ancestry, was 31st&nbsp;Vice President of the United States, 1929-1933.]]
	On August 29, 1911 ], generally considered to have been the last Native American to live most of his life without contact with ] culture, was discovered near Oroville, California.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kroeber|first=Throdora|title=Ishi: In Two Worlds|year=1962|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Starn|first=Orrin|title=Ishi's Brain: In Search of America's Last "Wild" Indian|year=2004|publisher=Norton|location=New York}}</ref><ref name=NYT961911>{{cite news|title=FIND A RARE ABORIGINE.; Scientists Obtain Valuable Tribal Lore from Southern Yahi Indian.|url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0E17FB355A15738DDDAE0894D1405B818DF1D3|accessdate=2012-09-02|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 6, 1911|location=San Francisco}}</ref>
	On June 2, 1924 U.S.&nbsp;] President ] signed the ], which made citizens of the ] of all Native Americans, who were not already citizens, born in the United States and its territories. Prior to passage of the act, nearly two-thirds of Native Americans were already U.S.&nbsp;citizens.<ref name="2-3_us_citizenship">
	{{cite web
	| url = http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/vol4/html_files/v4p1165.html
	| title = Indian affairs: laws and treaties Vol. IV, Treaties
	| accessdate = 2008-10-14
	| author = Charles Kappler
	| year = 1929
	| publisher = Government Printing Office
	}}
	</ref>
	American Indians today in the U.S. have all the rights guaranteed in the ], can vote in elections, and run for political office. Controversies remain over how much the federal government has jurisdiction over tribal affairs, sovereignty, and cultural practices.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Deloria |first=Vincent |title=American Indian policy in the 20th century |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |year=1992 |page=91|url=http://books.google.com/?id=VzWIpZBZgA0C |isbn=978-0-8061-2424-7}}</ref>
	====World War II====
	{{details|Native Americans and World War II}}
	] meeting ], ], ] and other Native American troops.]]
	Some 44,000&nbsp;Native Americans served in the ] during ]: at the time, one-third of all able-bodied Indian men from 18 to 50 years of age.<ref name="WorldWarII">
	{{cite web
	|url = http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/nativeamerican01/wwii.html
	|title = American Indians in World War II
	|accessdate = 2008-02-25
	|author = U.S. Department of Defense
	|publisher = www.defenselink.mil
	}}
	</ref> Described as the first large-scale exodus of indigenous peoples from the ] since the removals of the 19th century, the men's service with the US military in the international conflict was a turning point in Native American history. The overwhelming majority of Native Americans welcomed the opportunity to serve; they had a voluntary enlistment rate that was 40% higher than those drafted.<ref>
	{{cite web
	|url = http://www.history.army.mil/html/topics/natam/natam-wwii.html
	|title = Native Americans in World War II
	|accessdate = 2011-05-01
	|author = Thomas D. Morgan
	|publisher = ]}}</ref>
	Their fellow soldiers often held them in high esteem, in part since the legend of the tough Native American warrior had become a part of the fabric of American historical legend. White servicemen sometimes showed a lighthearted respect toward Native American comrades by calling them "chief". The resulting increase in contact with the world outside of the reservation system brought profound changes to Native American culture. "The war", said the U.S.&nbsp;Indian Commissioner in 1945, "caused the greatest disruption of Native life since the beginning of the reservation era", affecting the habits, views, and economic well-being of tribal members.<ref>Bernstein, p. 131</ref> The most significant of these changes was the opportunity—as a result of wartime labor shortages—to find well-paying work in cities, and many people relocated to urban areas, particularly on the West Coast with the buildup of the defense industry.
	There were also losses as a result of the war. For instance, a total of 1,200&nbsp;] men served in World War&nbsp;II; only about half came home alive. In addition many more ] served as ]s for the military in the Pacific. The code they made, although ] very simple, was never cracked by the Japanese.
	====Self-determination====
	{{main|Native American self-determination|Native American civil rights}}
	Military service and urban residency contributed to the rise of American Indian activism, particularly after the 1960s and the ] (1969–1971) by a student Indian group from ]. In the same period, the ] (AIM) was founded in ], and chapters were established throughout the country, where American Indians combined spiritual and political activism. Political protests gained national media attention and the sympathy of the American public.
	Through the mid-1970s, conflicts between governments and Native Americans occasionally erupted into violence. A notable late 20th-century event was the ] on the ]. Upset with tribal government and the failures of the federal government to enforce treaty rights, about 300&nbsp;] and ]&nbsp;(AIM) activists took control of ] on February 27,&nbsp;1973.<ref name="Waldron">{{Cite news |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40616FA38551A7493CAAB178FD85F478785F9 |title=Shot Kills Indian At Wounded Knee |publisher=Select.nytimes.com |date= April 28, 1973|accessdate=2010-08-22|first=Martin|last=Waldron}}</ref>
	Indian activists from around the country joined them at Pine Ridge, and the occupation became a symbol of rising American Indian identity and power. Federal law enforcement officials and the national guard cordoned off the town, and the two sides had a standoff for 71&nbsp;days. During much gunfire, one ] was wounded and paralyzed. In late April a Cherokee and local Lakota man were killed by gunfire; the Lakota elders ended the occupation to ensure no more lives were lost.<ref name="Waldron"/>
	In June 1975, two FBI agents seeking to make an armed robbery arrest at Pine Ridge Reservation were wounded in a firefight, and killed at close range. The AIM activist ] was sentenced in 1976 to two consecutive terms of life in prison in the FBI deaths.<ref>{{cite web |last=Crosson |first=Judith |url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/11/05/appeals_court_denies_peltiers_parole_bid/ |title=Appeals court denies Peltier's parole bid |publisher=Boston.com |date=November 5, 2003 |accessdate=2010-08-22}}</ref>
	In 1968 the government enacted the ]. This gave tribal members most of the protections against abuses by tribal governments that the Bill of Rights accords to all U.S. citizens with respect to the federal government.<ref>Robert J. McCarthy, Civil Rights in Tribal Courts; The Indian Bill of Rights at 30 Years, 34 IDAHO LAW REVIEW 465 (1998).</ref> In 1975 the U.S.&nbsp;government passed the ], marking the culmination of 15&nbsp;years of policy changes. It resulted from American Indian activism, the Civil Rights Movement, and community development aspects of President ]'s social programs of the 1960s. The Act recognized the right and need of Native Americans for self-determination. It marked the U.S. government's turn away from the 1950s&nbsp;policy of termination of the relationship between tribes and the government. The U.S.&nbsp;government encouraged Native Americans' efforts at self-government and determining their futures. Tribes have developed organizations to administer their own social, welfare and housing programs, for instance. Tribal self-determination has created tension with respect to the federal government's historic trust obligation to care for Indians, however, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has never lived up to that responsibility.<ref>Robert J. McCarthy, The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Federal Trust Obligation to American Indians, 19 BYU J. PUB. L. 1 (December 2004)</ref>
	By this time, tribes had already started to establish community schools to replace the BIA&nbsp;boarding schools. Led by the ] in&nbsp;1968, tribes started ], to build their own models of education on reservations, preserve and revive their cultures, and develop educated workforces. In&nbsp;1994 the U.S.&nbsp;Congress passed legislation recognizing the tribal colleges as ], which provided opportunities for funding. Thirty-two tribal colleges in the United States belong to the ]. By the early 21st&nbsp;century, tribal nations had also established numerous language revival programs in their schools.
	In addition, Native American activism has led major universities across the country to establish ] programs and departments, increasing awareness of the strengths of Indian cultures, providing opportunities for academics, and deepening research on history and cultures in the United States. Native Americans have entered academia; journalism and media; politics at local, state and federal levels; and public service, for instance, influencing medical research and policy to identify issues related to American Indians.
	===21st century===
	In 2013 jurisdiction over persons who were not tribal members under the ] was extended to Indian Country. This closed a gap with prevented arrest or prosecution by tribal police or courts of abusive partners of tribal members who were not native or from another tribe.<ref>{{cite web|title=Congress sends Violence Against Women Act to Obama|url=http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/02/28/violence-against-women-congress-obama/1953527/?csp=breakingnews|publisher=USA Today|accessdate=28 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=VAWA victory shows that House GOP needs Democrats|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/02/28/vawa-victory-shows-that-house-gop-needs-democrats|publisher=The Washington Post|accessdate=28 February 2013}}</ref>
	Migration to urban areas continued to grow with 70% of Native Americans living in urban areas in 2012, up from 45% in 1970 and 8% in 1940. Urban areas with significant Native American populations included Minneapolis, Denver, Phoenix, Tucson, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Houston, New York City, and Rapid City. Many lived in poverty. Racism, unemployment, drugs and gangs were common problems which Indian social service organizations such as the Little Earth housing complex in Minneapolis attempted to address.<ref name=NYT41413 />
	== Demographics ==
	{{Further|Modern social statistics of Native Americans}}
	===Historical Population===
	{| class="sortable wikitable outercollapse"
	|+'''American
	Indian,
	Eskimo,
	and Aleut % of Population by U.S. State (1890-2010)'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |title=Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States |publisher=Census.gov |date= |accessdate=2013-01-10}}</ref>
	|-		|-
			|1890
	!State/Territory||1890||1900||1910||1920||1930||1940||1950||1960||1970||1980||1990||2000<ref>http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/c2kbr01-15.pdf</ref>||2010<ref>{{cite web|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html |title=State and County QuickFacts |publisher=Quickfacts.census.gov |date=2013-02-20 |accessdate=2013-06-16}}</ref><br>
			|248,253
			|249,278
			|25,354
	|-		|-
			|1900
	!style="background:#9bddff;"|{{flagicon|United States}} ]
			|237,196
	!style="background:#9bddff;"|0.4%
			|270,544
	!style="background:#9bddff;"|0.3%
			|29,536
	!style="background:#9bddff;"|0.3%
	!style="background:#9bddff;"|0.2%
	!style="background:#9bddff;"|0.3%
	!style="background:#9bddff;"|0.3%
	!style="background:#9bddff;"|0.2%
	!style="background:#9bddff;"|0.3%
	!style="background:#9bddff;"|0.4%
	!style="background:#9bddff;"|0.6%
	!style="background:#9bddff;"|0.8%
	!style="background:#9bddff;"|0.9%
	!style="background:#9bddff;"|0.9%
	|-		|-
			|1910
	|{{flagicon|Alabama}} ]
			|265,683
	!0.1%
			|304,950
	!0.0%
			|25,331
	!0.0%
	!0.0%
	!0.0%
	!0.0%
	!0.0%
	!0.0%
	!0.1%
	!0.2%
	!0.4%
	!0.5%
	!0.6%
	|-		|-
			|1920
	|{{flagicon|Alaska}} ]
			|244,437
	!
			|336,337
	!
			|26,558
	!
	!
	!
	!
	!
	!
	!
	!
	!
	!
	!
	|-		|-
			|1930
	|{{flagicon|Arizona}} ]
			|332,397
	!34.0%
			|340,541
	!21.5%
			|29,983
	!14.3%
			|}
	!9.9%
			American Indians and Alaska Natives as percentage of the total population between 1880 and 2020:
	!10.0%
			{| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:right"
	!11.0%
			|+American Indian and Alaska Native as percentage of population by U.S. state and territory (1880–2020)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |title=Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States |website=Census.gov |access-date=January 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812191959/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |archive-date=August 12, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The American Indian and Alaska Native Population: 2000 |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/c2kbr01-15.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330042301/https://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/c2kbr01-15.pdf |archive-date=March 30, 2016 |access-date=August 9, 2016 |website=Census.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=February 20, 2013|title=State and County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304192030/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html|archive-date=March 4, 2012|access-date=June 16, 2013|website=Quickfacts.census.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=August 12, 2021|title=Race and Ethnicity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html |access-date=December 3, 2021|website=Census.gov|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZadCAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA23 |title=Report on Indians taxed and Indians not taxed in the United States (except Alaska) |publisher=Government Printing Office |year=1894 |pages=23–24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rogers |first=George W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZQyOAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA75 |title=The Future of Alaska: Economic Consequences of Statehood |publisher=RFF Press |year=2011 |location=New York, London |pages=61, 75|isbn=9781135999469 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sex, General Nativity, And Color |url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/33405927v1ch09.pdf |access-date=29 March 2022 |website=census.gov |pages=486–487}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mMFRAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA2-PA853 |title=Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution |publisher=Government Printing Office |year=1886 |volume=II |location=Washington |pages=853–861}}</ref>
	!8.8%
	!6.4%
	!5.4%
	!5.6%
	!5.6%
	!5.0%
	!4.6%
	|-		|-
			!scope="col"| State/Territory
	|{{flagicon|Arkansas}} ]
			!1880
	!0.0%
			!scope="col"| 1890
	!0.0%
			!scope="col"| 1900
	!0.0%
			!scope="col"| 1910
	!0.0%
			!scope="col"| 1920
	!0.0%
			!scope="col"| 1930
	!0.0%
			!scope="col"| 1940
	!0.0%
			!scope="col"| 1950
	!0.0%
			!scope="col"| 1960
	!0.1%
			!scope="col"| 1970
	!0.4%
			!scope="col"| 1980
	!0.5%
			!scope="col"| 1990
	!0.7%
			!scope="col"| 2000
	!0.8%
			!scope="col"| 2010
			!scope="col"| 2020
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|California}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Alabama}} ]
	!1.4%		|0.0%
	!1.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.7%		| 0.0%
	!0.5%		| 0.0%
	!0.3%		| 0.0%
	!0.3%		| 0.0%
	!0.2%		| 0.0%
	!0.2%		| 0.0%
	!0.5%		| 0.0%
	!0.9%		| 0.1%
	!0.8%		| 0.2%
	!1.0%		| 0.4%
	!1.0%		| 0.5%
			| 0.6%
			| 0.7%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Colorado}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Alaska}} ]
	!0.3%		|98.7%
	!0.3%		| 79.1%
	!0.2%		| 46.5%
	!0.1%		| 39.4%
	!0.1%		| 48.3%
	!0.1%		| 50.6%
	!0.1%		| 44.8%
	!0.2%		| 26.3%
	!0.4%		| 19.1%
	!0.6%		| 16.8%
	!0.8%		| 16.0%
	!1.0%		| 15.6%
	!1.1%		| 15.6%
			| 14.8%
			| 21.9%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Connecticut}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Arizona}} ]
	!0.0%		|37.5%
	!0.0%		| 34.0%
	!0.0%		| 21.5%
	!0.0%		| 14.3%
	!0.0%		| 9.9%
	!0.0%		| 10.0%
	!0.0%		| 11.0%
	!0.0%		| 8.8%
	!0.1%		| 6.4%
	!0.1%		| 5.4%
	!0.2%		| 5.6%
	!0.3%		| 5.6%
	!0.3%		| 5.0%
			| 4.6%
			| 6.3%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Delaware}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Arkansas}} ]
	!0.0%		|0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.2%		| 0.1%
	!0.3%		| 0.4%
	!0.3%		| 0.5%
	!0.5%		| 0.7%
			| 0.8%
			| 0.9%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|District of Columbia}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|California}} ]
	!0.0%		|2.4%
	!0.0%		| 1.4%
	!0.0%		| 1.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.7%
	!0.0%		| 0.5%
	!0.0%		| 0.3%
	!0.0%		| 0.3%
	!0.1%		| 0.2%
	!0.1%		| 0.2%
	!0.2%		| 0.5%
	!0.2%		| 0.9%
	!0.3%		| 0.8%
	!0.3%		| 1.0%
			| 1.0%
			| 1.6%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Florida}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Colorado}} ]
	!0.0%		|1.4%
	!0.1%		| 0.3%
	!0.0%		| 0.3%
	!0.1%		| 0.2%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.2%
	!0.2%		| 0.4%
	!0.3%		| 0.6%
	!0.3%		| 0.8%
	!0.4%		| 1.0%
			| 1.1%
			| 1.3%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Georgia (U.S. state)}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Connecticut}} ]
	!0.0%		|0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.2%		| 0.1%
	!0.3%		| 0.2%
	!0.3%		| 0.3%
			| 0.3%
			| 0.4%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Hawaii}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Delaware}} ]
			|0.0%
	!
			| 0.0%
	!
			| 0.0%
	!
			| 0.0%
	!
			| 0.0%
	!
			| 0.0%
	!
			| 0.0%
	!
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.3%		| 0.1%
	!0.5%		| 0.2%
	!0.3%		| 0.3%
	!0.3%		| 0.3%
			| 0.5%
			| 0.5%
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| {{Flag| Florida}}
	|{{flagicon|Idaho}} ]
	!4.8%		|0.3%
	!2.6%		| 0.0%
	!1.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.7%		| 0.0%
	!0.8%		| 0.1%
	!0.7%		| 0.0%
	!0.6%		| 0.0%
	!0.8%		| 0.0%
	!0.9%		| 0.1%
	!1.1%		| 0.1%
	!1.4%		| 0.2%
	!1.4%		| 0.3%
	!1.4%		| 0.3%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.4%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Illinois}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Georgia (U.S. state)}} ]
	!0.0%		|0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.2%		| 0.1%
	!0.2%		| 0.2%
	!0.3%		| 0.3%
			| 0.3%
			| 0.5%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Indiana}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Hawaii}} ]
	!0.0%		|0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.2%		| 0.3%
	!0.3%		| 0.5%
	!0.3%		| 0.3%
			| 0.3%
			| 0.3%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Iowa}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Idaho}} ]
	!0.0%		|10.0%
	!0.0%		| 4.8%
	!0.0%		| 2.6%
	!0.0%		| 1.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.7%
	!0.0%		| 0.8%
	!0.0%		| 0.7%
	!0.1%		| 0.6%
	!0.1%		| 0.8%
	!0.2%		| 0.9%
	!0.3%		| 1.1%
	!0.3%		| 1.4%
	!0.4%		| 1.4%
			| 1.4%
			| 1.4%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Kansas}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Illinois}} ]
	!0.1%		|0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.2%		| 0.0%
	!0.4%		| 0.0%
	!0.7%		| 0.1%
	!0.9%		| 0.1%
	!0.9%		| 0.2%
	!1.0%		| 0.2%
			| 0.3%
			| 0.8%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Kentucky}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Indiana}} ]
	!0.0%		|0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.2%		| 0.1%
	!0.2%		| 0.2%
	!0.2%		| 0.3%
			| 0.3%
			| 0.4%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Louisiana}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Iowa}} ]
	!0.1%		|0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.3%		| 0.1%
	!0.4%		| 0.2%
	!0.6%		| 0.3%
	!0.7%		| 0.3%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.5%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Maine}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Kansas}} ]
	!0.1%		|0.2%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.2%		| 0.1%
	!0.2%		| 0.1%
	!0.2%		| 0.2%
	!0.4%		| 0.4%
	!0.5%		| 0.7%
	!0.6%		| 0.9%
	!0.6%		| 0.9%
			| 1.0%
			| 1.1%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Maryland}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Kentucky}} ]
	!0.0%		|0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.2%		| 0.0%
	!0.3%		| 0.1%
	!0.3%		| 0.2%
	!0.4%		| 0.2%
			| 0.2%
			| 0.3%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Massachusetts}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Louisiana}} ]
	!0.0%		|0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.2%		| 0.3%
	!0.2%		| 0.4%
	!0.3%		| 0.6%
			| 0.7%
			| 0.7%
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| {{Flag| Maine}}
	|{{flagicon|Michigan}} ]
	!0.3%		|0.1%
	!0.3%		| 0.1%
	!0.3%		| 0.1%
	!0.2%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.2%
	!0.2%		| 0.2%
	!0.4%		| 0.2%
	!0.6%		| 0.4%
	!0.6%		| 0.5%
	!0.6%		| 0.6%
			| 0.6%
			| 0.6%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Minnesota}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Maryland}} ]
	!0.8%		|0.0%
	!0.5%		| 0.0%
	!0.4%		| 0.0%
	!0.4%		| 0.0%
	!0.4%		| 0.0%
	!0.4%		| 0.0%
	!0.4%		| 0.0%
	!0.5%		| 0.0%
	!0.6%		| 0.0%
	!0.9%		| 0.1%
	!1.1%		| 0.2%
	!1.1%		| 0.3%
	!1.1%		| 0.3%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.5%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Mississippi}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Massachusetts}} ]
	!0.2%		|0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.2%		| 0.0%
	!0.2%		| 0.1%
	!0.3%		| 0.1%
	!0.4%		| 0.2%
	!0.5%		| 0.2%
			| 0.3%
			| 0.3%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Missouri}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Michigan}} ]
	!0.0%		|1.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.3%
	!0.0%		| 0.3%
	!0.0%		| 0.3%
	!0.0%		| 0.2%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.3%		| 0.2%
	!0.4%		| 0.4%
	!0.4%		| 0.6%
	!0.5%		| 0.6%
			| 0.6%
			| 0.6%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Montana}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Minnesota}} ]
	!7.8%		|1.1%
	!4.7%		| 0.8%
	!0.8%		| 0.5%
	!2.0%		| 0.4%
	!2.8%		| 0.4%
	!3.0%		| 0.4%
	!2.8%		| 0.4%
	!3.1%		| 0.4%
	!3.9%		| 0.5%
	!4.7%		| 0.6%
	!6.0%		| 0.9%
	!6.2%		| 1.1%
	!6.3%		| 1.1%
			| 1.1%
			| 1.2%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Nebraska}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Mississippi}} ]
	!0.6%		|0.2%
	!0.3%		| 0.2%
	!0.3%		| 0.1%
	!0.2%		| 0.1%
	!0.2%		| 0.1%
	!0.3%		| 0.1%
	!0.3%		| 0.1%
	!0.4%		| 0.1%
	!0.4%		| 0.1%
	!0.6%		| 0.2%
	!0.8%		| 0.2%
	!0.9%		| 0.3%
	!1.2%		| 0.4%
			| 0.5%
			| 0.6%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Nevada}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Missouri}} ]
	!10.9%		|0.0%
	!12.3%		| 0.0%
	!6.4%		| 0.0%
	!6.3%		| 0.0%
	!5.3%		| 0.0%
	!4.3%		| 0.0%
	!3.1%		| 0.0%
	!2.3%		| 0.0%
	!1.6%		| 0.0%
	!1.7%		| 0.1%
	!1.6%		| 0.3%
	!1.3%		| 0.4%
	!1.2%		| 0.4%
			| 0.5%
			| 0.5%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|New Hampshire}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Montana}} ]
	!0.0%		|38.3%
	!0.0%		| 7.8%
	!0.0%		| 4.7%
	!0.0%		| 0.8%
	!0.0%		| 2.0%
	!0.0%		| 2.8%
	!0.0%		| 3.0%
	!0.0%		| 2.8%
	!0.0%		| 3.1%
	!0.1%		| 3.9%
	!0.2%		| 4.7%
	!0.2%		| 6.0%
	!0.2%		| 6.2%
			| 6.3%
			| 9.3%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|New Jersey}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Nebraska}} ]
	!0.0%		|1.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.6%
	!0.0%		| 0.3%
	!0.0%		| 0.3%
	!0.0%		| 0.2%
	!0.0%		| 0.2%
	!0.0%		| 0.3%
	!0.0%		| 0.3%
	!0.1%		| 0.4%
	!0.1%		| 0.4%
	!0.2%		| 0.6%
	!0.2%		| 0.8%
	!0.3%		| 0.9%
			| 1.2%
			| 1.2%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|New Mexico}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|Nevada}} ]
	!9.4%		|13.9%
	!6.7%		| 10.9%
	!6.3%		| 12.3%
	!5.4%		| 6.4%
	!6.8%		| 6.3%
	!6.5%		| 5.3%
	!6.2%		| 4.3%
	!5.9%		| 3.1%
	!7.2%		| 2.3%
	!8.1%		| 1.6%
	!8.9%		| 1.7%
	!9.5%		| 1.6%
	!9.4%		| 1.3%
			| 1.2%
			| 1.4%
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| {{Flag| New Hampshire}}
	|{{flagicon|New York}} ]
	!0.1%		|0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.2%		| 0.0%
	!0.2%		| 0.0%
	!0.3%		| 0.1%
	!0.4%		| 0.2%
	!0.6%		| 0.2%
			| 0.2%
			| 0.2%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|North Carolina}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|New Jersey}} ]
	!0.1%		|0.0%
	!0.3%		| 0.0%
	!0.4%		| 0.0%
	!0.5%		| 0.0%
	!0.5%		| 0.0%
	!0.6%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.8%		| 0.0%
	!0.9%		| 0.0%
	!1.1%		| 0.1%
	!1.2%		| 0.1%
	!1.2%		| 0.2%
	!1.3%		| 0.2%
			| 0.3%
			| 0.6%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|North Dakota}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|New Mexico}} ]
	!4.3%		|23.2%
	!2.2%		| 9.4%
	!1.1%		| 6.7%
	!1.0%		| 6.3%
	!1.2%		| 5.4%
	!1.6%		| 6.8%
	!1.7%		| 6.5%
	!1.9%		| 6.2%
	!2.3%		| 5.9%
	!3.1%		| 7.2%
	!4.1%		| 8.1%
	!4.9%		| 8.9%
	!5.4%		| 9.5%
			| 9.4%
			| 12.4%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Ohio}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|New York}} ]
	!0.0%		|0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.2%
	!0.2%		| 0.2%
	!0.2%		| 0.3%
	!0.2%		| 0.4%
			| 0.6%
			| 0.7%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Oklahoma}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|North Carolina}} ]
	!24.9%		|0.1%
	!8.2%		| 0.1%
	!4.5%		| 0.3%
	!2.8%		| 0.4%
	!3.9%		| 0.5%
	!2.7%		| 0.5%
	!2.4%		| 0.6%
	!2.8%		| 0.1%
	!3.8%		| 0.8%
	!5.6%		| 0.9%
	!8.0%		| 1.1%
	!7.9%		| 1.2%
	!8.6%		| 1.2%
			| 1.3%
			| 1.2%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Oregon}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|North Dakota}} ]
	!1.6%		|13.0%
	!1.2%		| 4.3%
	!0.8%		| 2.2%
	!0.6%		| 1.1%
	!0.5%		| 1.0%
	!0.4%		| 1.2%
	!0.4%		| 1.6%
	!0.5%		| 1.7%
	!0.6%		| 1.9%
	!1.0%		| 2.3%
	!1.4%		| 3.1%
	!1.3%		| 4.1%
	!1.4%		| 4.9%
			| 5.4%
			| 7.2%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Pennsylvania}} ]		!scope="row"| {{flagicon|South Dakota}} ]
	!0.0%		|20.6%
	!0.0%		| 5.7%
	!0.0%		| 5.0%
	!0.0%		| 3.3%
	!0.0%		| 2.6%
	!0.0%		| 3.2%
	!0.0%		| 3.6%
	!0.0%		| 3.6%
	!0.0%		| 3.8%
	!0.1%		| 4.9%
	!0.1%		| 6.5%
	!0.1%		| 7.3%
	!0.2%		| 8.3%
			| 8.8%
			| 11.1%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Rhode Island}} ]		! scope="row" | {{flagicon|Ohio}} ]
	!0.1%		|0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.3%		| 0.1%
	!0.4%		| 0.1%
	!0.5%		| 0.2%
	!0.6%		| 0.2%
			| 0.2%
			| 0.3%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|South Carolina}} ]		! scope="row" | {{flagicon|Oklahoma}} ]
	!0.0%		|100.0%
	!0.0%		| 24.9%
	!0.0%		| 8.2%
	!0.0%		| 4.5%
	!0.1%		| 2.8%
	!0.1%		| 3.9%
			| 2.7%
	!
			| 2.4%
	!
	!0.1%		| 2.8%
	!0.2%		| 3.8%
	!0.2%		| 5.6%
	!0.3%		| 8.0%
	!0.4%		| 7.9%
			| 8.6%
			| 16.0%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|South Dakota}} ]		! scope="row" | {{flagicon|Oregon}} ]
	!5.7%		|3.5%
	!5.0%		| 1.6%
	!3.3%		| 1.2%
	!2.6%		| 0.8%
	!3.2%		| 0.6%
	!3.6%		| 0.5%
	!3.6%		| 0.4%
	!3.8%		| 0.4%
	!4.9%		| 0.5%
	!6.5%		| 0.6%
	!7.3%		| 1.0%
	!8.3%		| 1.4%
	!8.8%		| 1.3%
			| 1.4%
			| 4.4%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Tennessee}} ]		! scope="row" | {{flagicon|Pennsylvania}} ]
	!0.0%		|0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.2%		| 0.1%
	!0.3%		| 0.1%
	!0.3%		| 0.1%
			| 0.2%
			| 0.2%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Texas}} ]		! scope="row" | {{flagicon|Rhode Island}} ]
	!0.0%		|0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.2%		| 0.1%
	!0.3%		| 0.1%
	!0.4%		| 0.3%
	!0.6%		| 0.4%
	!0.7%		| 0.5%
			| 0.6%
			| 0.7%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Utah}} ]		! scope="row" | {{flagicon|South Carolina}} ]
	!1.6%		|0.0%
	!0.9%		| 0.0%
	!0.8%		| 0.0%
	!0.6%		| 0.0%
	!0.6%		| 0.0%
	!0.7%		| 0.1%
	!0.6%		| 0.1%
	!0.8%		| 0.1%
	!1.1%		| 0.1%
	!1.3%		| 0.1%
	!1.4%		| 0.2%
	!1.3%		| 0.2%
	!1.2%		| 0.3%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.5%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Vermont}} ]		! scope="row" | {{flagicon|Tennessee}} ]
	!0.0%		|0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.2%		| 0.1%
	!0.3%		| 0.1%
	!0.4%		| 0.2%
	!0.4%		| 0.3%
			| 0.3%
			| 0.4%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Virginia}} ]		! scope="row" | {{flagicon|Texas}} ]
	!0.0%		|0.1%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.2%		| 0.2%
	!0.2%		| 0.3%
	!0.3%		| 0.4%
	!0.4%		| 0.6%
			| 0.7%
			| 1.0%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Washington}} ]		! scope="row" | {{flagicon|Utah}} ]
	!3.1%		|0.9%
	!1.9%		| 1.6%
	!1.0%		| 0.9%
	!0.7%		| 0.8%
	!0.7%		| 0.6%
	!0.7%		| 0.6%
	!0.6%		| 0.7%
	!0.7%		| 0.6%
	!1.0%		| 0.8%
	!1.5%		| 1.1%
	!1.7%		| 1.3%
	!1.6%		| 1.4%
	!1.5%		| 1.3%
			| 1.2%
			| 1.3%
	|-		|-
			! scope="row" | {{Flag|Vermont}}
	|{{flagicon|West Virginia}} ]
	!0.0%		|0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.0%		| 0.0%
	!0.1%		| 0.1%
	!0.1%		| 0.2%
	!0.2%		| 0.3%
	!0.2%		| 0.4%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.4%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Wisconsin}} ]		! scope="row" | {{flagicon|Virginia}} ]
	!0.6%		|0.0%
	!0.4%		| 0.0%
	!0.4%		| 0.0%
	!0.4%		| 0.0%
	!0.4%		| 0.0%
	!0.4%		| 0.0%
	!0.4%		| 0.0%
	!0.4%		| 0.0%
	!0.4%		| 0.1%
	!0.6%		| 0.1%
	!0.8%		| 0.2%
	!0.9%		| 0.2%
	!1.0%		| 0.3%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.5%
	|-		|-
	|{{flagicon|Wyoming}} ]		! scope="row" | {{flagicon|Washington}} ]
	!2.9%		|20.8%
	!1.8%		| 3.1%
	!1.0%		| 1.9%
	!0.7%		| 1.0%
	!0.8%		| 0.7%
	!0.9%		| 0.7%
	!1.1%		| 0.7%
	!1.2%		| 0.6%
	!1.5%		| 0.7%
	!1.5%		| 1.0%
	!2.1%		| 1.5%
	!2.3%		| 1.7%
	!2.4%		| 1.6%
			| 1.5%
			| 4.1%
	|-		|-
			! scope="row" | {{Flag| West Virginia}}
	|{{flagicon|Puerto Rico}} ]
			|0.0%
	!
			| 0.0%
	!
			| 0.0%
	!
			| 0.0%
	!
			| 0.0%
	!
			| 0.0%
	!
			| 0.0%
	!
			| 0.0%
	!
			| 0.0%
	!
			| 0.0%
	!
			| 0.1%
	!
	!0.4%		| 0.1%
	!0.5%		| 0.2%
			| 0.2%
			| 0.2%
			|-
			! scope="row" | {{flagicon|Wisconsin}} ]
			|0.8%
			| 0.6%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.6%
			| 0.8%
			| 0.9%
			| 1.0%
			| 1.0%
			|-
			! scope="row" | {{flagicon|Wyoming}} ]
			|9.6%
			| 2.9%
			| 1.8%
			| 1.0%
			| 0.7%
			| 0.8%
			| 0.9%
			| 1.1%
			| 1.2%
			| 1.5%
			| 1.5%
			| 2.1%
			| 2.3%
			| 2.4%
			| 4.8%
			|- style="background:lightgreen;"
			! scope="row" | {{flagicon|District of Columbia}} ]
			|0.0%
			| 0.0%
			| 0.0%
			| 0.0%
			| 0.0%
			| 0.0%
			| 0.0%
			| 0.0%
			| 0.1%
			| 0.1%
			| 0.2%
			| 0.2%
			| 0.3%
			| 0.3%
			| 0.5%
			|- style="background:beige;"
			! scope="row" | {{Flag| Puerto Rico}}
			|
			|
			|
			|
			|
			|
			|
			|
			|
			|
			|
			|
			| 0.4%
			| 0.5%
			| 0.5%
			|- style="background:#D0E6FF; font-weight:bold"
			! scope="row" | '''{{USA}}'''
			|0.7%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.3%
			| 0.3%
			| 0.2%
			| 0.3%
			| 0.3%
			| 0.2%
			| 0.3%
			| 0.4%
			| 0.6%
			| 0.8%
			| 0.9%
			| 0.9%
			| 1.1%
	|}		|}
			Absolute numbers of American Indians and Alaska Natives between 1880 and 2020 (since 1890 according to the ]):
			{| class="wikitable sortable"
			|+American Indian and Alaska Native population by U.S. state and territory (1880–2020)
			!State/Territory
			!1880
			!1890
			!1900
			!1910
			!1920
			!1930
			!1940
			!1950
			!1960
			!1970
			!1980
			!1990
			!2000
			!2010
			!2020
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Alabama}} ]
			|213
			|1143
			|177
			|909
			|405
			|465
			|464
			|928
			|1276
			|2443
			|9239
			|16506
			|22430
			|28218
			|33625
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Alaska}} ]
			|32996
			|25354
			|29536
			|25331
			|26558
			|29983
			|32458
			|33863
			|42522
			|50814
			|64103
			|85698
			|98043
			|104871
			|111575
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Arizona}} ]
			|22199
			|29981
			|26480
			|29201
			|32989
			|43726
			|55076
			|65761
			|83387
			|95812
			|154175
			|203527
			|255879
			|296529
			|319512
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Arkansas}} ]
			|195
			|250
			|66
			|460
			|106
			|408
			|278
			|533
			|580
			|2014
			|12713
			|12773
			|17808
			|22248
			|27177
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|California}} ]
			|20385
			|16624
			|15377
			|16371
			|17360
			|19212
			|18675
			|19947
			|39014
			|91018
			|227757
			|242164
			|333346
			|362801
			|631016
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Colorado}} ]
			|2684
			|1092
			|1437
			|1482
			|1383
			|1395
			|1360
			|1567
			|4288
			|8836
			|20682
			|27776
			|44241
			|56010
			|74129
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Connecticut}} ]
			|255
			|228
			|153
			|152
			|159
			|162
			|201
			|333
			|923
			|2222
			|4822
			|6654
			|9639
			|11256
			|16051
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Delaware}} ]
			|5
			|4
			|9
			|5
			|2
			|5
			|14
			|0
			|597
			|656
			|1380
			|2019
			|2731
			|4181
			|5148
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Florida}} ]
			|780 {{refn|In Florida in 1880 there were reported 180 taxed Indians and 600 inhabitants of unknown race, possibly also Indians.|group=Note}}
			|171
			|358
			|74
			|518
			|587
			|690
			|1011
			|2504
			|6677
			|24714
			|36335
			|53541
			|71458
			|94795
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Georgia (U.S. state)}} ]
			|124
			|68
			|19
			|95
			|125
			|43
			|106
			|333
			|749
			|2347
			|9876
			|13348
			|21737
			|32151
			|50618
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Hawaii}} ]
			|0
			|0
			|0
			|0
			|0
			|0
			|0
			|0
			|472
			|1126
			|2833
			|5099
			|3535
			|4164
			|4370
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Idaho}} ]
			|3585
			|4223
			|4226
			|3488
			|3098
			|3638
			|3537
			|3800
			|5231
			|6687
			|10405
			|13780
			|17645
			|21441
			|25621
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Illinois}} ]
			|140
			|98
			|16
			|188
			|194
			|469
			|624
			|1443
			|4704
			|11413
			|19118
			|21836
			|31006
			|43963
			|96498
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Indiana}} ]
			|246
			|343
			|243
			|279
			|125
			|285
			|223
			|438
			|948
			|3887
			|9495
			|12720
			|15815
			|18462
			|26086
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Iowa}} ]
			|821
			|457
			|382
			|471
			|529
			|660
			|733
			|1084
			|1708
			|2992
			|6311
			|7349
			|8989
			|11084
			|14486
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Kansas}} ]
			|1499
			|1682
			|2130
			|2444
			|2276
			|2454
			|1165
			|2381
			|5069
			|8672
			|17829
			|21965
			|24936
			|28150
			|30995
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Kentucky}} ]
			|50
			|71
			|102
			|234
			|57
			|22
			|44
			|234
			|391
			|1531
			|4497
			|5769
			|8616
			|10120
			|12801
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Louisiana}} ]
			|848
			|628
			|593
			|780
			|1069
			|1536
			|1801
			|409
			|3587
			|5294
			|12841
			|18541
			|25477
			|30579
			|31657
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Maine}} ]
			|625
			|559
			|798
			|892
			|830
			|1012
			|1251
			|1522
			|1879
			|2195
			|4360
			|5998
			|7098
			|8568
			|7885
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Maryland}} ]
			|15
			|44
			|3
			|55
			|32
			|50
			|73
			|314
			|1538
			|4239
			|8946
			|12972
			|15423
			|20420
			|31845
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Massachusetts}} ]
			|369
			|428
			|587
			|688
			|555
			|874
			|769
			|1201
			|2118
			|4475
			|8996
			|12241
			|15015
			|18850
			|24018
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Michigan}} ]
			|17390
			|5625
			|6354
			|7519
			|5614
			|7080
			|6282
			|7000
			|9701
			|16854
			|44712
			|55638
			|58479
			|62007
			|61261
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Minnesota}} ]
			|8498
			|10096
			|9182
			|9053
			|8761
			|11077
			|12528
			|12533
			|15496
			|23128
			|36527
			|49909
			|54967
			|60916
			|68641
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Mississippi}} ]
			|1857
			|2036
			|2203
			|1253
			|1105
			|1458
			|2134
			|2502
			|3119
			|4113
			|6836
			|8525
			|11652
			|15030
			|16450
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Missouri}} ]
			|113
			|128
			|130
			|313
			|171
			|578
			|330
			|547
			|1723
			|5405
			|14820
			|19835
			|25076
			|27376
			|30518
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Montana}} ]
			|23313
			|11206
			|11343
			|10745
			|10956
			|14798
			|16841
			|16606
			|21181
			|27130
			|37623
			|47679
			|56068
			|62555
			|67612
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Nebraska}} ]
			|4541
			|6431
			|3322
			|3502
			|2888
			|3256
			|3401
			|3954
			|5545
			|6624
			|9059
			|12410
			|14896
			|18427
			|23102
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Nevada}} ]
			|9603
			|5156
			|5216
			|5240
			|4907
			|4871
			|4747
			|5025
			|6681
			|7933
			|14256
			|19637
			|26420
			|32062
			|43932
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|New Hampshire}} ]
			|63
			|16
			|22
			|34
			|28
			|64
			|50
			|74
			|135
			|361
			|1342
			|2134
			|2964
			|3150
			|3031
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|New Jersey}} ]
			|74
			|84
			|63
			|168
			|106
			|213
			|211
			|621
			|1699
			|4706
			|10028
			|14970
			|19492
			|29026
			|51186
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|New Mexico}} ]
			|33224
			|15044
			|13144
			|20573
			|19512
			|28941
			|34510
			|41901
			|56255
			|72788
			|106585
			|134355
			|173483
			|193222
			|212241
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|New York}} ]
			|5958
			|6044
			|5257
			|6046
			|5503
			|6973
			|8651
			|10640
			|16491
			|28355
			|43508
			|62651
			|82461
			|106906
			|149690
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|North Carolina}} ]
			|1230
			|1516
			|5687
			|7851
			|11824
			|16579
			|22546
			|3742
			|38129
			|44406
			|65808
			|80155
			|99551
			|122110
			|130032
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|North Dakota}} ]
			|8329
			|8174
			|6968
			|6486
			|6254
			|8387
			|10114
			|10766
			|11736
			|14369
			|19905
			|25917
			|31329
			|36591
			|38914
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Ohio}} ]
			|130
			|206
			|42
			|127
			|151
			|435
			|338
			|1146
			|1910
			|6654
			|15300
			|20358
			|24486
			|25292
			|30720
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Oklahoma}} ]
			|82334 {{refn|For Oklahoma one count reported 76585 Indians in 1880 (including 59187 in ]), another count reported 79769 or 79469 (including 64000 in Five Civilized Tribes) and yet another reported 82334 (including 64000 in Five Civilized Tribes) as of 1884.|group=Note}}
			|64456
			|64445
			|74825
			|57337
			|92725
			|63125
			|53769
			|64689
			|98468
			|171092
			|252420
			|273230
			|321687
			|332791
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Oregon}} ]
			|6249
			|4971
			|4951
			|5090
			|4590
			|4776
			|4594
			|5820
			|8026
			|13510
			|29783
			|38496
			|45211
			|53203
			|62993
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Pennsylvania}} ]
			|184
			|1081
			|1639
			|1503
			|337
			|523
			|441
			|1141
			|2122
			|5533
			|10928
			|14733
			|18348
			|26843
			|31052
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Rhode Island}} ]
			|77
			|180
			|35
			|284
			|110
			|318
			|196
			|385
			|932
			|1390
			|3186
			|4071
			|5121
			|6058
			|7385
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|South Carolina}} ]
			|131
			|173
			|121
			|331
			|304
			|959
			|1234
			|554
			|1098
			|2241
			|6655
			|8246
			|13718
			|19524
			|24303
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|South Dakota}} ]
			|20230
			|19854
			|20225
			|19137
			|16384
			|21833
			|23347
			|23344
			|25794
			|32365
			|45525
			|50575
			|62283
			|71817
			|77748
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Tennessee}} ]
			|352
			|146
			|108
			|216
			|56
			|161
			|114
			|339
			|638
			|2276
			|6946
			|10039
			|15152
			|19994
			|28044
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Texas}} ]
			|992
			|708
			|470
			|702
			|2109
			|1001
			|1103
			|2736
			|5750
			|17957
			|50296
			|65877
			|118362
			|170972
			|278948
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Utah}} ]
			|1257
			|3456
			|2623
			|3123
			|2711
			|2869
			|3611
			|4201
			|6961
			|11273
			|19994
			|24283
			|29684
			|32927
			|41644
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Vermont}} ]
			|11
			|34
			|5
			|26
			|24
			|36
			|16
			|30
			|57
			|229
			|1041
			|1696
			|2420
			|2207
			|2289
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Virginia}} ]
			|85
			|349
			|354
			|539
			|824
			|779
			|198
			|1056
			|2155
			|4853
			|9867
			|15282
			|21172
			|29225
			|40007
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Washington}} ]
			|18594
			|11181
			|10039
			|10997
			|9061
			|11253
			|11394
			|13816
			|21076
			|33386
			|61233
			|81483
			|93301
			|103869
			|121468
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|West Virginia}} ]
			|29
			|9
			|12
			|36
			|7
			|18
			|25
			|160
			|181
			|751
			|2317
			|2458
			|3606
			|3787
			|3706
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Wisconsin}} ]
			|10798
			|9930
			|8372
			|10142
			|9611
			|11548
			|12265
			|12196
			|14297
			|18924
			|30553
			|39387
			|47228
			|54526
			|60428
			|-
			|scope="row"| {{flagicon|Wyoming}} ]
			|2203
			|1844
			|1686
			|1486
			|1343
			|1845
			|2349
			|3237
			|4020
			|4980
			|8192
			|9479
			|11133
			|13336
			|13898
			|-
			|scope="row" | {{flagicon|District of Columbia}} ]
			|5
			|25
			|22
			|68
			|37
			|40
			|190
			|330
			|587
			|956
			|986
			|1466
			|1713
			|2079
			|3193
			|- style="background:#D0E6FF; font-weight:bold"
			! scope="row" | '''{{USA}}'''
			|345,888
			|273,607
			|266,732
			|291,014
			|270,995
			|362,380
			|366,427
			|377,273
			|551,669
			|827,268
			|1,519,995
			|1,959,234
			|2,475,956
			|2,932,248
			|3,727,135
			|-
			!Non-Hispanic
			!345,888
			!273,607
			!266,732
			!291,014
			!270,995
			!362,380
			!366,427
			!377,273
			!551,669
			!800,409
			!1,425,250
			!1,793,773
			!2,068,883
			!2,247,098
			!2,251,699
			|}
			{{Reflist|group=Note}}
	===Population and distribution===		===Population distribution===
			] map depicts the locations of differing Native American groups, including ], as of 2000; present-day ] in the ], which was once designated as an ] before Oklahoma's statehood in 1907, is highlighted in blue.]]
	The 2010 census permitted respondents to self-identify as being of one or more races. Self-identification dates from the census of 1960; prior to that the race of the respondent was determined by opinion of the census taker. The option to select more than one race was introduced in 2000.<ref name="Newest Indians">{{cite news|title=The Newest Indians|url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0F17FD3A580C728EDDA10894DD404482|accessdate=2012-06-02|newspaper=The New York Times Magazine|date=August 21, 2005|author=Jack Hitt}}</ref> If American Indian or Alaska Native was selected, the form requested the individual provide the name of the "enrolled or principal tribe". The 2010 Census showed that the U.S. population on April 1, 2010, was 308.7 million.<ref name="2010 Census AMAN" />
	Out of the total U.S. population, 2.9 million people, or 0.9 percent, reported American Indian or Alaska Native alone. In addition, 2.3 million people, or another 0.7 percent, reported American Indian or Alaska Native in combination with one or more other races. Together, these two groups totaled 5.2 million people. Thus, 1.7 percent of all people in the United States identified as American Indian or Alaska Native, either alone or in combination with one or more other races.<ref name="2010 Census AMAN" />
	The definition of American Indian or Alaska Native used in the 2010 census:<blockquote>According to Office of Management and Budget, “American Indian or Alaska Native” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.<ref name="2010 Census AMAN">{{cite web|title=The American Indian and Alaska Native Population: 2010|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-10.pdf|publisher=U.S. Census|accessdate=2010-06-02|coauthors=Tina Norris, Paula L. Vines, and Elizabeth M. Hoeffel|date=January, 2012}}</ref></blockquote>
	78% of Native Americans live outside a reservation. Full-blood individuals are more likely to live on a reservation than mixed-blood individuals. The ], with 286,000 full-blood individuals, is the largest tribe if only full-blood individuals are counted; the Navajo are the tribe with the highest proportion of full-blood individuals, 86.3%. The ] have a different history; it is the largest tribe with 819,000 individuals, and it has 284,000 full-blood individuals.<ref name=Navajo2010>{{cite news|title=Census: Native count jumps by 27 percent|url=http://navajotimes.com/news/2012/0112/012612census.php|accessdate=2012-06-02|newspaper=The Navajo Times|date=Jan 26, 2012|author=Cindy Yurth|agency=Tsé;yi' Bureau}}</ref>		78% of Native Americans live outside a reservation. Full-blood individuals are more likely to live on a reservation than mixed-blood individuals. The ], with 286,000 full-blood individuals, is the largest tribe if only full-blood individuals are counted; the Navajo are the tribe with the highest proportion of full-blood individuals, 86.3%. The ] have a different history; it is the largest tribe, with 819,000 individuals, and it has 284,000 full-blood individuals.<ref name=Navajo2010>{{cite news|title=Census: Native count jumps by 27 percent|url=http://navajotimes.com/news/2012/0112/012612census.php|access-date=June 2, 2012|work=The Navajo Times|date=January 26, 2012|first=Cindy|last=Yurth|agency=Tsé;yi' Bureau}}</ref>
	====Urban migration====		====Urban migration====
			{{further|Urban Indian}}
	As of 2012 70% of American Indians live in urban areas, up from 45% in 1970 and 8% in 1940. Urban areas with significant Native American populations include Minneapolis, Denver, Phoenix, Tucson, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Houston, New York City, and Rapid City. Many live in poverty. Racism, unemployment, drugs and gangs are common problems which Indian social service organizations such as the Little Earth housing complex in Minneapolis attempt to address.<ref name=NYT41413>{{cite news|title=Quietly, Indians Reshape Cities and Reservations|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/us/as-american-indians-move-to-cities-old-and-new-challenges-follow.html|accessdate=April 14, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 13, 2013|author=Timothy Williams}}</ref>
			As of 2012, 70% of Native Americans live in urban areas, up from 45% in 1970 and 8% in 1940. Urban areas with significant Native American populations include Minneapolis, Denver, Phoenix, Tucson, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Houston, New York City, and Los Angeles. Many live in poverty. Racism, unemployment, drugs and gangs are common problems which Indian social service organizations such as the Little Earth housing complex in Minneapolis attempt to address.<ref name=NYT41413>{{cite news|title=Quietly, Indians Reshape Cities and Reservations|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/us/as-american-indians-move-to-cities-old-and-new-challenges-follow.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130414083757/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/us/as-american-indians-move-to-cities-old-and-new-challenges-follow.html |archive-date=2013-04-14 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=April 14, 2013|work=The New York Times|date=April 13, 2013|first=Timothy|last=Williams}}</ref>
	==== Distribution by US States ====
	], as of 2000. Note the concentration (blue) in modern-day ] in the South West, which was once designated as an ] before statehood in 1907.]]
	According to 2003 ] estimates, a little over one third of the 2,786,652&nbsp;Native Americans in the United States live in three states: ] at 413,382, ] at 294,137 and ] at 279,559.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.census.gov/popest/states/asrh/tables/SC-EST2003-04.pdf |format=PDF |work=US Census.gov |title=Annual Estimates by Race Alone |accessdate=2006-02-08}}</ref>
	In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that about 0.8% of the U.S. population was of ] or ] descent. This population is unevenly distributed across the country.<ref name="census1">{{cite web |author=American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-_box_head_nbr=R0203&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&-format=US-30 |title=US census |publisher=Factfinder.census.gov |accessdate=2010-08-22}}</ref> Below, all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, are listed by the proportion of residents citing ] or ] ancestry, based on the ].<ref>{{cite web
	| url = http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
	| publisher=US Census Bureau
	| accessdate =2011
	| title = U.S. Census
	}}</ref>
	{{colbegin|2}}
	: ] – 14.8% 104,871
	: ] – 9.4% 193,222
	: ] – 8.8% 71,817
	: ] – 8.6% 321,687
	: ] – 6.3% 62,555
	: ] – 5.4% 36,591
	: ] – 4.6% 296,529
	: ] – 2.4% 13,336
	: ] – 1.5% 103,869
	: ] – 1.4% 53,203
	: ] – 1.4% 21,441
	: ] – 1.3% 122,110
	: ] – 1.2% 32,927
	: ] – 1.2% 32,062
	: ] – 1.2% 18,427
	: ] – 1.1% 60,916
	: ] – 1.1% 56,010
	: ] – 1.0% 362,801
	: ] – 1.0% 54,526
	: ] – 1.0% 28,150
	: ] – 0.8% 22,248
	: ] – 0.7% 170,972
	: ] – 0.7% 30,579
	: ] – 0.6% 106,906
	: ] – 0.6% 62,007
	: ] – 0.6% 28,218
	: ] – 0.6% 8,568
	: ] – 0.6% 6,058
	: ] – 0.5% 27,376
	: ] – 0.5% 19,839
	: ] – 0.5% 15,030
	: ] – 0.5% 4,181
	: ] – 0.4% 71,458
	: ] – 0.4% 29,225
	: ] – 0.4% 20,420
	: ] – 0.4% 19,524
	: ] – 0.4% 11,084
	: ] – 0.4% 2,207
	: ] – 0.3% 43,963
	: ] – 0.3% 32,151
	: ] – 0.3% 29,026
	: ] – 0.3% 19,994
	: ] – 0.3% 18,850
	: ] – 0.3% 18,462
	: ] – 0.3% 11,256
	: ] – 0.3% 4,164
	: ] – 0.3% 2,079
	: ] – 0.2% 26,843
	: ] – 0.2% 25,292
	: ] – 0.2% 10,120
	: ] – 0.2% 3,787
	: ] – 0.2% 3,150
	{{colend}}
	In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that about less than 1.0% of the U.S. population was of ] or ] descent. This population is unevenly distributed across 26 states.<ref name="census1"/> Below, are the 26 states that had at least 0.1%. They are listed by the proportion of residents citing ] or ] ancestry, based on 2006 estimates:
	{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
	:] – 8.7
	:] – 0.7
	:] – 0.6
	:] – 0.4
	:] – 0.4
	:] – 0.4
	:] – 0.2
	:] – 0.2
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	:] – 0.1
	{{div col end}}
	===Population by tribal grouping===		===Population by tribal grouping===
	Below are numbers for US citizens self-identifying to selected tribal grouping, according to the 2000 US census.<ref>{{cite web |title=2000 Summary File 1 – US Census Bureau |url=http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf1.pdf |format=PDF |publisher=US Census Bureau |year=2007|accessdate=2010-11-01}}</ref>		Below are numbers for U.S. citizens self-identifying to selected tribal groupings, according to the 2010 U.S. census.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Table 7. American Indian and Alaska Native Population by Selected Tribal Groupings: 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/c2010br-10.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/cph-series/cph-t/cph-t-6.html}}</ref>
	{|class="wikitable sortable"		{| class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
			|+ 2010 Native American distribution by tribal group
	|-		|-
			!scope="col"| Tribal grouping
	|Tribal grouping|| American and Alaska Native alone|| American and Alaska Native alone||American Indian and Alaska Native in combination with one or more races|| American Indian and Alaska Native in combination with one or more races|| American Indian and Alaska Native tribal grouping alone or in any combination
			!scope="col"| Tribal flag
			!scope="col"| Tribal seal
			!scope="col"| American Indian & Alaska Native Alone one tribal grouping reported
			!scope="col"| American Indian & Alaska Native Alone more than one tribal grouping reported
			!scope="col"| American Indian & Alaska Native Mixed one tribal grouping reported
			!scope="col"| American Indian & Alaska Native Mixed more than one tribal grouping reported
			!scope="col"| American Indian & Alaska Native tribal grouping alone or mixed in any combination
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| Total
	|Tribal grouping|| One tribal grouping reported||More than one tribal grouping reported|| One tribal grouping reported|| More than one tribal grouping reported
			| || ||2,879,638||52,610||2,209,267||79,064||5,220,579
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|Total|| 2,423,531||52,425||1,585,396||57,949||4,119,301
			| || ||63,193||6,501||33,303||8,813||111,810
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||57,060||7,917||24,947||6,909||96,833
			| ]|| ||8,014||388||2,084||375||10,861
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||27,104||4,358||41,389||12,899||85,750
			| ] || ||27,279||4,519||54,109||19,397||105,304
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]|| 281,069||18,793||390,902||38,769||729,533
			| ] ]|| ||6,433||618||6,981||790||14,822
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||11,191||1,365||4,655||993||18,204
			| || ||15,882||572||10,865||525||27,844
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]|| 20,887||3,014||12,025||2,425||38,351
			| ]||]||284,247||16,216||468,082||50,560||819,105
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ] <br> (Northern and Southern)
	|]||105,907||2,730||38,635||2,397||149,669
			||] || ||11,375||1,118||5,311||1,247||19,051
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||87,349||9,552||50,123||11,750||158,774
			| ||||27,973||2,233||19,220||2,852||52,278
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||7,833||193||1,308||59||9,393
			| ||||112,757||2,645||52,091||3,249||170,742
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]|| 10,120||1,568||6,120||1,568||19,376
			| ]||]||103,910||6,398||72,101||13,355||195,764
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||2,488||724||3,577||945||7,734
			| || ||8,114||200||2,148||87||10,549
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||40,223||5,495||21,652||3,940||71,310
			| || ||12,284||1,187||8,131||1,728||23,330
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]|| 9,117||574||2,812||891||13,394
			| || ||2,211||739||4,023||1,010||7,983
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||8,304||602||6,866||569||16,341
			| ||]||48,352||4,596||30,618||4,766||88,332
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]|| 6,798||79||1,794||42||8,713
			| || ||10,332||528||3,309||1,034||15,203
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||45,212||2,318||29,763||3,529||80,822
			| || ||7,843||372||9,439||610||18,264
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||8,559||1,130||2,119||434||12,242
			| ]||]||12,580||2,054||3,013||680||18,327
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||104,354||1,850||73,042||1,694||180,940
			| ]|| ||8,169||71||2,438||90||10,768
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||55,913||642||4,934||379||57,868
			| ]||]||40,570||1,891||34,490||4,051||81,002
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||7,883||258||1,551||148||9,840
			| ||||9,437||918||2,947||485||13,787
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||269,202||6,789||19,491||2,715||298,197
			| || ||62,306||651||10,039||695||73,691
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||7,658||1,354||5,491||1,394||15,897
			| || ||8,374||253||2,330||176||11,133
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||6,432||623||3,174||448||10,677
			| || ||121,221||2,329||49,670||2,274||175,494
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]|| 9,705||1,163||2,315||349||13,532
			| ||]||286,731||8,285||32,918||4,195||332,129
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]|| 8,519||999||1,741||234||11,493
			| || ||8,938||1,125||7,090||1,423||18,576
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||15,817||592||8,602||584||25,595
			| || ||7,272||776||4,274||711||13,033
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]<ref>"Paiute" is a problematic cover term for non-contiguous and historically, ethnographically, and linguistically distinct tribes: ], ], and ]. The 2000 U.S. Census lumps these distinct groups into one term. Generally, the word "Paiute" was used in the 19th century for any Great Basin Native American who wasn't ].</ref>
	|]||59,533||3,527||9,943||1,082||74,085
			| || ||9,340||865||3,135||427||13,767
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||11,034||226||3,212||159||14,631
			| ]|| ||22,040||1,165||3,116||334||26,655
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||12,431||2,982||9,505||2,513||27,431
			| || ||20,412||462||12,249||648||33,771
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||7,739||714||3,039||534||12,026
			| || ||49,695||2,331||9,568||946||62,540
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||108,272||4,794||35,179||5,115||153,360
			| || ||14,320||215||5,540||185||20,260
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||17,466||714||1,748||159||20,087
			| || ||14,080||2,368||12,447||3,076||31,971
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||7,309||715||1,944||417||10,385
			| || ||7,852||610||3,969||571||13,002
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||8,481||561||1,619||190||10,851
			| ]|| ||112,176||4,301||46,964||6,669||170,110
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||15,224||1,245||5,184||759||22,412
			| || ||20,901||479||25,015||838||47,233
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| Spanish American Indian
	|]||7,295||526||1,051||104||8,976
			| || ||13,460||298||6,012||181||19,951
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|Other specified American Indian tribes||240,521||9,468||100,346||7,323||357,658
			| ]||||19,522||725||3,033||198||23,478
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|American Indian tribe, not specified 2|| 109,644||57||86,173||28||195,902
			| || ||7,435||785||2,802||469||11,491
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]||14,520||815||3,218||285||18,838
			| || ||8,786||310||2,207||224||11,527
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]|| 11,941||832||3,850||355||16,978
			| ]|| ||21,679||1,516||8,183||1,217||32,595
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|]|| 45,919||1,418||6,919||505||54,761
			| ||||7,727||551||1,642||169||10,089
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| All other American Indian tribes
	|]||14,825||1,059||6,047||434||22,365
			| || ||270,141||12,606||135,032||11,850||429,629
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| American Indian tribes, not specified
	|Other specified Alaska Native tribes||2,552||435||841||145||3,973
			| || ||131,943||117||102,188||72||234,320
	|-		|-
	|Alaska Native tribe, not specified|| 6,161||370||2,053||118||8,702		!scope="row"| Alaska Native tribes, specified
			| || ||98,892||4,194||32,992||2,772||138,850
			|-
			!scope="row"| ]
			| || ||15,623||804||5,531||526||22,484
	|-		|-
			!scope="row"| ]
	|American Indian or Alaska Native tribes, not specified 3|| 511,960||(X)||544,497||(X)||1,056,457
			| || ||11,920||723||6,108||531||19,282
			|-
			!scope="row"| ]
			| || ||24,859||877||7,051||573||33,360
			|-
			!scope="row"| ]
			| || ||15,256||859||9,331||634||26,080
			|-
			!scope="row"| ]
			| || ||2,307||240||1,010||198||3,755
			|-
			!scope="row"| ]
			| || ||28,927||691||3,961||310||33,889
			|-
			!scope="row"| Alaska Native tribes, not specified
			| || ||19,731||173||9,896||133||29,933
			|-
			!scope="row"| American Indian or Alaska Native tribes, not specified
			| || ||693,709||no data||852,253||1||1,545,963
	|}		|}
	==Current legal status==		==Tribal sovereignty==
	{{main|Tribal sovereignty in the United States|Native American tribe}}		{{main|Tribal sovereignty in the United States|Native American tribe|Indian reservation}}
			]
	There are 562&nbsp;] in the United States. These tribes possess the right to form their own governments, to enforce laws (both civil and criminal) within their lands, to tax, to establish requirements for membership, to license and regulate activities, to zone and to exclude persons from tribal territories. Limitations on tribal powers of self-government include the same limitations applicable to states; for example, neither tribes nor states have the power to make war, engage in foreign relations, or coin money (this includes paper currency).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2005/January/200501281313241CJsamohT0.7689478.html |work=america.gov |title=The U.S. Relationship To American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes |accessdate=2006-02-08}}</ref>
			There are 573 ]<ref>{{cite web|title=Federal Register|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-01-29/pdf/2016-01769.pdf|access-date=September 14, 2016}}</ref> and 326 ]<ref name="Department of the Interior">{{cite web|url=http://www.bia.gov/FAQs|title=Frequently Asked Questions, Bureau of Indian Affairs|publisher=Department of the Interior|access-date=August 8, 2015}}</ref> in the United States. These tribes possess the right to form their own governments, to enforce laws (both civil and criminal) within their lands, to tax, to establish requirements for membership, to license and regulate activities, to zone, and to exclude persons from tribal territories. Limitations on tribal powers of self-government include the same limitations applicable to states; for example, neither tribes nor states have the power to make war, engage in foreign relations, or coin money (this includes paper currency).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2005/January/200501281313241CJsamohT0.7689478.html |website=america.gov |title=The U.S. Relationship To American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes |access-date=February 8, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519065837/https://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2005/January/200501281313241CJsamohT0.7689478.html |archive-date=May 19, 2009}}</ref> In addition, there are a number of tribes that are ], but not by the federal government. The rights and benefits associated with ] vary from state to state.
	Many Native Americans and advocates of Native American rights point out that the U.S.&nbsp;federal government's claim to recognize the "sovereignty" of Native American peoples falls short, given that the United States wishes to govern Native American peoples and treat them as subject to U.S.&nbsp;law. Such advocates contend that full respect for Native American sovereignty would require the U.S.&nbsp;government to deal with Native American peoples in the same manner as any other sovereign nation, handling matters related to relations with Native Americans through the Secretary of State, rather than the ]. The Bureau of Indian Affairs reports on its website that its "responsibility is the administration and management of {{convert|55700000|acre|km2}} of land held in trust by the United States for American Indians, Indian tribes, and ]".<ref>{{cite web
	|url=http://www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html
	|accessdate=2007-12-25
	|title=Bureau of Indian affairs |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071129013254/http://www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html |archivedate=2007-11-29}}</ref> Many Native Americans and advocates of Native American rights believe that it is condescending for such lands to be considered "held in trust" and regulated in any fashion by other than their own tribes, whether the U.S. or Canadian governments, or any other non-Native American authority.
			Many Native Americans and advocates of Native American rights point out that the U.S. federal government's claim to recognize the "sovereignty" of Native American peoples falls short, given that the United States wishes to govern Native American peoples and treat them as subject to U.S. law.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thorpe.ou.edu/guide/robertson.html|title=Native Americans and the Law: Native Americans Under Current United States Law|last=Robertson|first=Lindsay|date=June 2001|access-date=April 21, 2016|archive-date=April 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416012037/http://thorpe.ou.edu/guide/robertson.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Such advocates contend that full respect for Native American sovereignty would require the U.S. government to deal with Native American peoples in the same manner as any other sovereign nation, handling matters related to relations with Native Americans through the Secretary of State, rather than the ]. The Bureau of Indian Affairs reports on its website that its "responsibility is the administration and management of {{convert|55700000|acre|km2}} of land held in trust by the United States for American Indians, Indian tribes, and ]".<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html|access-date=December 25, 2007|title=Bureau of Indian affairs|journal=Science|volume=68|issue=1774|page=639|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071129013254/http://www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html|archive-date=November 29, 2007|bibcode=1928Sci....68..639.|year=1928|doi=10.1126/science.68.1774.639}}</ref> Many Native Americans and advocates of Native American rights believe that it is condescending for such lands to be considered "held in trust" and regulated in any fashion by any entity other than their own tribes.
	As of year&nbsp;2000, the largest groups in the United States by population were ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. In 2000, eight of ten Americans with Native American ancestry were of mixed ancestry. It is estimated that by 2100 that figure will rise to nine out of ten.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:D-aV4g_I9XQJ:www.law.nyu.edu/kingsburyb/spring04/indigenousPeoples/classmaterials/class10/Class%2010%20Item%20A6%20-%20Gould.doc+genealogy++ |work=Columbia Law Review |title=Mixing Bodies and Beliefs: The Predicament of Tribes |accessdate=2006-02-08}}</ref>
			Some tribal groups have been unable to document the cultural continuity required for federal recognition. To achieve federal recognition and its benefits, tribes must prove continuous existence since 1900. The federal government has maintained this requirement, in part because through participation on councils and committees, federally recognized tribes have been adamant about groups' satisfying the same requirements as they did.<ref name="home.hamptonroads.com"/> The ] of the San Francisco Bay Area are pursuing litigation in the federal court system to establish recognition.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.muwekma.org |title=The Muwekman Ohlone |access-date=June 22, 2007 |website=muwekma.org}}</ref> Many of the smaller eastern tribes, long considered remnants of extinct peoples, have been trying to gain official recognition of their tribal status. Several tribes in Virginia and North Carolina have gained state recognition. Federal recognition confers some benefits, including the right to label arts and crafts as Native American and permission to apply for grants that are specifically reserved for Native Americans. But gaining federal recognition as a tribe is extremely difficult; to be established as a tribal group, members have to submit extensive ] proof of tribal descent and continuity of the tribe as a culture.
	In addition, there are a number of tribes that are ], but not by the federal government. The rights and benefits associated with state recognition vary from state to state.
	Some tribal groups have been unable to document the cultural continuity required for federal recognition. The ] of the San Francisco bay area are pursuing litigation in the federal court system to establish recognition.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.muwekma.org |title=The Muwekman Ohlone |accessdate=2007-06-22 |work=muwekma.org}}</ref> Many of the smaller eastern tribes, long considered remnants of extinct peoples, have been trying to gain official recognition of their tribal status. Several in Virginia and North Carolina have gained state recognition. Federal recognition confers some benefits, including the right to label arts and crafts as Native American and permission to apply for grants that are specifically reserved for Native Americans. But gaining federal recognition as a tribe is extremely difficult; to be established as a tribal group, members have to submit extensive ] proof of tribal descent and continuity of the tribe as a culture.
	] on or near their lands.]]		] on or near their lands.]]
	In July 2000 the ] adopted a resolution recommending that the federal and legislative branches of the ] terminate tribal governments.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiancountry.com/articles/headline-2000-07-12-01.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20000902214724/http://www.indiancountry.com/articles/headline-2000-07-12-01.shtml |archivedate=2000-09-02 |title=Washington GOP plank to terminate tribes ignites firestorm |publisher=Web.archive.org |date= |accessdate=2011-08-29}}</ref> In&nbsp;2007 a group of ] congressmen and congresswomen introduced a bill in the ] to "terminate" the ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tanasijournal.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=365&Itemid=1&ed=53|title=National Congress of American Indians Opposes Bill to Terminate the Cherokee Nation |date=July 7, 2007 |work=Tanasi Journal |publisher=Wisdom Keepers, Inc. |accessdate=2009-11-06}}{{dead link|date=August 2011}}</ref> This was related to their voting to exclude Cherokee Freedmen as members of the tribe unless they had a Cherokee ancestor on the Dawes Rolls, although all Cherokee Freedmen and their descendants had been members since&nbsp;1866.		In July 2000, the ] adopted a resolution recommending that the federal and legislative branches of the ] terminate tribal governments.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiancountry.com/articles/headline-2000-07-12-01.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000902214724/http://www.indiancountry.com/articles/headline-2000-07-12-01.shtml |archive-date=September 2, 2000 |title=Washington GOP plank to terminate tribes ignites firestorm |access-date=August 29, 2011}}</ref> In 2007, a group of ] congressmen and congresswomen introduced a bill in the ] to terminate Federal recognition of the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tanasijournal.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=365&Itemid=1&ed=53 |title=National Congress of American Indians Opposes Bill to Terminate the Cherokee Nation |date=July 7, 2007 |website=Tanasi Journal |publisher=Wisdom Keepers, Inc. |access-date=November 6, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510034518/http://www.tanasijournal.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=365&Itemid=1&ed=53 |archive-date=May 10, 2009}}</ref> This was related to their voting to exclude Cherokee Freedmen as members of the tribe unless they had a Cherokee ancestor on the Dawes Rolls, although all Cherokee Freedmen and their descendants had been members since 1866.
	As of 2004, various Native Americans are wary of attempts by others to gain control of their reservation lands for natural resources, such as ] and ] in the West.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.angelfire.com/band/senaaeurope/DRelocation.html |work=Senaa |title=The Genocide and Relocation of the Dine'h (Navajo) |accessdate=2006-02-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://lists.wayne.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind9703&L=tamha&F=&S=&P=7661 |work=LISTSERV at Wayne State University|title=Big Mountain Update 1 February 1997 |accessdate=2006-02-08}}</ref>		As of 2004, various Native Americans are wary of attempts by others to gain control of their reservation lands for natural resources, such as ] and ] in the West.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.angelfire.com/band/senaaeurope/DRelocation.html |website=Senaa |title=The Genocide and Relocation of the Dine'h (Navajo) |access-date=February 8, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://lists.wayne.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind9703&L=tamha&F=&S=&P=7661 |website=LISTSERV at Wayne State University|title=Big Mountain Update 1 February 1997 |access-date=February 8, 2006}}</ref>
			The State of ] is the only State House Legislature that allows Representatives from Indian Tribes. The three nonvoting members represent the Penobscot Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and ]. These representatives can sponsor any legislation regarding American Indian affairs or co-sponsor any pending State of Maine legislation. Maine is unique regarding Indigenous leadership representation.<ref>Leland, Charles G. & Cook, Michael W. ''Passamaquoddy Legends (Annotated Edition)'': extracted from ''Algonquin Legends of New England; or Myths and Folklore of the Micmac, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot Tribes.'' (USA: Independently published. 2021).</ref>
	In the state of ], Native Americans face a unique problem. Virginia has no federally recognized tribes but the state has recognized eight. This is related historically to the greater impact of disease and warfare on the Virginia Indian populations, as well as their intermarriage with Europeans and Africans. Some people confused the ancestry with culture, but groups of Virginia Indians maintained their cultural continuity. Most of their early reservations were ended under the pressure of early European settlement.
			In the state of ], Native Americans face a unique problem. Until 2017 Virginia previously had no federally recognized tribes but the state had recognized eight. This is related historically to the greater impact of disease and warfare on the Virginia Indian populations, as well as their intermarriage with Europeans and Africans. Some people confused ancestry with culture, but groups of Virginia Indians maintained their cultural continuity. Most of their early reservations were ended under the pressure of early European settlement.
	Some historians also note the problems of Virginia Indians in establishing documented continuity of identity, due to the work of ] (1912–1946). As registrar of the state's Bureau of Vital Statistics, he applied his own interpretation of the ], enacted in law in&nbsp;1924 as the state's Racial Integrity Act. It recognized only two races: "white" and "colored".
			Some historians also note the problems of Virginia Indians in establishing documented continuity of identity, due to the work of ] (1912–1946). As registrar of the state's Bureau of Vital Statistics, he applied his own interpretation of the ], enacted in law in 1924 as the state's Racial Integrity Act. It recognized only two races: "white" and "colored".
	Plecker, a ], believed that the state's Native Americans had been "mongrelized" by intermarriage with ]s; to him, ancestry determined identity, rather than culture. He thought that some people of partial black ancestry were trying to "]" as Native Americans. Plecker thought that anyone with any African heritage had to be classified as colored, regardless of appearance, amount of European or Native American ancestry, and cultural/community identification. Plecker pressured local governments into reclassifying all Native Americans in the state as "colored", and gave them lists of family surnames to examine for reclassification based on his interpretation of data and the law. This led to the state's destruction of accurate records related to families and communities who identified as Native American (as in church records and daily life). By his actions, sometimes different members of the same family were split by being classified as "white" or "colored". He did not allow people to enter their primary identification as Native American in state records.<ref name="home.hamptonroads.com">{{cite web |url=http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=74481&ran=162825 |work=Pilotonline.com |title=The black-and-white world of Walter Ashby Plecker |accessdate=2006-02-08}}</ref> In 2009, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee endorsed a bill that would grant federal recognition to tribes in Virginia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/state_regional/state_regional_govtpolitics/article/INDI23_20091022-223007/301146//|title=Virginia tribes take another step on road to federal recognition}}</ref>
			Plecker, a ], believed that the state's Native Americans had been "mongrelized" by intermarriage with African Americans; to him, ancestry determined identity, rather than culture. He thought that some people of partial black ancestry were trying to "]" as Native Americans. Plecker thought that anyone with any African heritage had to be classified as colored, regardless of appearance, amount of European or Native American ancestry, and cultural/community identification. Plecker pressured local governments into reclassifying all Native Americans in the state as "colored" and gave them lists of family surnames to examine for reclassification based on his interpretation of data and the law. This led to the state's destruction of accurate records related to families and communities who identified as Native American (as in church records and daily life). By his actions, sometimes different members of the same family were split by being classified as "white" or "colored". He did not allow people to enter their primary identification as Native American in state records.<ref name="home.hamptonroads.com">{{cite web |url=http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=74481&ran=162825 |website=Pilotonline.com |title=The black-and-white world of Walter Ashby Plecker |access-date=February 8, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060103123937/http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=74481&ran=162825 |archive-date=January 3, 2006}}</ref> In 2009, the ] endorsed a bill that would grant federal recognition to tribes in Virginia.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/state_regional/state_regional_govtpolitics/article/INDI23_20091022-223007/301146//|title = Virginia tribes take another step on road to federal recognition |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://archive.today/20091026175747/http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/state_regional/state_regional_govtpolitics/article/INDI23_20091022-223007/301146/ |archive-date = October 26, 2009|date = October 23, 2009 |work=Richmond Times-Dispatch}}</ref>
	To achieve federal recognition and its benefits, tribes must prove continuous existence since&nbsp;1900. The federal government has maintained this requirement, in part because through participation on councils and committees, federally recognized tribes have been adamant about groups' satisfying the same requirements as they did.<ref name="home.hamptonroads.com"/>
			{{As of|2000}}, the largest groups in the United States by population were ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. In 2000, eight of ten Americans with Native American ancestry were of mixed ancestry. It is estimated that by 2100 that figure will rise to nine out of ten.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Columbia Law Review |title=Mixing Bodies and Beliefs: The Predicament of Tribes |last = Gould|first = L. Scott|volume = 101|issue = 4|date = May 2001|doi=10.2307/1123684 |pages = 702–772 |jstor=1123684}}</ref>
			==Civil rights movement==
			{{main|Civil rights movement|Jim Crow Laws|Martin Luther King Jr.|National Congress of American Indians|National Indian Youth Council|Native American Rights Fund|Brown v. Board of Education}}
			]
			The ] was a very significant moment for the rights of Native Americans and other people of color. Native Americans faced racism and prejudice for hundreds of years, and this increased after the ]. Native Americans, like African Americans, were subjected to the ] and segregation in the ] especially after they were made citizens through the ] of 1924. As a body of law, Jim Crow institutionalized economic, educational, and social disadvantages for Native Americans, and other people of color living in the south.<ref name="tperd">{{cite web |last1=Perdue |first1=Theda |title=Legacy of Jim Crow for Southern Native Americans |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?302379-1/legacy-jim-crow-southern-native-americans |website=C-SPAN |access-date=November 27, 2018 |date=October 28, 2011}}</ref><ref name="jimlu">{{cite book |last1=Lowery |first1=Malinda Maynor |title=Lumbee Indians in the Jim Crow South: Race, Identity, and the Making of a Nation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vLY3XbAqDUwC|publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press |access-date=November 27, 2018 |pages=0–339 |date=January 1, 2010|isbn=9780807833681}}</ref><ref name="jewolf">{{cite journal |last1=Wolfley |first1=Jeanette |title=Jim Crow, Indian Style: The Disenfranchisement of Native Americans |journal=American Indian Law Review |date=1991 |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=167–202 |doi=10.2307/20068694 |jstor=20068694 |hdl=1903/22633 |url=https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/ailr/vol16/iss1/5 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> Native American identity was especially targeted by a system that only wanted to recognize white or colored, and the government began to question the legitimacy of some tribes because they had intermarried with African Americans.<ref name="tperd"/><ref name="jimlu"/> Native Americans were also discriminated and discouraged from voting in the southern and western states.<ref name="jewolf"/>
			In the ] segregation was a major problem for Native Americans seeking education, but the NAACP's legal strategy would later change this.<ref name="naalega">{{cite web |first1=Robert J. |last1=Cottrol |first2=Raymond T. |last2=Diamond |first3=Leland B. |last3=Ware |title=NAACP v. Jim Crow |url=https://www.aft.org/periodical/american-educator/summer-2004/naacp-v-jim-crow |website=American Federation of Teachers |access-date=April 7, 2019 |language=en |date=August 8, 2014}}</ref> Movements such as ] was a major victory for the Civil Rights Movement headed by the ], and inspired Native Americans to start participating in the Civil Rights Movement.<ref> ~ Civil Rights Movement Archive</ref><ref name="kingcreek"/> ] began assisting Native Americans in the south in the late 1950s after they reached out to him.<ref name="kingcreek">{{cite web |last1=Bender |first1=Albert |title=Dr. King spoke out against the genocide of Native Americans |url=http://www.peoplesworld.org/article/dr-king-spoke-out-against-the-genocide-of-native-americans/ |website=People's World |access-date=November 25, 2018 |date=February 13, 2014}}</ref> At that time the remaining ] in Alabama were trying to completely desegregate schools in their area. In this case, light-complexioned Native children were allowed to ride school buses to previously all white schools, while dark-skinned Native children from the same band were barred from riding the same buses.<ref name="kingcreek"/> Tribal leaders, upon hearing of King's desegregation campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, contacted him for assistance. He promptly responded and, through his intervention, the problem was quickly resolved.<ref name="kingcreek"/> King would later make trips to Arizona visiting Native Americans on reservations, and in churches encouraging them to be involved in the Civil Rights Movement.<ref name="kingindrez">{{cite web |last1=Leighton |first1=David |title=Street Smarts: MLK Jr. visited 'Papago' reservation near Tucson, was fascinated |url=https://tucson.com/news/local/street-smarts-mlk-jr-visited-papago-reservation-near-tucson-was/article_cbc4d8f3-6d53-54f3-a783-359646fe2c82.html |website=The Arizona Daily Star |access-date=November 26, 2018 |date=April 2, 2017}}</ref> In King's book ''Why We Can't Wait'' he writes:
			<blockquote>Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. Even before there were large numbers of Negroes on our shores, the scar of racial hatred had already disfigured colonial society. From the sixteenth century forward, blood flowed in battles over racial supremacy. We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe out its Indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or to feel remorse for this shameful episode. Our literature, our films, our drama, our folklore all exalt it.<ref name="kingnatspeech">{{cite web |last1=Rickert |first1=Levi |title=Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: Our Nation was Born in Genocide |url=https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-nation-born-genocide/ |website=Native News Online |access-date=November 25, 2018 |date=January 16, 2017 |archive-date=November 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126092832/https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-nation-born-genocide/ |url-status=dead}}</ref></blockquote>
			Native Americans would then actively participate and support the NAACP, and the civil rights movement.<ref name="hufponat">{{cite web |last1=Ross |first1=Gyasi |title=Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Black People and Indigenous People: How We Cash This Damn Check |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-black-people-and-indigenous_us_5a57c671e4b03a1e6098bc6d |website=] |access-date=November 25, 2018 |date=January 11, 2018}}</ref> The National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) would soon rise in 1961 to fight for Native American rights during the Civil Rights Movement, and were strong King supporters.<ref name="scielo.org.za"/><ref name=COBB>Cobb, Daniel M.(2008). ''Native Activism In Cold War America: The Struggle for Sovereignty'', University Press of Kansas, Kansas. {{ISBN|978-0-7006-1597-1}}.{{page needed|date=March 2021}}</ref> During the ] there was a sizable Native American contingent, including many from South Dakota, and many from the ].<ref name="kingcreek"/><ref name="navtimes">{{cite web |last1=Pineo |first1=Christopher |title=Navajos and locals in Gallup celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day |url=https://www.navajotimes.com/reznews/navajos-and-locals-in-gallup-celebrate-martin-luther-king-jr-day/ |website=Navajo Times |access-date=November 26, 2018 |date=January 21, 2016 |archive-date=September 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220918181926/https://navajotimes.com/reznews/navajos-and-locals-in-gallup-celebrate-martin-luther-king-jr-day/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Native Americans also participated the ] in 1968.<ref name="scielo.org.za">{{cite journal |last1=Garcia |first1=Kevin |title=The American Indian Civil Rights Movement: A case study in Civil Society Protest |journal=Yesterday and Today |date=December 1, 2014 |volume=12 |pages=60–74 |url=http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862014000200004 |access-date=November 25, 2018 |issn=2309-9003}}</ref> The NIYC were very active supporters of the ] unlike the ] (NCAI); the NIYC and other Native organizations met with King in March 1968 but the NCAI disagreed on how to approach the anti-poverty campaign; the NCAI decided against participating in the march.<ref name=COBB/> The NCAI wished to pursue their battles in the courts and with Congress, unlike the NIYC.<ref name="scielo.org.za"/><ref name=COBB/> The NAACP also inspired the creation of the ] (NARF) which was patterned after the NAACP's Legal Defense and Education Fund.<ref name="kingcreek"/> Furthermore, the NAACP continued to organize to stop mass incarceration and end the ] and other communities of people of color.<ref name="naanative">{{cite web |last1=Needle |first1=Elana |title=Nationwide Racial Equity Groups Organize in Support of Racial Healing Groups Support NDORH with Prayer Vigil and Tele Town Hall |url=https://www.naacp.org/latest/nationwide-racial-equity-groups-organize-support-racial-healing%E2%80%AF-groups-support-ndorh-prayer-vigil-tele-town-hall%E2%80%AF/ |website=NAACP |access-date=April 7, 2019 |date=January 18, 2019 |archive-date=February 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203050541/https://www.naacp.org/latest/nationwide-racial-equity-groups-organize-support-racial-healing%e2%80%af-groups-support-ndorh-prayer-vigil-tele-town-hall%e2%80%af/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The following is an excerpt from a statement from ] on May 1, 1968, during a meeting with Secretary of State ]:<ref name=COBB/> (It was written by members of the Workshop on American Indian Affairs and the NIYC)
			{{blockquote|We have joined the Poor People's Campaign because most of our families, tribes, and communities number among those suffering most in this country. We are not begging. We are demanding what is rightfully ours. This is no more than the right to have a decent life in our own communities. We need guaranteed jobs, guaranteed income, housing, schools, economic development, but most important- we want them on our own terms.
			Our chief spokesman in the federal government, the ], has failed us. In fact it began failing us from its very beginning. The Interior Department began failing us because it was built upon and operates under a racist, immoral, paternalistic and colonialistic system. There is no way to improve upon racism, immorality and colonialism; it can only be done away with. The system and power structure serving Indian peoples is a sickness which has grown to epidemic proportions. The Indian system is sick. Paternalism is the virus and the secretary of the Interior is the carrier.}}
	==Contemporary issues==		==Contemporary issues==
	{{Main|Contemporary Native American issues in the United States}}		{{Main|Contemporary Native American issues in the United States}}
			{{See also|Environmental Justice|Social Justice}}
	Native American struggles amid ] to maintain life on the reservation or in larger society have resulted in a variety of health issues, some related to nutrition and health practices. The community suffers a vulnerability to and disproportionately high rate of ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://erc.msh.org/mainpage.cfm?file=5.4.7e.htm&module=provider&language=English |accessdate=2007-06-22 |title=Challenges to Health and Well-Being of Native American Communities |work=The Provider's Guide to Quality and Culture}}, Management of Science of Health</ref>
			Native American struggles amid ] to maintain life on the reservation or in larger society have resulted in a variety of health issues, some related to nutrition and health practices. The community suffers a vulnerability to and ]:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://erc.msh.org/mainpage.cfm?file=5.4.7e.htm&module=provider&language=English |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030123233808/http://erc.msh.org/mainpage.cfm?file=5.4.7e.htm&module=provider&language=English |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 23, 2003 |access-date=June 22, 2007 |title=Challenges to Health and Well-Being of Native American Communities |website=The Provider's Guide to Quality and Culture}}, Management of Science of Health</ref>
	{{Cquote|''It has long been recognized that Native Americans are dying of ], ], ], ], and other health conditions at shocking rates. Beyond disturbingly high mortality rates, Native Americans also suffer a significantly lower health status and disproportionate rates of disease compared with all other Americans''.}}
	<nowiki> </nowiki>- ]<ref> by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, September 2004.</ref> (September 2004)
			{{blockquote|It has long been recognized that Native Americans are dying of ], alcoholism, ], ], and other health conditions at shocking rates. Beyond disturbingly high mortality rates, Native Americans also suffer a significantly lower health status and disproportionate rates of disease compared with all other Americans.|]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/docs/nabroken.pdf |title=Broken Promises: Evaluating the Native American Health Care System |date=September 2004 |website= United States Commission on Civil Rights|publisher= |access-date=April 9, 2021 |quote=It has been long recognized that Native Americans are dying of diabetes, alcoholism, tuberculosis, suicide, and other health conditions at shocking rates.}}</ref> (September 2004)}}
	{{Indigenous rights}}
			Recent studies also point to rising rates of stroke,<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Schieb LJ|title=Trends and Disparities in Stroke Mortality by Region for American Indians and Alaska Natives|journal= American Journal of Public Health|volume=104|issue=S3|date=2014|pmc=4035883|pmid=24754653|doi=10.2105/AJPH.2013.301698|pages=S368-76}}</ref> heart disease,<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Veazie M|title=Trends and Disparities in Heart Disease Mortality Among American Indians/Alaska Natives, 1990–2009
			|journal= American Journal of Public Health|volume=104|issue=S3|date=2014|pmc=4035888|pmid=24754556|doi=10.2105/AJPH.2013.301715|pages=S359-67}}</ref> and diabetes<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Nuyujukian DS|title=Sleep Duration and Diabetes Risk in American Indian and Alaska Native Participants of a Lifestyle Intervention Project|journal=Sleep|volume=39|issue=11|pages=1919–1926|date=2016|doi=10.5665/sleep.6216|pmid=27450685|pmc=5070746}}</ref> in the Native American population.
	===Societal discrimination and racism===		===Societal discrimination and racism===
	{{Further|Stereotypes of Native Americans}}		{{Further|Stereotypes of Native Americans|Racism against Native Americans in the United States}}
	] sign posted above a bar. ], ], 1941.]]		] sign posted above a bar. ], ], 1941]]
			]
	Most non-Native Americans admitted they rarely encountered Native Americans in their daily lives. While sympathetic toward Native Americans and expressing regret over the past, most people had only a vague understanding of the problems facing Native Americans today. For their part, Native Americans told researchers that they believed they continued to face prejudice, mistreatment, and ] in the broader society.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.publicagenda.org/reports/walking-mile-first-step-toward-mutual-understanding |work=Public Agenda |title=Walking a Mile: A Qualitative Study Exploring How Indians and Non-Indians Think About Each Other |accessdate=2008-07-25}}</ref>
			Native Americans have been subjected to discrimination for centuries. In response to being labeled "merciless Indian savages" in the Declaration of Independence, Simon Moya-Smith, culture editor at '']'', states, "Any holiday that would refer to my people in such a repugnant, racist manner is certainly not worth celebrating. is a day we celebrate our resiliency, our culture, our languages, our children and we mourn the millions — literally millions — of indigenous people who have died as a consequence of American imperialism."<ref>. Mic. Retrieved August 23, 2017.</ref>
			In a study conducted in 2006–2007, non-Native Americans admitted they rarely encountered Native Americans in their daily lives. This is largely due to the number of Native Americans having dwindled since white ], while those who survived were forcibly moved into reservations; both of these factors were referenced by ] in 1928 when he admiringly stated the US had "gunned down the millions of Redskins to a few hundred thousand, and now keep the modest remnant under observation in a cage".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moon |first1=David |title=The American Steppes |date=2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=44}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=How American Racism Influenced Hitler |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/30/how-american-racism-influenced-hitler |access-date=March 9, 2024 |magazine=]}}</ref> While sympathetic toward Native Americans and expressing regret over the past, most people had only a vague understanding of the problems facing Native Americans today. For their part, Native Americans told researchers that they believed they continued to face ], mistreatment, and ] in the broader society.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.publicagenda.org/reports/walking-mile-first-step-toward-mutual-understanding |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919174041/http://www.publicagenda.org/reports/walking-mile-first-step-toward-mutual-understanding |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 19, 2008 |website=Public Agenda |title=Walking a Mile: A Qualitative Study Exploring How Indians and Non-Indians Think About Each Other |access-date=July 25, 2008}}</ref>
	====Affirmative action issues====		====Affirmative action issues====
			Federal contractors and subcontractors, such as businesses and educational institutions, are legally required to adopt ] and ] measures intended to prevent discrimination against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of "color, religion, sex, or national origin".<ref>{{cite web| publisher = The Federal Register| title = --Equal employment opportunity| url = https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/11246.html| access-date = May 5, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100330083544/http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/11246.html| archive-date= March 30, 2010 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=ref1>{{cite web|publisher=U.S. Department of Labor |title=Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) |url=http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/aa.htm |access-date=May 5, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091128110029/http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/aa.htm |archive-date=November 28, 2009}}</ref> For this purpose, a Native American is defined as "A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains a tribal affiliation or community attachment". The passing of the ] saw a 56% increase in Native American city dwellers over 40 years.<ref name="AmericanIndianPoverty">{{cite journal|last1=Davis|first1=James J.|last2=Roscigno|first2=Vincent J.|last3=Wilson|first3=George|date=March 2016|title=American Indian Poverty in the Contemporary United States|journal=Sociological Forum|volume=31|pages=6, 8|doi=10.1111/socf.12226}}</ref> The Native American urban poverty rate exceeds that of reservation poverty rates due to discrimination in hiring processes.<ref name="AmericanIndianPoverty" /> However, self-reporting is permitted: "Educational institutions and other recipients should allow students and staff to self-identify their race and ethnicity unless self-identification is not practicable or feasible."<ref name=FRDefinition>{{cite web|title=Final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U.S. Department of Education|url=http://www2.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2007-4/101907c.pdf|website=Federal Register/Vol. 72, No. 202/Friday, October 19, 2007/Notices|publisher=U.S. Department of Education|access-date=June 9, 2012|pages=59266 to 59279|format=Notice|date=October 19, 2007|quote=A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains a tribal affiliation or community attachment.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109230715/http://www2.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2007-4/101907c.pdf|archive-date=November 9, 2011}}</ref>
	Federal contractors and subcontractors, such as businesses and educational institutions, are legally required to adopt ] and ] measures intended to prevent discrimination against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of "color, religion, sex, or national origin".<ref>{{cite web
	| publisher = The Federal Register
	| title = --Equal employment opportunity
	| url = http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/11246.html
			Self-reporting opens the door to "box checking" by people who, despite not having a substantial relationship to Native American culture, innocently or fraudulently check the box for Native American.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Removing Educational Barriers for Native American Citizens of Federally- Recognized Tribes|journal=The American Indian Graduate|date=Spring 2012|pages=10–14|url=https://www.aigcs.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/American-Indian-Graduate-Magazine-Spring-2012.pdf|access-date=June 9, 2012|first=Bridget|last=Neconie|quote=The Native American population is the only group in American that tends to experience systematic fraudulent behavior. Claiming to be Native American has become such a common and accepted practice that recently, the American Bar Association began to require verification of the identity of Native American applicants.|ref=AIG|archive-date=June 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618210033/http://www.aigcs.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/American-Indian-Graduate-Magazine-Spring-2012.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
	| accessdate = 2010-05-05| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100330083544/http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/11246.html| archivedate= 2010-03-30 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref name=ref1>{{cite web
	| publisher = U.S. Department of Labor
	| title = Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
	| url = http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/aa.htm
			The difficulties that Native Americans face in the workforce, for example, a lack of promotions and wrongful terminations are attributed to racial stereotypes and implicit biases. Native American business owners are seldom offered auxiliary resources that are crucial for entrepreneurial success.<ref name="AmericanIndianPoverty" />
	| accessdate = 2010-05-05}}</ref> For this purpose, a Native American is defined as "A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains a tribal affiliation or community attachment." However, self-reporting is permitted: "Educational institutions and other recipients should allow students and staff to self-identify their race and ethnicity unless self-identification is not practicable or feasible."<ref name=FRDefinition>{{cite web|title=Final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U.S. Department of Education|url=http://www2.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2007-4/101907c.pdf|work=Federal Register/Vol. 72, No. 202/Friday, October 19, 2007/Notices|publisher=U.S. Department of Education|accessdate=2012-06-09|pages=59266 to 59279|format=Notice|date=October 19, 2007|quote=A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains a tribal affiliation or community attachment.}}</ref>
			===Sexual violence as a tool for settler colonialism===
	Self-reporting opens the door to "box checking" by people who, despite not having a substantial relationship to Native American culture, innocently or fraudulently "check the box" for Native American.<ref>{{cite journal|title=removing educational Barriers for Native American Citizens of Federally- recognized tribes|journal=The American Indian Graduate|date=Spring, 2012|pages=10 to 14|url=http://www.aigcs.org/UserData/RadEditor/Documents/PublicChildMenu/AIGC%20Spring%202012-final-low-res.pdf|accessdate=2012-06-09|author=Bridget Neconie|quote=The Native American population is the only group in American that tends to experience systematic fraudulent behavior. Claiming to be Native American has become such a common and accepted practice that recently, the American Bar Association began to require verification of the identity of Native American applicants.|ref=AIG}}</ref>
			Throughout history, settler colonialism has remained a violent and destructive tool to displace and exterminate Native American peoples. The use of sexual violence to perpetuate this is very common. Musocgee Creek law professor Sarah Deer highlights the high number of Native women who still experience this violence: "Since 1999 a variety of reports and studies have come to the same conclusion- namely, that Native women in particular suffer the highest rate of per capita rape in the United States." The continued acts of sexual violence against Native women have been perpetuated by colonization and the actions of colonizers. Native women through time have been portrayed as extremely sexual which only enforces sexual violence. Deer explains, "Dispossession and relocation of indigenous peoples on this continent both necessitated and precipitated a highly gendered and sexualized dynamic in which Native women's bodies became commodities- bought and sold for the purposes of sexual gratification (or profit), invariably transporting them far away from their homes."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Deer |first=Sarah |title=The Beginning and End of Rape : Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |year=2015}}</ref>
	===Native American mascots in sports===		===Native American mascots in sports===
	{{Main|Native American mascot controversy}}		{{Main|Native American mascot controversy}}
			{{Further|NCAA Native American mascot decision}}
	], the ] mascot]]
			] in Minneapolis, November 2014]]
	American Indian activists in the United States and Canada have criticized the use of Native American ]s in sports, as perpetuating stereotypes.		American Indian activists in the United States and Canada have criticized the use of Native American ]s in sports, as perpetuating stereotypes. This is considered ].
			There has been a steady decline in the number of secondary school and college teams using such names, images, and mascots. Some tribal team names have been approved by the tribe in question, such as the Seminole Council of Florida approving use of their name for the teams of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fsu.com/pages/2005/06/17/historic_vote.html|title=Florida State University thanks Seminoles for historic vote of support|publisher=Florida State University|access-date=August 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070608224336/http://www.fsu.com/pages/2005/06/17/historic_vote.html|archive-date=June 8, 2007}}</ref><ref name="teachingTolerance">{{cite web|url=http://www.tolerance.org/news/article_tol.jsp?id=165|title=Native American Mascots Big Issue in College Sports|access-date=August 26, 2008|author=Teaching Tolerance|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420073332/http://www.tolerance.org/news/article_tol.jsp?id=165|archive-date=April 20, 2008}}</ref>The NCAA allows the use even though the NCAA "continues to believe the stereotyping of Native Americans is wrong."<ref>{{cite magazine| title=The Florida State Seminoles: The Champions of Racist Mascots| magazine=The Nation| date=January 7, 2014| last=Zirin| first=Dave| url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/florida-state-seminoles-champions-racist-mascots/}}</ref>
			Among professional teams, the ]'s ] discontinued use of Native American-themed logos in 1971. The ]'s ], formerly the ], changed their name in 2020, as ] is considered to be a racial slur.<ref>{{cite web|title=ENDING THE LEGACY OF RACISM IN SPORTS & THE ERA OF HARMFUL "INDIAN" SPORTS MASCOTS|url=http://www.ncai.org/attachments/policypaper_mijapmouwdbjqftjayzqwlqldrwzvsyfakbwthpmatcoroyolpn_ncai_harmful_mascots_report_ending_the_legacy_of_racism_10_2013.pdf|publisher=National Congress of American Indians|page=10|date=October 2013}}</ref>
	While many universities and professional sports teams (for example, the ], who had a ]) no longer use such images without consultation and approval by the respective nation, some lower-level schools continue to do so. On the other hand, in the Bay Area of California, Tomales Bay High and Sequoia High have retired their Indian mascots.<ref name="amy_d">
	{{Cite news
			]'s ] were formerly known as the ]. Their use of a caricature called ] faced protest for decades.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsdesk.si.edu/releases/native-american-mascot-controversy-takes-center-stage-national-museum-american-indian|title=Native American Mascot Controversy Takes Center Stage at the National Museum of the American Indian|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|date=December 24, 2012|access-date=August 20, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/local/cleveland/2015/04/09/cleveland--protesters-a-century-of-indians-is-enough/25538785/| archive-url=https://archive.today/20150411031430/http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/local/cleveland/2015/04/09/cleveland--protesters-a-century-of-indians-is-enough/25538785/| url-status=dead| archive-date=April 11, 2015| title=Wahoo Protesters: A century of 'Indians' is enough| first=Tom| last=Beres| publisher=WKYC-TV| date=April 9, 2015}}</ref> Starting in 2019, Chief Wahoo ceased to be a logo for Cleveland Indians, though Chief Wahoo merchandise could still be sold in the Cleveland-area.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://case.edu/ech/articles/c/chief-wahoo|title=CHIEF WAHOO|date=February 18, 2019|website=Encyclopedia of Cleveland History &#124; Case Western Reserve University}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Bastian|first=Jordan|title=Indians to stop using Wahoo logo starting in '19|url=https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/indians-to-stop-using-chief-wahoo-logo/c-265489544|publisher=]|date=January 29, 2018|access-date=November 30, 2020}}</ref><ref name="WahooLogoNYT">{{cite news|last=Waldstein|first=David|title=Cleveland Indians Will Abandon Chief Wahoo Logo Next Year|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/sports/baseball/cleveland-indians-chief-wahoo-logo.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129173741/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/sports/baseball/cleveland-indians-chief-wahoo-logo.html |archive-date=2018-01-29 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=]|date=January 29, 2018|access-date=November 30, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="WahooLogoNBC">{{cite news|last=Siemaszko|first=Corky|title=Cleveland Indians will remove Chief Wahoo logo in 2019|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/cleveland-indians-will-remove-chief-wahoo-logo-2019-n842196|work=]|date=January 29, 2018|access-date=November 30, 2018}}</ref> On December 13, 2020, ''The New York Times'' reported that Cleveland would be officially changing their name.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Waldstein|first1=David|last2=Schmidt|first2=Michael S.|date=December 14, 2020|title=Cleveland's Baseball Team Will Drop Its Indians Team Name|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/13/sports/baseball/cleveland-indians-baseball-name-change.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214011605/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/13/sports/baseball/cleveland-indians-baseball-name-change.html |archive-date=2020-12-14 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=December 29, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> On November 19, 2021, the team officially became the ].<ref name="ClevelandGuardians">{{cite news|last=Bell|first=Mandy|title=New for '22: Meet the Cleveland Guardians|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/cleveland-indians-change-name-to-guardians|publisher=]|website=]|date=July 23, 2021|access-date=July 24, 2021|url-status=live|language=en-US|archive-date=July 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723143028/https://www.mlb.com/news/cleveland-indians-change-name-to-guardians}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Hoynes|first=Paul|title=Cleveland Indians choose Guardians as new team name|url=https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/2021/07/cleveland-indians-choose-guardians-as-new-team-name.html|newspaper=]|language=en|date=July 23, 2021|access-date=July 24, 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=July 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725123833/https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/2021/07/cleveland-indians-choose-guardians-as-new-team-name.html}}</ref>
	|url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E4DF1239F932A05750C0A960958260&n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FSubjects%2FM%2FMascots
	|title=Indian Chief Is Mascot No More
	|accessdate=2008-08-26
	|author=Amy D'orio
	| work=The New York Times
	| date=March 31, 1996}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/sports/july-dec05/mascots_8-25.html |work=Online NewsHour |title=NCAA Bans Indian Mascots |accessdate=2006-02-08}}</ref> An exception was made to allow the use of tribal names if approved by that tribe (such as the ]'s approving use of their name for the team of ].)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fsu.com/pages/2005/06/17/historic_vote.html|title=Florida State University thanks Seminoles for historic vote of support |publisher=Florida State University |accessdate=2008-08-09 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070608224336/http://www.fsu.com/pages/2005/06/17/historic_vote.html |archivedate = 2007-06-08}}</ref><ref name="teachingTolerance">
	{{cite web
	|url = http://www.tolerance.org/news/article_tol.jsp?id=165
	|title = Native American Mascots Big Issue in College Sports
	|accessdate=2008-08-26
	|author = Teaching Tolerance
	}}</ref>
	===Historical depictions in art===		===Historical depictions in art===
	] Indians' dance in North Carolina, watercolor by John White, 1585]]		] Indians' dance in North Carolina''. Watercolor by John White, 1585.]]
	Native Americans have been depicted by ] in various ways at different historical periods. A number of 19th and 20th-century United States and Canadian painters, often motivated by a desire to document and preserve Native culture, specialized in Native American subjects. Among the most prominent of these were ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].
			Native Americans have been depicted by ] in various ways at different periods. A number of 19th- and 20th-century United States and Canadian painters, often motivated by a desire to document and preserve Native culture, specialized in Native American subjects. Among the most prominent of these were ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].
	In the 20th century, early portrayals of Native Americans in ] and ] roles were first performed by European Americans dressed in mock traditional attire. Examples included ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1920), ''Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans'' (1957), and '']'' (1965–67). In later decades, Native American actors such as ] in '']'' television series (1949–57) came to prominence. Roles of Native Americans were limited and not reflective of Native American culture. By the 1970s some Native American film roles began to show more complexity, such as those in '']'' (1970), '']'' (1971), and '']'' (1976), which depicted Native Americans in minor supporting roles.
			] Indians, painting by ], {{Circa|1845}}]]
			In the 20th century, early portrayals of Native Americans in ] and ] roles were first performed by European Americans dressed in mock traditional attire. Examples included ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1920), ''Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans'' (1957), and '']'' (1965–1967). In later decades, Native American actors such as ] in '']'' television series (1949–1957) came to prominence. The roles of Native Americans were limited and not reflective of Native American culture. By the 1970s some Native American film roles began to show more complexity, such as those in '']'' (1970), '']'' (1971), and '']'' (1976), which depicted Native Americans in minor supporting roles.
	For years, Native people on U.S. television were relegated to secondary, subordinate roles. During the years of the series '']'' (1959–1973), no major or secondary Native characters appeared on a consistent basis. The series '']'' (1949–1957), '']'' (1955–1963), and '']'' (1959–1963) had Native characters who were essentially aides to the central white characters. This continued in such series as '']''. These programs resembled the "sympathetic" yet contradictory film '']'' of 1990, in which, according to Ella Shohat and Robert Stam, the narrative choice was to relate the Lakota story as told through a Euro-American voice, for wider impact among a general audience.<ref>Shohat, Ella, and Stam, Robert. ''Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media''. New York: Routledge, 1994.</ref>		For years, Native people on American television were relegated to secondary, subordinate roles. During the years of the series '']'' (1959–1973), no major or secondary Native characters appeared on a consistent basis. The series '']'' (1949–1957), '']'' (1955–1963), and '']'' (1959–1963) had Native characters who were essentially aides to the central white characters. This continued in such series as '']''. These programs resembled the "sympathetic" yet contradictory film '']'' of 1990, in which, according to Ella Shohat and Robert Stam, the narrative choice was to relate the Lakota story as told through a Euro-American voice, for wider impact among a general audience.<ref>Shohat, Ella, and Stam, Robert. ''Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media''. New York: Routledge, 1994.</ref>
	Like the 1992 remake of '']'' and '']'' (1993), ''Dances with Wolves'' employed a number of Native American actors, and made an effort to portray Indigenous languages.		Like the 1992 remake of '']'' and '']'' (1993), ''Dances with Wolves'' employed a number of Native American actors, and made an effort to portray Indigenous languages. In 1996, ] actor ] would play renowned Native American warrior ] in the 1996 television film '']'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1996-07-07-9607050218-story.html|title=TNT'S 'CRAZY HORSE' IS A DUD OF A TRIBUTE|last=Boedeker|first=Hal |website=OrlandoSentinel.com|language=en-US|date=July 7, 1996|access-date=November 30, 2020}}</ref> and would also later play renowned Sioux chief ] in the 2017 movie '']''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-michael-greyeyes-woman-walks-ahead-20180621-story.html|title=As Sitting Bull in 'Woman Walks Ahead,' Michael Greyeyes continues to educate through Native roles|first=Amy|last=Kaufman|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=June 21, 2018|access-date=December 21, 2020}}</ref>
	In 2009 '']'' (2009), a television documentary by ] and part of the ] series, presented a five-episode series "from a Native American perspective". It represented "an unprecedented collaboration between Native and non-Native filmmakers and involves Native advisors and scholars at all levels of the project."<ref>{{Cite news |title=About the Project: We Shall Remain|url =http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/the_films/about |accessdate=2009-06-16}}</ref> The five episodes explore the impact of ] on the northeastern tribes, the "Native American confederacy" of ], the US-forced relocation of Southeastern tribes known as the ], the pursuit and capture of ] and the ], and concludes with the ], participation by the ], and the increasing resurgence of modern Native cultures since.		The 1998 film '']'', which was set on the ] and discussed hardships of present-day American Indian families living on reservations, featured numerous Native American actors as well.<ref name=hollywoodmilestone>{{cite news|url=https://www.indianz.com/IndianGaming/2018/09/25/cast-and-crew-of-smoke-signals-reunites.asp|title=Cast and crew of Smoke Signals reunites for 20th anniversary|newspaper=Indianz |publisher=Indianz.com|date=September 25, 2018|access-date=December 21, 2020}}</ref> The film was the first feature film to be produced and directed by Native Americans, and was also the first feature to include an exclusive Native American cast.<ref name=hollywoodmilestone /> At the annual Sundance Film Festival, ''Smoke Signals'' would win the Audience Award and its producer ], an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, would win the Filmmaker's Trophy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.colorado.edu/cwa/chris-eyre|title=Chris Eyre|date=November 30, 2017|website=Conference on World Affairs}}</ref> In 2009, '']'' (2009), a television documentary by ] and part of the '']'' series, presented a five-episode series "from a Native American perspective". It represented "an unprecedented collaboration between Native and non-Native filmmakers and involves Native advisors and scholars at all levels of the project".<ref>{{Cite news |title=About the Project: We Shall Remain|url =https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/the_films/about |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090406101027/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/the_films/about |archive-date=2009-04-06 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 11, 2022}}</ref> The five episodes explore the impact of ] on the northeastern tribes, the "Native American confederacy" of ], the U.S.-forced relocation of Southeastern tribes known as the ], the pursuit and capture of ] and the ], and concludes with the ], participation by the ], and the increasing resurgence of modern Native cultures since.
	===Terminology differences===		===Differences in terminology===
	{{further2|]}}		{{Further|Native American name controversy}}
			The most common of the modern terms to refer to Indigenous peoples of the United States are ''Indians'', ''American Indians'', and ''Native Americans''. Up to the early to mid 18th century, the term ''Americans'' was not applied to people of European heritage in North America. Instead it was equivalent to the term ''Indians''. As people of European heritage began using the term ''Americans'' to refer instead to themselves, the word ''Indians'' became historically the most often employed term.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Utter |first1=Jack |title=American Indians: Answers to Today's Questions |date=2001 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=0-8061-3309-0 |page=103 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yh9j9Dd5uoAC |access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref>
	====Common usage in the United States====
	Native Americans are more commonly known as Indians or American Indians. The term ''Native American'' was introduced in the ] by academics{{Who|date=May 2012}} in preference to the older term ''Indian'' to distinguish the ] from the people of ], and to avoid negative stereotypes associated with the term ''Indian''. Some academics{{Who|date=May 2012}} believe that the term ''Indian'' should be considered outdated or offensive. Many indigenous Americans, however, prefer the term ''American Indian''.<ref name="Census">{{cite web |url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0762158.html |work=Infoplease |title=Preference for Racial or Ethnic Terminology |accessdate=2006-02-08}}
	</ref>
			The term ''Indians'', long laden with racist stereotypes, began to be widely replaced in the 1960s with the term ''Native Americans'', which recognized the Indigeneity of the people who first made the Americas home. But as the term ''Native Americans'' became popular, the American Indian Movement saw pejorative connotations in the term ''native'' and reappropriated the term ''Indian'', seeing it as witness to the history of violence against the many nations that lived in the Americas before European arrival.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Slate |first1=Nico |title=Lord Cornwallis Is Dead: The Struggle for Democracy in the United States and India |date=2019 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |isbn=9780674983441 |page=26 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4_KBDwAAQBAJ |access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref>
	Criticism of the ] ''Native American'' comes from diverse sources. ], an American Indian activist, opposed the term ''Native American'' because he believed it was imposed by the government without the consent of American Indians. He has also argued that the use of the word ''Indian'' derives not from a confusion with ] but from a ] expression ''En Dio'', meaning "in God".<ref>Russell Means "I am an American Indian, not a native American!" (Treaty Productions, 1996); citation given here and here and they cover the general subject and some Means' contribution, but have no reference to "En Dio" and only those non-working links to text.</ref>
			The term ''Native American'' was introduced in the United States in preference to the older term ''Indian'' to distinguish the ] from the people of ]. It may have been coined by ] Sachem ], in an 1852 address to the US Congress where he argued against proposed resettlement.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Quinney |first1=John W. |title=Memorial to Congress |date=1852 |publisher=Madison |page=320 |url=https://archive.org/details/collections04wiscuoft/page/324/mode/2up |access-date=22 April 2024}}</ref>
	A 1995 U.S. Census Bureau survey found that more Native Americans in the United States preferred ''American Indian'' to ''Native American''.<ref name="Census" /> Most American Indians are comfortable with ''Indian'', ''American Indian'', and ''Native American'', and the terms are often used interchangeably.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aihmterms.html |work=Infoplease |title=''American Indian'' versus ''Native American'' |accessdate=2006-02-08}}</ref> The traditional term is reflected in the name chosen for the ], which opened in 2004 on the Mall in ].
			The term ''Amerindian'', a ] of "American Indian", was coined in 1902 by the ]. However, it has been controversial since its creation. It was immediately rejected by some leading members of the Association, and, while adopted by many, it was never universally accepted.<ref name=AmerIndNYT>{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1902/10/22/118482945.pdf |title=Americanists in dispute |date=October 22, 1902 |work=] |access-date=2009-01-14}}</ref> While never popular in Indigenous communities themselves, it remains a preferred term among some anthropologists, notably in some parts of Canada and the ].<ref> ''Survival International.'' Retrieved 30 March 2012. ''Diccionario de la Real Academia Española''. Retrieved 8 February 2012.</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Reid|first=Basil|title=Tracing Our Amerindian Heritage|url=http://www2.sta.uwi.edu/pelican/exclusives/oex_3.asp|access-date=2016-02-10|website=www2.sta.uwi.edu|archive-date=16 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216050126/http://www2.sta.uwi.edu/pelican/exclusives/oex_3.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Guide|first=Barbados.org Travel|title=The Abbreviated History of Barbados|url=http://www.barbados.org/history1.htm|access-date=2016-02-10|website=www.barbados.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Unique Media Design Limited|title=diGJamaica :: Amerindian Jamaica|url=http://www.digjamaica.com/amerindian_jamaica|access-date=2016-02-10|website=diGJamaica.com|archive-date=February 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223225624/http://digjamaica.com/amerindian_jamaica|url-status=dead}}</ref>
			During World War II, draft boards typically classified American Indians from Virginia as ]es.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Murray|first=Paul T.|date=1987|title=Who Is an Indian? Who Is a Negro? Virginia Indians in the World War II Draft|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4248942|journal=The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography|volume=95|issue=2|pages=215–231|jstor=4248942|issn=0042-6636}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Properties|url=https://www.indigenous-americans.com/native-american-slavery|access-date=December 29, 2020|website=www.indigenous-americans.com|archive-date=September 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928141447/https://indigenous-americans.com/native-american-slavery|url-status=dead}}</ref>
			In 1995, a plurality of Indigenous Americans, however, preferred the term ''American Indian''<ref name="Census">{{cite web|url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0762158.html|website=Infoplease|title=Preference for Racial or Ethnic Terminology|access-date=February 8, 2006}}</ref> and many ] include the word Indian in their formal title.
			Criticism of the ] ''Native American'' comes from diverse sources. ], an Oglala Lakota activist, opposed the term ''Native American'' because he believed it was imposed by the government without the consent of Native people.<ref>Russell Means: "I am an American Indian, not a native American!" (Treaty Productions, 1996); citation given here and here </ref>
			A 1995 U.S. Census Bureau survey found that more Native Americans in the United States preferred ''American Indian'' to ''Native American''.<ref name="Census" /> Most American Indians are comfortable with ''Indian'', ''American Indian'', and ''Native American''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aihmterms.html |website=Infoplease |title=''American Indian'' versus ''Native American'' |access-date=February 8, 2006}}</ref> That term is reflected in the name chosen for the ], which opened in 2004 on ] in ].
			Other commonly used terms are ''First Americans'', ''First Nations'', and ''Native Peoples''.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Diane J. Willis|author2=Dolores Subia BigFoot|editor1-last=Robinson|editor1-first=John D.|editor2-last=James|editor2-first=Larry C.|title=Diversity in Human Interactions: The Tapestry of America|date=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-19-514390-6|page=82|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YexcCAAAQBAJ|access-date=February 23, 2022|chapter=On Native Soil: The Forgotten Race: American Indians}}</ref>
			===Colonial ecological violence===
			Colonial ecological violence, defined by sociologist J. M. Bacon as the result of eco-social disruptions that "generate colonial ecological violence, a unique form of violence perpetrated by the settler-colonial state, private industry, and settler-colonial culture as a whole."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bacon |first=J.M. |title=Settler Colonialism as Eco-Social Structure and the Production of Colonial Ecological Violence |publisher=Environmental Sociology |year=2018 |edition=Vol 5, no. 1}}</ref> The relocation and displacement of Native peoples is a result of the colonizer mindset that land is a commodity. By removing these communities from their Native land, settlers are preventing the ways of life and the use of culture-affirming resources. Gilio-Whitaker, highlights some of the ways in which these practices are reinforced, with the concept of environmental deprivation – "historical processes of land and resource dispossession calculated to bring about the destruction of Indigenous lives and cultures." The reason these lands are so important to Native populations is because, “Since a strong component of many Indigenous cultures is a robust relationship to place, it serves to reason that forced removals, settler resource appropriation, and the ecological damage perpetuated by US settle colonial society contribute to significant "conflict" between "traditional cultural values" and "those of majority culture".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gilio-Whitaker |first=Dina |title=As Long as Grass Grows : The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock |publisher=S.L. Beacon |year=2019}}</ref>
			====Colonial ecological violence in the Pacific Northwest====
			The Karuk tribe in Klamath, California are one of the many victims to colonial ecological violence. One of the major ways of life to the Karuk tribe is the use of fires to maintain and regulate their environment. Sociologist Kari Marie Norgaard goes into detail about how colonialism disrupted these ways of life. These fires were also used to correct travel routes and optimized hunting, which is a major part of Karuk life. In 1905, the Klamath National Forest was established which prevented the burning of fires on Karuk land- "Fire exclusion, then, has simultaneously produced indigenous exclusion, erasure, and replacement." Norgaard explains that this land is one of the most economically wealthy spots due to the establishment of the forest, which only further demonstrates the ways in which settler-colonialism enables and continues to negatively impact the land that Indigenous people live(d) on.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Norgaard |first=Kari Marie |title=Salmon and Acorns Feed Our People : Colonialism, Nature, and Social Action |publisher=New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press |year=2019}}</ref>
			====Colonial ecological violence in the Great Lakes region of North America====
			The Potawatomi tribe had long occupied the Great Lakes region of Northern America, up until they were displaced and spread out around the US. They had previously lived on 30 million acres of land, building cultural, familial, and other-than-human relationships for generations. (Whyte, 2016) Citizen Potawatomi environmental philosopher Kyle Powys Whyte highlights the ways in which this displacement has had violent and detrimental impacts on the tribe. “The consequences of capitalist economics, such as deforestation, water pollution, the clearing of land for large scale agriculture and urbanization, generate immediate disruptions on ecosystems "rapidly" rendering them very different from what they were like before, undermining Indigenous knowledge systems and Indigenous peoples' capacity to cultivate landscapes and adjust to environmental change.”<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Whyte |first=Kyle |date= |title=Is It Colonial Déjà Vu? Indigenous Peoples and Climate Injustice |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2925277 |journal=Humanities for the Environment: Integrating Knowledges, Forging New Constellations of Practice|ssrn=2925277 }}</ref>
			====Colonial ecological violence in the Northeast====
			The ], which now occupies Oklahoma, once resided in Oxford, Ohio, where Miami University now is placed. Historian Jeffrey Ostler provides insight into the forced movement of the Miami tribe off their land. In 1818, the tribe agreed to give up a large amount of land to U.S. officials (enough to create twenty-two Indiana counties. It was not until 1826 that Lewis Cass informed them and nearby Potawatomi, "You must remove or perish."<ref name=":0" /> This plan did not work, but the officials persisted and eventually the Miami tribe would be forced off their land in 1846. Miami University has a land acknowledgement document and a center dedicated to working with the Miami tribe of Oklahoma, though this is the only tribe from the original Miami tribe that is accredited by the U.S. government.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Miami Tribe Relations |url=https://miamioh.edu/miami-tribe-relations/index.html |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=Miami University |language=en}}</ref>
	===Gambling industry===		===Gambling industry===
	] of ]]]
	{{Main|Native American gaming}}		{{Main|Native American gaming}}
			] of ]]]
	] has become a leading industry. ]s operated by many Native American governments in the United States are creating a stream of gambling revenue that some communities are beginning to use as leverage to build diversified economies.<ref name="Joseph Eve">{{cite journal|coauthors=Joseph Eve, CPAs|title=The Cost of doing Business|year=2012|year=2010}}</ref>{{clarify|The statement "influx of money" is not directly supported by the net percentage. A casino could have a small gross income and high "net percentage." Dollar figures are necessary or simply remove "influx of money" and say that the casinos are "highly profitable" which is supported by the net profit statement|date=September 2012}} Although many Native American tribes have casinos, the ] is widely debated. Some tribes, such as the ] of ], feel that casinos and their proceeds destroy culture from the inside out. These tribes refuse to participate in the gambling industry.
			Because ]s have ], states have limited ability to forbid gambling there, as codified by the ] of 1988. Tribes run ]s, ] halls, and other ] operations, and as of 2011, there were 460 such operations run by 240 tribes,<ref>{{cite report|title=Gaming Tribe Report|publisher=National Indian Gaming Commission|date=July 6, 2011|url=http://www.nigc.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=0J7Yk1QNgX0%3d&tabid=943|access-date=2013-02-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130220134916/http://www.nigc.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=0J7Yk1QNgX0%3d&tabid=943|archive-date=February 20, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> with a total annual revenue of $27 billion.<ref>{{cite report|title=NIGC Tribal Gaming Revenues|publisher=National Indian Gaming Commission|date=2011|url=http://www.nigc.gov/Portals/0/NIGC%20Uploads/Tribal%20Data/GamingRevenues20072011.pdf|access-date=2013-02-18|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010012057/http://www.nigc.gov/Portals/0/NIGC%20Uploads/Tribal%20Data/GamingRevenues20072011.pdf|archive-date=2012-10-10}}</ref>
			===Financial services===
			Numerous tribes around the country have entered the financial services market including the ], ], and the ]. Because of the challenges involved in starting a financial services business from scratch, many tribes hire outside consultants and vendors to help them launch these businesses and manage the regulatory issues involved.
			Similar to the tribal sovereignty debates that occurred when tribes first entered the gaming industry, the tribes, states, and federal government are currently in disagreement regarding who possesses the authority to regulate these e-commerce business entities.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Online Sovereignty: The Law and Economics of Tribal Electronic Commerce|ssrn=2740181|journal=Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law|date=March 2016|last1=Claw|first1=Carma|last2=Spilde|first2=Katherine A.|author2-link=Katherine Spilde|last3=Clarkson|first3=Esq}}</ref>
	===Crime on reservations===		===Crime on reservations===
	Prosecution of serious crime, historically endemic on reservations,<ref name=DOJStat>{{cite web|title=A BJS Statistical Profile, 1992-2002 American Indians and Crime|url=http://www.justice.gov/otj/pdf/american_indians_and_crime.pdf|publisher=U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs|accessdate=2012-06-02|author=Steven W. Perry|date=December 2004}}</ref><ref name=MLRWashburn>{{cite journal|title=American Indians, Crime, and the Law|journal=Michigan Law Review|date=February 2006|volume=104|pages=709 to 778|url=http://www.michiganlawreview.org/assets/pdfs/104/4/Washburn.pdf#|accessdate=2012-06-02|author=Kevin K. Washburn}}</ref> was required by the 1885 Major Crimes Act,<ref name=DP1885>{{cite news|title=1885 law at root of jurisdictional jumble|url=http://www.denverpost.com/lawlesslands/ci_7422829|accessdate=2012-06-02|newspaper=The Denver Post|date=November 11, 2007|author=Michael Riley}}</ref> 18 U.S.C. §§1153, 3242, and court decisions to be investigated by the federal government, usually the ], and prosecuted by ]s of the ] in which the reservation lies.<ref name = "DP2010" > article by Michael Riley in '']'' Posted: 25 June 2010 01:00:00 AM MDT Updated: 25 June 2010 02:13:47 AM MDT Accessed 2010-06-25</ref><ref name = "DP730" > article by Michael Riley in '']'', Posted: 30 July 2010 01:00:00 AM MDT, Updated: 30 July 2010 06:00:20 AM MDT, accessed 2010-07-30</ref><ref name = "DP2007" > a 4 part series in '']'' last updated November 21, 2007</ref><ref name=NYT111212>{{cite news|title=Washington Steps Back From Policing Indian Lands, Even as Crime Rises|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/13/us/as-crime-rises-on-indian-lands-policing-is-cut-back.html|accessdate=2012-11-13|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 12, 2012|author=Timothy Williams}}</ref><ref>, accessed 2010-08-12</ref>		Prosecution of serious crime, historically endemic on reservations,<ref name=DOJStat>{{cite web|title=A BJS Statistical Profile, 1992–2002 American Indians and Crime|url=https://www.justice.gov/otj/pdf/american_indians_and_crime.pdf|publisher=U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs|access-date=June 2, 2012|first=Steven W.|last=Perry|date=December 2004}}</ref><ref name=MLRWashburn>{{cite journal|title=American Indians, Crime, and the Law|journal=Michigan Law Review|date=February 2006|volume=104|pages=709 to 778|url=http://www.michiganlawreview.org/assets/pdfs/104/4/Washburn.pdf#|access-date=June 2, 2012|first=Kevin K.|last=Washburn|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311021000/http://www.michiganlawreview.org/assets/pdfs/104/4/Washburn.pdf|archive-date=March 11, 2012}}</ref> was required by the 1885 Major Crimes Act,<ref name=DP1885>{{cite news|title=1885 law at root of jurisdictional jumble|url=http://www.denverpost.com/lawlesslands/ci_7422829|access-date=June 2, 2012|work=The Denver Post|date=November 11, 2007|first=Michael|last=Riley}}</ref> 18 U.S.C. §§1153, 3242, and court decisions to be investigated by the federal government, usually the ], and prosecuted by ]s of the ] in which the reservation lies.<ref name="DP2010"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043343/http://www.denverpost.com/frontpage/ci_15373276 |date=March 4, 2016}} article by Michael Riley in '']'' Posted: 25 June 2010 01:00:00 AM MDT Updated: 25 June 2010 02:13:47 AM MDT Accessed June 25, 2010.</ref><ref name="DP730"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082720/http://www.denverpost.com/ci_15636761 |date=March 4, 2016}} article by Michael Riley in '']'', Posted: 30 July 2010 01:00:00 AM MDT, Updated: 30 July 2010 06:00:20 AM MDT, accessed July 30, 2010.</ref><ref name="DP2007"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094730/http://www.denverpost.com/lawlesslands |date=March 4, 2016}} a 4-part series in '']'' last updated November 21, 2007</ref><ref name=NYT111212>{{cite news|title=Washington Steps Back From Policing Indian Lands, Even as Crime Rises|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/13/us/as-crime-rises-on-indian-lands-policing-is-cut-back.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113023633/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/13/us/as-crime-rises-on-indian-lands-policing-is-cut-back.html |archive-date=2012-11-13 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=November 13, 2012|work=The New York Times|date=November 12, 2012|first=Timothy|last=Williams}}</ref><ref>, accessed August 12, 2010.</ref>
			A December 13, 2009 '']'' article about growing ] on the ] estimated that there were 39 gangs with 5,000 members on that reservation alone.<ref>"". ''The New York Times''. December 13, 2009</ref> ] country recently reported 225 gangs in its territory.<ref>"". NPR: National Public Radio. August 25, 2009.</ref>
			As of 2012, a high incidence of rape continued to impact Native American women and Alaskan native women. According to the Department of Justice, 1 in 3 Native women have suffered rape or attempted rape, more than twice the national rate.<ref name=NYTRape2012>{{cite news|title=For Native American Women, Scourge of Rape, Rare Justice|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/us/native-americans-struggle-with-high-rate-of-rape.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523073000/http://www.nytimes.com//2012/05/23/us/native-americans-struggle-with-high-rate-of-rape.html |archive-date=2012-05-23 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=May 23, 2012|work=The New York Times|date=May 22, 2012|first=Timonthy|last=Williams}}</ref> About 46 percent of Native American women have been raped, beaten, or stalked by an intimate partner, according to a 2010 study by the ].<ref>{{cite news|title=Will the Violence Against Women Act Close a Tribal Justice "Loophole"?|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/biographies/kind-hearted-woman/will-the-violence-against-women-act-close-a-tribal-justice-loophole/ |work=]|date=February 4, 2013|first=Sarah|last=Childress}}</ref> According to Professor N. Bruce Duthu, "More than 80 percent of Indian victims identify their attacker as non-Indian".<ref name=NYTDuthu>{{cite news|title=Broken Justice in Indian Country|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/opinion/11duthu.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080811111730/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/opinion/11duthu.html |archive-date=2008-08-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=June 7, 2012|work=The New York Times|date=August 10, 2008|author=N. Bruce Duthu|format=op-ed by expert}}</ref><ref name=NYT021013>{{cite news|title=Measure to Protect Women Stuck on Tribal Land Issue|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/11/us/politics/violence-against-women-act-held-up-by-tribal-land-issue.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130211132940/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/11/us/politics/violence-against-women-act-held-up-by-tribal-land-issue.html |archive-date=2013-02-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=February 10, 2013|work=The New York Times|date=February 10, 2013|first=Jonathan|last=Weisman|quote=If a Native American is raped or assaulted by a non-Indian, she must plead for justice to already overburdened United States attorneys who are often hundreds of miles away.}}</ref>
			===Barriers to economic development===
			Today, other than tribes successfully running casinos, many tribes struggle, as they are often located on reservations isolated from the main economic centers of the country. The estimated 2.1&nbsp;million Native Americans are the most impoverished of all ethnic groups. According to the ], an estimated 400,000 Native Americans reside on reservation land. While some tribes have had success with gaming, only 40% of the 562 federally recognized tribes operate ]s.<ref name="NIGA">{{cite web|url=http://www.indiangaming.org/library/indian-gaming-facts/index.shtml |title=NIGA: Indian Gaming Facts |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302072505/http://www.indiangaming.org/library/indian-gaming-facts/index.shtml |archive-date=March 2, 2013}}</ref> According to a 2007 survey by the ], only 1% of Native Americans own and operate a business.<ref name="SBA">{{cite web|url=http://www.america.gov/st/diversity-english/2007/December/20071221175918ABretnuH0.3369257.html|title=Number of U.S. Minority Owned Businesses Increasing|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020065312/http://www.america.gov/st/diversity-english/2007/December/20071221175918ABretnuH0.3369257.html|archive-date=October 20, 2012}}</ref>
			The barriers to ] on Native American reservations have been identified by Joseph Kalt<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hks.harvard.edu/hpaied/people/kalt.htm |title=Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development |access-date=June 17, 2008 |last=Kalt |first=Joseph}}</ref> and ]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://udallcenter.arizona.edu/staff/scornell.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080619015224/http://udallcenter.arizona.edu/staff/scornell.html|archive-date=June 19, 2008 |title=Co-director, Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development |access-date=June 17, 2008 |last=Cornell |first=Stephen}}</ref> of the ] at ], in their report: ''What Can Tribes Do? Strategies and Institutions in American Indian Economic Development'' (2008),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/hpaied/docs/reloading%20the%20dice.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040407025730/http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/hpaied/docs/reloading%20the%20dice.pdf |archive-date=April 7, 2004 |title=What Can Tribes Do? Strategies and Institutions in American Indian Economic Development|access-date=June 17, 2008 |last1=Cornell|first1=Stephen|last2=Kalt|first2=Kalt}}</ref> are summarized as follows:
			* Lack of access to capital
			* Lack of human capital (education, skills, technical expertise) and the means to develop it
			* Reservations lack effective planning
			* Reservations are poor in natural resources
			* Reservations have natural resources but lack sufficient control over them
			* Reservations are disadvantaged by their distance from markets and the high costs of transportation
			* Tribes cannot persuade investors to locate on reservations because of intense competition from non-Native American communities
			* The ] is inept, corrupt or uninterested in reservation development
			* Tribal politicians and bureaucrats are inept or corrupt
			* On-reservation factionalism destroys stability in tribal decisions
			* The instability of tribal government keeps outsiders from investing. The lack of international recognition Native American tribal sovereignty weakens their political-economic legitimacy.<ref name="NativeAmericanEconomicDevelopment">{{Cite journal|last1=Duffy|first1=Diane|last2=Stubben|first2=Jerry|date=Winter 1998|title=An Assessment of Native American Economic Development: Putting Culture and Sovereignty back in the Models|journal=Studies in Comparative International Development|volume=32|issue=4|pages=52–78|doi=10.1007/BF02712505|s2cid=154496567}}</ref> (Many tribes adopted constitutions by the 1934 ] model, with two-year terms for elected positions of chief and council members deemed too short by the authors for getting things done)
			* Entrepreneurial skills and experience are scarce
			]
			A major barrier to development is the lack of entrepreneurial knowledge and experience within ]. "A general lack of education and experience about business is a significant challenge to prospective entrepreneurs", was the report on Native American ] by the Northwest Area Foundation in 2004. "Native American communities that lack entrepreneurial traditions and recent experiences typically do not provide the support that entrepreneurs need to thrive. Consequently, experiential entrepreneurship education needs to be embedded into school curriculum and after-school and other community activities. This would allow students to learn the essential elements of entrepreneurship from a young age and encourage them to apply these elements throughout life".<ref name="CFED">{{cite web |url=http://www.energizingentrepreneurs.org/content/cr.php?id=4&sel=5 |title=Native Entrepreneurship: Challenges and opportunities for rural communities&nbsp;— CFED, Northwest Area Foundation December 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222151900/http://www.energizingentrepreneurs.org/content/cr.php?id=4&sel=5 |archive-date=February 22, 2013}}</ref>
			===Discourse in Native American economic development===
			Some scholars argue that the existing theories and practices of ] are not suitable for Native American communities—given the lifestyle, economic, and cultural differences, as well as the unique history of Native American-U.S. relations.<ref name="NativeAmericanEconomicDevelopment" /> Little economic development research has been conducted on Native American communities. The federal government fails to consider place-based issues of American Indian poverty by generalizing the demographic.<ref name="NativeAmericanEconomicDevelopment" /><ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=Mathers |first1=Rachel L. |title=The Failure of State-Led Economic Development on American Indian Reservations|url=https://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_17_01_05_mathers.pdf |journal=The Independent Review |date=2012 |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=65–80 |id={{ProQuest|1022994216}} |jstor=24563297}}</ref> In addition, the concept of economic development threatens to upend the multidimensionality of Native American culture.<ref name="NativeAmericanEconomicDevelopment" /> The dominance of federal government involvement in Indigenous developmental activities perpetuates and exacerbates the .<ref name="NativeAmericanEconomicDevelopment" />
			===Land ownership challenges===
			Native land owned by individual Native Americans sometimes cannot be developed because of fractionalization. Fractionalization occurs when a landowner dies, and their land is inherited by their children, but not subdivided. This means that one parcel might be owned by 50 different individuals. A majority of those holding interest must agree to any proposal to develop the land, and establishing this consent is time-consuming, cumbersome, and sometimes impossible.
			Another landownership issue on reservations is ], where tribal land is interspersed with land owned by the federal government on behalf of Natives, individually owned plots, and land owned by non-Native individuals. This prevents Tribal governments from securing plots of land large enough for economic development or agricultural uses.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.frbsf.org/community-development/files/Community-Investments-Fall-2013-Native-Communities.pdf |title=Community Development in Native Communities |magazine=Community Investments |publisher=Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco |date=Fall 2013 |volume=25 |number=2}}</ref> Because reservation land is owned "in trust" by the federal government, individuals living on reservations cannot build equity in their homes. This bars Native Americans from getting loans, as there is nothing that a bank can collect if the loan is not paid. Past efforts to encourage land ownership (such as the Dawes Act) resulted in a net loss of Tribal land. After they were familiarized with their ], Native American landowners were lifted of trust restrictions and their land would get transferred back to them, contingent on a transactional fee to the federal government. The transfer fee discouraged Native American land ownership, with 65% of tribal-owned land being sold to non-Native Americans by the 1920s.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Van Winkle|first=Tony N.|date=Fall 2018|title=American Indian Landowners, Leasemen, and Bureaucrats: Property, Paper, and the Poli-Technics of Dispossession in Southwestern Oklahoma|journal=American Indian Quarterly|volume=42|issue=4|pages=508–533|doi=10.5250/amerindiquar.42.4.0508|s2cid=166125100}}</ref> Activists against property rights point to historical evidence of communal ownership of land and resources by tribes. They claim that because of this history, property rights are foreign to Natives and have no place in the modern reservation system. Those in favor of property rights cite examples of tribes negotiating with colonial communities or other tribes about fishing and hunting rights in an area.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/07/native-americans-property-rights/492941/|title=Here's One Way to Help Native Americans: Property Rights|first=Naomi Schaefer|last=Riley|date=July 30, 2016|website=The Atlantic}}</ref> Land ownership was also a challenge because of the different definitions of land that the Natives and the Europeans had.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27058/27058-h/27058-h.htm#Footnote_A_1|title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Indian Question, by Francis A. Walker.|website=gutenberg.org|access-date=December 11, 2019}}</ref> Most Native American tribes thought of property rights more as "borrowing" the land, while those from Europe thought of land as individual property.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=d'Errico|first=Peter|date=1999|title=Native Americans in America: A Theoretical and Historical Overview|journal=Wíčazo Ša Review|volume=14|issue=1|pages=7–28|doi=10.2307/1409513|issn=0749-6427|jstor=1409513|s2cid=155945579 }}</ref>
			===Land ownership and bureaucratic challenges in historical context===
			State-level efforts such as the ] were attempts to contain tribal land in Native American hands. However, more bureaucratic decisions only expanded the bureaucracy. The knowledge disconnect between the decision-making bureaucracy and Native American stakeholders resulted in ineffective development efforts.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />
			Traditional Native American entrepreneurship does not prioritize ]; rather, business transactions must align with Native American social and cultural values.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Colbourne|first=Rick|date=April 2017|title=An Understanding of Native American Entrepreneurship|journal=Small Enterprise Research|volume=24|pages=49–61|doi=10.1080/13215906.2017.1289856|s2cid=157839233}}</ref> In response to Indigenous business philosophy, the federal government created policies that aimed to formalize their business practices, which undermined the Native American status quo.<ref name=":3" /> Additionally, legal disputes interfered with tribal land leasing, which were settled with the verdict against ].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Crepelle|first=Adam|date=2018|title=Tribal Lending and Tribal Sovereignty|url=https://lawreviewdrake.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/crepelle-final.pdf|journal=Drake Law Review|volume=66}}</ref>
			Often, bureaucratic overseers of development are far removed from Native American communities and lack the knowledge and understanding to develop plans or make resource allocation decisions.<ref name=":2" /> The top-down heavy involvement in developmental operations, does not mitigate incentives for bureaucrats to act in their self-interest. Such instances include reports that exaggerate results.<ref name=":2" />
			===Geographic poverty===
			While Native American urban poverty is attributed to hiring and workplace discrimination in a heterogeneous setting,<ref name="AmericanIndianPoverty" /> reservation and trust land poverty rates are endogenous to deserted opportunities in isolated regions.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Whitney Mauer|first=K.|date=September 2017|title=Indian Country Poverty: Place-Based Poverty on American Indian Territories, 2006–10.|journal=Rural Sociology|volume=82|issue=3|pages=473–498|doi=10.1111/ruso.12130}}</ref>
			===Trauma===
			====Historical trauma====
			] is described as collective emotional and psychological damage throughout a person's lifetime and across multiple generations.<ref name=Myhra2011>Myhra, L. L. (2011). "It runs in the family": Intergenerational Transmission of Historical Trauma Among Urban American Indians and Alaska Natives in Culturally Specific Sobriety Maintenance Programs. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, 18(2). 17–40. National Center for American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research.</ref> Examples of historical trauma can be seen through the ] of 1890, where over 200 unarmed Lakota were killed,<ref name=Weaver>Weaver, H., & Congress, E. (2010). The Ongoing Impact of Colonization: Man-made Trauma and Native Americans. In A. Kalayjian & D. Eugene (Eds.), Mass Trauma and Emotional Healing Around the World: Rituals and Practices for Resilience and Meaning-Making (pp. 211–226). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.</ref> and the ] of 1887, when American Indians lost four-fifths of their land.<ref name=Brave>Braveheart-Jordan, M., & DeBruyn, L. (1995). So She May Walk in Balance: Integrating the Impact of Historical Trauma in the Treatment of Native American Indian Women. In J. Adleman & G. M. Enguidanos (Eds.), Racism in the Lives of Women: Testimony, Theory, and Guides to Antiracist Practice (pp. 345–366). Binghamton, New York: Harrington Park Press.</ref>
			====Impacts of intergenerational trauma====
	A Dec. 13, 2009 ''The New York Times'' article about growing ] on the ] estimated that there were 39 gangs with 5,000 members on that reservation alone.<ref>"". ''The New York Times''. December 13, 2009</ref> ] country recently reported 225 gangs in its territory.<ref>"". NPR: National Public Radio. August 25, 2009.</ref>
			American Indian youth have higher rates of substance and alcohol use deaths than the general population.<ref name=Paul>{{cite journal | last1 = Paul | first1 = T. M. | last2 = Lusk | first2 = S. L. | last3 = Becton | first3 = A. B. | last4 = Glade | first4 = R. | year = 2017 | title = Exploring the Impact of Substance Abuse, Culture, and Trauma on American Indian Adolescents | journal = Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling | volume = 48 | issue = 1| pages = 31–39 | doi = 10.1891/0047-2220.48.1.31 | s2cid = 188697334}}</ref> Many American Indians can trace the beginning of their substance and alcohol use to a traumatic event related to their offender's own substance use.<ref name=Myhra2014>{{cite journal | last1 = Myhra | first1 = L. L. | last2 = Wieling | first2 = E. | year = 2014 | title = Psychological Trauma Among American Indian Families: A Two-Generation Study | journal = Journal of Loss and Trauma | volume = 19 | issue = 4| pages = 289–313 | doi = 10.1080/15325024.2013.771561 | s2cid = 144715014}}</ref> A person's substance use can be described as a defense mechanism against the user's emotions and trauma.<ref name=Cole>Cole, N. (2006). Trauma and the American Indian. In T. M. Witko (Ed.), Mental Health Care for Urban Indians: Clinical Insights from Native Practitioners (pp. 115–130). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.</ref> For American Indians alcoholism is a symptom of trauma passed from generation to generation and influenced by oppressive behaviors and policies by the dominant European-American society.<ref name=Coyhis>{{cite journal | last1 = Coyhis | first1 = D. | last2 = Simonelli | first2 = R. | year = 2008 | title = The Native American Healing Experience | journal = Substance Use & Misuse | volume = 43 | issue = 12–13| pages = 1927–1949 | doi = 10.1080/10826080802292584 | pmid = 19016172 | s2cid = 20769339}}</ref> Boarding schools were made to "Kill the Indian, Save the man".<ref name=Gray>{{cite journal | last1 = Grayshield | first1 = L. | last2 = Rutherford | first2 = J. J. | last3 = Salazar | first3 = S. B. | last4 = Mihecoby | first4 = A. L. | last5 = Luna | first5 = L. L. | year = 2015 | title = Understanding and Healing Historical Trauma: The Perspectives of Native American Elders | journal = Journal of Mental Health Counseling | volume = 37 | issue = 4| pages = 295–307 | doi = 10.17744/mehc.37.4.02| s2cid = 74255741}}</ref> Shame among American Indians can be attributed to the hundreds of years of oppression and annihilation.<ref name=Cole />
			===Food insecurity===
	As of 2012, a high incidence of rape continued to impact Native American women and Alaskan native women. According to the Justice Department 1 in 3 women have suffered rape or attempted rape, more than twice the national rate.<ref name=NYTRape2012>{{cite news|title=For Native American Women, Scourge of Rape, Rare Justice|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/us/native-americans-struggle-with-high-rate-of-rape.html|accessdate=2012-05-23|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 22, 2012|author=Timonthy Williams}}</ref> About 46 percent of Native American women have been raped, beaten, or stalked by an intimate partner, according to a 2010 study by the Centers for Disease Control.<ref>{{cite news|title=Will the Violence Against Women Act Close a Tribal Justice “Loophole”?|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/biographies/kind-hearted-woman/will-the-violence-against-women-act-close-a-tribal-justice-loophole/ |newspaper=]|date=February 4, 2013|author=Sarah Childress}}</ref> According to Professor N. Bruce Duthu, "More than 80 percent of Indian victims identify their attacker as non-Indian."<ref name=NYTDuthu>{{cite news|title=Broken Justice in Indian Country|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/opinion/11duthu.html|accessdate=2012-06-07|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 10, 2008|author=N. Bruce Duthu|format=op-ed by expert}}</ref><ref name=NYT021013>{{cite news|title=Measure to Protect Women Stuck on Tribal Land Issue|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/11/us/politics/violence-against-women-act-held-up-by-tribal-land-issue.html|accessdate=February 10, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 10, 2013|author=Jonathan Weisman|quote=If a Native American is raped or assaulted by a non-Indian, she must plead for justice to already overburdened United States attorneys who are often hundreds of miles away.}}</ref>
			]
			Studies are being conducted which show Native Americans often experience higher rates of food insecurity than other racial groups in the United States. The studies do not focus on the overall picture of Native American households, however, and tend to focus rather on smaller sample sizes in the available research.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gunderson |first1=Craig |title=Measuring the Extent, Depth, and Severity of Food Insecurity: An Application to American Indians in the USA |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40344400 |journal=Journal of Population Economics |year=2008 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=191–215 |doi=10.1007/s00148-007-0152-9 |jstor=40344400 |s2cid=18268261 |access-date=December 2, 2021}}</ref> In a study that evaluated the level of food insecurity among Indigenous Americans, White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian: it was reported that over the 10-year span of 2000–2010, Indigenous people were reported to be one of the highest at-risk groups from a lack of access to adequate food, reporting anywhere from 20% to 30% of households suffering from this type of insecurity. There are many reasons that contribute to the issue, but overall, the biggest lie in high food costs on or near reservations, lack of access to well-paying jobs, and predisposition to health issues relating to obesity and mental health.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jerrigan |first1=Valarie Blue Bird |last2=Huyser |first2=Kimberly |last3=Valdes |first3=Jimmy |last4=Simonds |first4=Vanessa |title=Food Insecurity among American Indians and Alaska Natives: A National Profile using the Current Population Survey–Food Security Supplement |journal=Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition |year=2016 |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.1080/19320248.2016.1227750 |pmid=28491205 |pmc=5422031}}</ref>
	==Society, language, and culture==		==Society, language, and culture==
	{{Main|Native American cultures of the United States}}		{{Main|Native American cultures of the United States}}
			{{Further|Category:Archaeological cultures of North America}}
	] girl with pottery jar on her head in 1909]]
			]
	Though cultural features, language, clothing, and customs vary enormously from one tribe to another, there are certain elements which are encountered frequently and shared by many tribes. Early European American scholars described the Native Americans as having a society dominated by ].<ref name="Morgan1907">{{Cite book
	|last=Morgan
	|first=Lewis H.
	|authorlink=Lewis H. Morgan
	|title=Ancient Society
	|publisher=Charles H. Kerr & Company
	|year=1907
	|location=Chicago
	|pages=70–71, 113
	|isbn=0-674-03450-3}}</ref>
			The culture of Pre-Columbian North America is usually defined by the concept of the culture area, namely a geographical region where shared cultural traits occur. The northwest culture area, for example, shared common traits such as salmon fishing, woodworking, and large villages or towns and a hierarchical social structure.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Native-American|title=Native American &#124; History, Art, Culture, & Facts|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=May 25, 2023 }}</ref> Ethnographers generally ] into ten cultural areas based on geographical region.
	Early ] tribes made stone weapons from around 10,000&nbsp;years ago; as the age of ] dawned, newer technologies were used and more efficient weapons produced. Prior to contact with Europeans, most tribes used similar weaponry. The most common implements were the bow and arrow, the war club, and the spear. Quality, material, and design varied widely. ] both helped provide and prepare for ] and ] to help the human population flourish.
			Though cultural features, language, clothing, and customs vary enormously from one tribe to another, there are certain elements which are encountered frequently and shared by many tribes. Early European American scholars described the Native Americans as having a society dominated by ]s.<ref name="Morgan1907">{{Cite book|last=Morgan|first=Lewis H.|author-link=Lewis H. Morgan|title=Ancient Society|publisher=Charles H. Kerr & Company|year=1907|location=Chicago|pages=70–71, 113|isbn=978-0-674-03450-1}}</ref>
	Large mammals like ]s and ]s were largely extinct by around 8000&nbsp;BCE. Native Americans switched to hunting other large game, such as ]. The Great Plains tribes were still hunting the bison when they first encountered the Europeans. The Spanish reintroduction of the horse to North America in the 17th&nbsp;century and Native Americans' learning to use them greatly altered the natives' culture, including changing the way in which they hunted large game. Horses became such a valuable, central element of Native lives that they were counted as a measure of wealth.
			European colonization of the Americas had a major impact on Native American cultures through what is known as the ], also known as the ''Columbian interchange'', which was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, and ideas between the ] and Eurasia (the ]) in the 15th and 16th centuries, following ]'s ].<ref name = "history">{{cite journal |last1= Nunn |first1= Nathan |last2= Qian |first2= Nancy |year= 2010 |title= The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas |journal= ] |volume= 24 |issue= 2 |pages= 163–188 |jstor= 25703506 |doi= 10.1257/jep.24.2.163 |url= http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11986330 |citeseerx= 10.1.1.232.9242}}</ref> The Columbian exchange generally had a destructive impact on Native American cultures through disease, and a 'clash of cultures',<ref name=Emmer2003>{{cite journal |last1=Emmer |first1=Pieter |title=The myth of early globalization: the Atlantic economy, 1500–1800 |journal=European Review |date=2003 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=37–47 |id={{ProQuest|217337459}} |doi=10.1017/S106279870300005X |s2cid=144318805}}</ref> whereby European values of private land ownership, the family, and division of labor, led to conflict, appropriation of traditional communal lands and changed how the Indigenous tribes practiced slavery.<ref name=Emmer2003/>
			], Chiricahua Apache leader. Photograph by ] (1898).]]
			The impact of the Columbian exchange was not entirely negative, however. For example, the re-introduction of the horse to North America allowed the Plains Indians to revolutionize their ways of life by making hunting, trading, and warfare far more effective, and to greatly improve their ability to transport possessions and move their settlements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.na.038|title=Encyclopedia of the Great Plains – HORSE|website=plainshumanities.unl.edu}}</ref>
			The Great Plains tribes were still hunting the bison when they first encountered the Europeans. The Spanish reintroduction of the horse to North America in the 17th century and Native Americans' learning to use them greatly altered the Native Americans' cultures, including changing the way in which they hunted large game. Horses became such a valuable, central element of Native lives that they were counted as a measure of wealth by many tribes.
			In the early years, as Native peoples encountered European explorers and settlers and engaged in trade, they exchanged food, crafts, and furs for blankets, iron and steel implements, horses, trinkets, firearms, and alcoholic beverages.
	===Ethno-linguistic classification===		===Ethno-linguistic classification===
	{{Main|Classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous languages of the Americas|}}		{{Main|Indigenous languages of the Americas}}
			{{See also|American Indian English}}
	Native Americans were divided into several hundred ethno-linguistic groups.
			]
			The ], ], and ] families are the largest in terms of the number of languages. Uto-Aztecan has the most speakers (1.95&nbsp;million) if the languages in Mexico are considered (mostly due to 1.5&nbsp;million speakers of ]); Na-Dené comes in second with approximately 200,000 speakers (nearly 180,000 of these are speakers of ]), and Algic in third with about 180,000 speakers (mainly ] and ]). Na-Dené and Algic have the widest geographic distributions: Algic currently spans from northeastern Canada across much of the continent down to northeastern Mexico (due to later migrations of the ]) with two outliers in ] (] and ]); Na-Dené spans from Alaska and western Canada through ], ], and California to the ] and northern Mexico (with one outlier in the Plains). Several families consist of only 2 or 3 languages. Demonstrating genetic relationships has proved difficult due to the great linguistic diversity present in North America. Two large (super-) family proposals, ] and ] have potential. However, even after decades of research, a large number of families remain.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}
	A number of English words have been ].
			Words used in English have been ].
	===Society and art===
	{{Further|petroglyph|pictogram|petroform|Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous ceramics of the Americas|Native American jewelry}}
	The ], living around the ] and extending east and north, used strings or belts called '']'' that served a dual function: the knots and beaded designs mnemonically chronicled tribal stories and legends, and further served as a medium of exchange and a unit of measure. The keepers of the articles were seen as tribal dignitaries.<ref>. Retrieved 2006-02-23.</ref>
			====Language education====
	] crafted impressive items associated with their religious ceremonies. '']'' dancers wore elaborately painted and decorated masks as they ritually impersonated various ancestral spirits. Sculpture was not highly developed, but carved stone and wood fetishes were made for religious use. Superior weaving, embroidered decorations, and rich dyes characterized the textile arts. Both turquoise and shell jewelry were created, as were high-quality pottery and formalized pictorial arts.
			{{See also|Massachusett language#Current status}}
			] Cherokee language immersion school student writing in the ]]]
			], at ]]]
			To counteract a shift to English, some Native American tribes have initiated language immersion schools for children, where an Indigenous American language is the medium of instruction. For example, the ] initiated a 10-year language preservation plan that involved raising new fluent speakers of the ] from childhood on up through school immersion programs as well as a collaborative community effort to continue to use the language at home.<ref>{{cite web| title = Native Now : Language: Cherokee| website = We Shall Remain – American Experience – PBS| access-date = April 9, 2014| year = 2008| url = https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/native_now/language_cherokee| archive-date = April 7, 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140407132754/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/native_now/language_cherokee| url-status = dead}}</ref> This plan was part of an ambitious goal that, in 50 years, will result in 80% or more of the Cherokee people being fluent in the language.<ref name="preservation" /> The ] has invested $3&nbsp;million in opening schools, training teachers, and developing curricula for language education, as well as initiating community gatherings where the language can be actively used.<ref name="preservation">{{cite web|title=Cherokee Language Revitalization |website=Cherokee Preservation Foundation |access-date=April 9, 2014 |year=2014 |url=http://www.cherokeepreservationfdn.org/cultural-preservation-connect/major-programs-and-initiatives/cherokee-language-revitalization |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407070520/http://www.cherokeepreservationfdn.org/cultural-preservation-connect/major-programs-and-initiatives/cherokee-language-revitalization |archive-date=April 7, 2014}}</ref> Formed in 2006, the Kituwah Preservation & Education Program (KPEP) on the ] focuses on language immersion programs for children from birth to ], developing cultural resources for the general public and community language programs to foster the Cherokee language among adults.<ref name="kpep">Kituwah Preservation & Education Program Powerpoint, by Renissa Walker (2012)'. 2012. Print.{{page needed|date=March 2021}}</ref>
	] spirituality focused on the maintenance of a harmonious relationship with the spirit world, often achieved by ceremonial acts, usually incorporating ]. The colors—made from sand, charcoal, cornmeal, and pollen—depicted specific spirits. These vivid, intricate, and colorful sand creations were erased at the end of the ceremony.
			There is also a Cherokee language immersion school in ], that educates students from pre-school through eighth grade.<ref>{{Cite news| last = Chavez, Will| title = Immersion students win trophies at language fair| work = Cherokeephoenix.org| access-date = April 8, 2013| date = April 5, 2012| url = http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/Article/Index/6142}}</ref> Because Oklahoma's official language is English, Cherokee immersion students are hindered when taking state-mandated tests because they have little competence in English.<ref name="immersion">{{cite web|url=http://www.youthonrace.org/cherokee-immersion-school-strives-to-save-tribal-language |title=Cherokee Immersion School Strives to Save Tribal Language |publisher=Youth on Race |access-date=June 5, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703212619/http://www.youthonrace.org/cherokee-immersion-school-strives-to-save-tribal-language |archive-date=July 3, 2014}}</ref> The Department of Education of Oklahoma said that in 2012 state tests: 11% of the school's sixth-graders showed proficiency in math, and 25% showed proficiency in reading; 31% of the seventh-graders showed proficiency in math, and 87% showed proficiency in reading; 50% of the eighth-graders showed proficiency in math, and 78% showed proficiency in reading.<ref name="immersion" /> The Oklahoma Department of Education listed the charter school as a Targeted Intervention school, meaning the school was identified as a low-performing school but has not so that it was a Priority School.<ref name="immersion" /> Ultimately, the school made a C, or a 2.33 grade point average on the state's A-F report card system.<ref name="immersion" /> The report card shows the school getting an F in mathematics achievement and mathematics growth, a C in social studies achievement, a D in reading achievement, and an A in reading growth and student attendance.<ref name="immersion" /> "The C we made is tremendous", said school principal Holly Davis, "here is no English instruction in our school's younger grades, and we gave them this test in English."<ref name="immersion" /> She said she had anticipated the low grade because it was the school's first year as a state-funded ], and many students had difficulty with English.<ref name="immersion" /> Eighth graders who graduate from the Tahlequah immersion school are fluent speakers of the language, and they usually go on to attend ] where classes are taught in both English and Cherokee.
	===Agriculture===
	{{Further|Native American cuisine}}
	] grown by Native Americans]]
	]
			===Indigenous foodways===
	An early crop the Native Americans grew was ]. Others early crops included ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].
			{{Further|Indigenous cuisine of the Americas|Inuit cuisine|Eastern Agricultural Complex}}
			] baby waits on a ] while parents tend ] crops (], 1940).]]
			Historical diets of Native Americans differed dramatically from region to region. Different peoples might have relied more heavily on agriculture, horticulture, hunting, fishing, or gathering wild plants and fungi. Tribes developed diets best suited to their environments.
	Agriculture in the southwest started around 4,000 years ago when traders brought cultigens from Mexico. Due to the varying climate, some ingenuity was needed for agriculture to be successful. The climate in the southwest ranged from cool, moist mountains regions, to dry, sandy soil in the desert. Some innovations of the time included ] to bring water into the dry regions and the selection of seed based on the traits of the growing plants that bore them. In the southwest, they grew beans that were self-supported, much like the way they are grown today.
			], ], ], and fellow ] fished, hunted, and harvested wild plants, but did not rely on agriculture. Coastal peoples relied more heavily on sea mammals, fish, and fish eggs, while inland peoples hunted ] and ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards and Office of Research and Development |title=Mercury study report to Congress |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xoDFgHQ_TqUC&q=Alaska%20Native%20diet%20caribou%20sea%20mammals&pg=RA2-SA4-PA44 |publisher=US EPA |pages=4–44 |date=December 1997|isbn=9781428903722}}</ref> Alaskan Natives prepared and preserved dried and smoked meat and fish.
	In the east, however, they were planted right by corn in order for the vines to be able to "climb" the cornstalks. The most important crop the Native Americans raised was ]. It was first started in ] and spread north. About 2,000 years ago it reached eastern America. This crop was important to the Native Americans because it was part of their everyday diet; it could be stored in underground pits during the winter, and no part of it was wasted. The husk was made into art crafts, and the cob was used as fuel for fires. By 800 CE the Native Americans had established three main crops&nbsp;— beans, squash, and corn&nbsp;— called the ].
			], made into an ]]]
	The agriculture gender roles of the Native Americans varied from region to region. In the southwest area, men prepared the soil with ]. The women were in charge of planting, weeding, and harvesting the crops. In most other regions, the women were in charge of doing everything, including clearing the land. Clearing the land was an immense chore since the Native Americans rotated fields frequently. There is a tradition that ] showed the Pilgrims in New England how to put fish in fields to act like a fertilizer, but the truth of this story is debated.
			] tribes crafted seafaring ]s {{convert|40|–|50|ft}} long for fishing.
			In the ], early peoples independently invented agricultural and by 1800 BCE developed the crops of the ], which include squash (''] ssp. ovifera''), sunflower (''] var. macrocarpus''), goosefoot ('']''), and marsh elder (''] var. macrocarpa'').<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Bruce D. |last2=Yarnell |first2=Richard A. |title=Initial formation of an indigenous crop complex in eastern North America at 3800 B.P |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |date=April 21, 2009 |volume=106 |issue=16 |pages=6561–6566 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0901846106 |pmid=19366669 |pmc=2666091 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/agriculture/htmls/people/native/peo_na.html|title=Illinois Agriculture – People – Native American Settlement|website=museum.state.il.us|access-date=January 31, 2018}}</ref>
			The ] region including parts of ] and ], part of a region known as ], relied heavily on the ] ('']'') as a staple crop. This and other desert crops, ] bead pods, ''tunas'' (] fruit), cholla buds, ] cactus fruit, and ] are being actively promoted today by Tohono O'odham Community Action.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hoover |first1=Elizabeth |title=Tohono O'odham Community Action (TOCA), Sells AZ |url=https://gardenwarriorsgoodseeds.com/2014/09/17/toho-oodham-community-action-toca-sells-az/ |date=September 17, 2014}}</ref> In the Southwest, some communities developed ] techniques while others, such as the ] dry-farmed. They filled storehouses with grain as protection against the area's frequent ].
	Native Americans did plant beans next to corn; the beans would replace the ] which the corn took from the ground, as well as using corn stalks for support for climbing. Native Americans used controlled fires to burn weeds and clear fields; this would put nutrients back into the ground. If this did not work, they would simply abandon the field to let it be fallow, and find a new spot for cultivation.
			] grown by Native Americans]]
	Europeans in the eastern part of the continent observed that Natives cleared large areas for cropland. Their fields in New England sometimes covered hundreds of acres. Colonists in Virginia noted thousands of acres under cultivation by Native Americans.<ref name="Krech">{{Cite book |last=Krech III |first=Shepard |title=The ecological Indian: myth and history |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. |location=New York, New York |year=1999 |edition=1 |page=107 |isbn=0-393-04755-5}}</ref>
			] or ], first cultivated in what is now ] was traded north into Aridoamerica and ], ]. From there, maize cultivation spread throughout the ] and ] by 200 CE. Native farmers practiced ] maize, beans, and squash; these crops are known as the ]. The beans would replace the ], which the maize leached from the ground, as well as using corn stalks for support for climbing. The deficiencies of a diet heavily dependent on maize were mitigated by the common practice among Native Americans of converting maize kernels into ] in a process called ].<ref name="Johnson|Marston">{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Emily S. |last2=Marston |first2=John M. |title=The Experimental Identification of Nixtamalized Maize though Starch Spherulites |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |date=2019 |volume=113 |page=1 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2019.105056 |s2cid=213614308 |url=https://www.bu.edu/archaeology/files/2019/12/Johnson.Marston.JAS_.11.20.19.pdf |access-date=15 January 2023}}</ref>
			The ] of the Native Americans varied from region to region. In the Southwest area, men prepared the soil with ]. The women were in charge of ], ], and ] the crops. In most other regions, the women were in charge of most agriculture, including clearing the land. Clearing the land was an immense chore since the Native Americans rotated fields.
	Native Americans commonly used tools such as the ], ], and ]. The hoe was the main tool used to till the land and prepare it for planting; then it was used for weeding. The first versions were made out of wood and stone. When the settlers brought iron, Native Americans switched to iron hoes and hatchets. The dibber was a digging stick, used to plant the seed. Once the plants were harvested, women prepared the produce for eating. They used the maul to grind the corn into mash. It was cooked and eaten that way or baked as corn bread.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.answers.com/topic/agriculture-american-indians? |work=Answers.com |title=American Indian Agriculture |accessdate=2008-02-08}}</ref>
			Europeans in the eastern part of the continent observed that Native Americans cleared large areas for cropland. Their fields in ] sometimes covered hundreds of acres. Colonists in ] noted thousands of acres under cultivation by Native Americans.<ref name="Krech">{{Cite book |last=Krech III |first=Shepard |title=The ecological Indian: myth and history |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. |location=New York, New York |year=1999 |edition=1 |page= |isbn=978-0-393-04755-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/ecologicalindian0000krec/page/107}}</ref>
			] Native Americans and a whale, ''The King of the Seas in the Hands of the Makahs'', 1910 photograph by ]]]
			Early farmers commonly used tools such as the ], ], and ]. The hoe was the main tool used to till the land and prepare it for planting; then it was used for weeding. The first versions were made out of ] and ]. When the settlers brought ], Native Americans switched to iron hoes and ]. The dibber was a digging stick, used to plant the seed. Once the plants were harvested, women prepared the produce for eating. They used the maul to grind the corn into a mash. It was cooked and eaten that way or baked as cornbread.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.answers.com/topic/agriculture-american-indians? |website=Answers.com |title=American Indian Agriculture |access-date=February 8, 2008}}</ref>
	===Religion===		===Religion===
	{{Further|Native American religion}}		{{Main|Native American religions}}
			]'' was painted in 1840 by ], who depicts ], wearing white, being baptized Rebecca by Anglican minister Alexander Whiteaker (left) in Jamestown, Virginia. This event is believed to have taken place either in 1613 or 1614.]]
	], the patron of ]s, ], and orphans, was canonized by the ].]]
	] was painted in 1840. John Gadsby Chapman depicts Pocahontas, wearing white, being baptized Rebecca by Anglican minister Alexander Whiteaker (left) in Jamestown, Virginia; this event is believed to have taken place either in 1613 or 1614.]]
	Traditional Native American ceremonies are still practiced by many tribes and bands, and the older theological belief systems are still held by many of the "traditional" people.{{Specify|date=July 2009}} These ] may accompany adherence to another faith, or can represent a person's primary religious identity. While much Native American spiritualism exists in a tribal-cultural continuum, and as such cannot be easily separated from tribal identity itself, certain other more clearly defined movements have arisen among "traditional" Native American practitioners, these being identifiable as "religions" in the prototypical sense familiar in the industrialized ].		Native American religious practices, beliefs, and philosophies differ widely across tribes. These ], practices, beliefs, and philosophies may accompany adherence to another faith or can represent a person's primary religious, faith, spiritual or philosophical identity. Much Native American spirituality exists in a tribal-cultural continuum, and as such cannot be easily separated from tribal identity itself.
	Traditional practices of some tribes include the use of sacred herbs such as tobacco, ] or ]. Many Plains tribes have ] ceremonies, though the specifics of the ceremony vary among tribes. Fasting, singing and prayer in the ancient languages of their people, and sometimes ] are also common.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}		Cultural spiritual, philosophical, and faith ways differ from tribe to tribe and person to person. Some tribes include the use of sacred leaves and herbs such as tobacco, ] or ]. Many Plains tribes have ] ceremonies, though the specifics of the ceremony vary among tribes. Fasting, singing and prayer in the ancient languages of their people, and sometimes ] are common.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Levine |first1=Victoria Lindsay |title=Native American Music |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Native-American-music |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=June 16, 2018}}</ref>
			], the patron of ]s, ], and orphans, was canonized by the ]]]
	The ] is a traditional medicine society inspired by the oral traditions and prophesies of the ] (Chippewa) and related tribes.
			The ] is a medicine society inspired by the oral history and prophesies of the ] (Chippewa) and related tribes.
	Another significant religious body among Native peoples is known as the ]. It is a ] church incorporating elements of Native spiritual practice from a number of different tribes as well as symbolic elements from ]. Its main rite is the ] ceremony. Prior to 1890, traditional religious beliefs included ]. In the American Southwest, especially ], a syncretism between the ] brought by Spanish missionaries and the native religion is common; the religious drums, chants, and dances of the ] are regularly part of ] at ]'s ].<ref> by Jay Fikes. Retrieved 2006-02-22.</ref> Native American-Catholic syncretism is also found elsewhere in the United States. (e.g., the National ] Shrine in ] and the ] in ]).		Another significant religious body among Native peoples is known as the ]. It is a ] church incorporating elements of Native spiritual practice from a number of different tribes as well as symbolic elements from ]. Its main rite is the ] ceremony. Prior to 1890, traditional religious beliefs included ]. In the American Southwest, especially ], a syncretism between the ] brought by Spanish missionaries and the native religion is common; the religious drums, chants, and dances of the ] are regularly part of ] at ]'s ].<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070821191748/http://www.csp.org/communities/docs/fikes-nac_history.html |date=August 21, 2007}} by Jay Fikes. Retrieved February 22, 2006.</ref> Native American-Catholic syncretism is also found elsewhere in the United States. (e.g., the National ] Shrine in ], and the ] in ]). Some Native American tribes who practice Christianity, including the ], organized denominations, such as the ].<ref name="Melton2003">{{cite book |last1=Melton |first1=J. Gordon |title=Encyclopedia of American Religions |date=2003 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-7876-6384-1 |page=423 |language=English}}</ref>
	The ] (Title 50 Part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations) stipulates that only individuals of certifiable Native American ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain ] feathers for ] or spiritual use. The law does not allow Native Americans to give ] feathers to non-Native Americans.		The ] (Title 50 Part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations) stipulates that only individuals of certifiable Native American ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain ] feathers for religious or spiritual use. The law does not allow Native Americans to give eagle feathers to non-Native Americans.<ref>{{cite book |title=Proposed Amendments to the American Indian Religious Freedom Act: March 8, 1993, Minneapolis, MN |date=1993 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=17}}</ref>
	===Gender roles===		===Gender roles===
	{{Main|Gender roles in First Nations and Native American tribes|Clan Mother|Matriarchy|Matrilineality}}		{{Main|Gender roles among the indigenous peoples of North America|Clan Mother (disambiguation){{!}}Clan Mother|Matriarchy|Matrilineality|Two-Spirit}}
			] was the first Native American woman to become a ] in the United States.]]
			Gender roles are differentiated in many Native American tribes. Many Natives have retained traditional expectations of sexuality and gender and continue to do so in contemporary life despite continued and on-going colonial pressures.<ref name=Estrada>{{cite journal |last1=Estrada |first1=Gabriel |title=Two Spirits, Nádleeh, and LGBTQ2 Navajo Gaze |journal=American Indian Culture and Research Journal |date=January 1, 2011 |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=167–190 |doi=10.17953/aicr.35.4.x500172017344j30|doi-broken-date=December 3, 2024 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/08c129mf }}</ref>
	] was the first Native American woman to become a ] in the ].]]
	Gender roles were differentiated in most Native American tribes. Both sexes had power in decisionmaking within the tribe. Many tribes, such as the ] Five Nations and the Southeast Muskogean tribes, had ] or ], in which property and hereditary leadership were controlled by and passed through the maternal lines. The children were considered to belong to the mother's clan and achieved status within it.		Whether a particular tribe is predominantly ] or ], often both sexes have some degree of decision-making power within the tribe. Many Nations, such as the ] Five Nations and the Southeast Muskogean tribes, have matrilineal or ] systems, in which property and hereditary leadership are controlled by and passed through the maternal lines.<ref name=Thomas>{{cite web|last=Thomas |first=Katsithawi |title=Gender Roles among the Iroquois |url=https://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/tlc/publications/native-circle/native-circle-2003/ashley-thomas3.pdf}}</ref> In these Nations, the children are considered to belong to the mother's clan. In ] culture, women own the family property. When traditional young women marry, their husbands may join them in their mother's household.
			Matrilineal structures enable young women to have assistance in childbirth and rearing and protect them in case of conflicts between the couple. If a couple separates or the man dies, the woman has her family to assist her. In matrilineal cultures the mother's brothers are usually the leading male figures in her children's lives; fathers have no standing in their wife and children's clan, as they still belong to their own mother's clan. Hereditary clan chief positions pass through the mother's line and chiefs have historically been selected on the recommendations of women elders, who could also disapprove of a chief.<ref name=Thomas/>
	When the tribe adopted war captives, the children became part of their mother's clan and accepted in the tribe. In Cherokee and other matrilineal cultures, wives owned the family property. When young women married, their husbands joined them in their mother's household.
			], {{Circa|1835}}]]
	This enabled the young women to have assistance for childbirth and rearing; it also protected her in case of conflicts between the couple. If they separated or the man was killed at war, the woman had her family to assist her. In addition, in matrilineal culture, the mother's brother was the leading male figure in a male child's life, as he mentored the child within the mother's clan.
			In the ] tribes, such as the ], ], ], and ], hereditary leadership passes through the male line, and children are considered to belong to the father and his ]. In patrilineal tribes, if a woman marries a non-Native, she is no longer considered part of the tribe, and her children are considered to share the ethnicity and culture of their father.<ref name="TrueLogan">, ''Publications of the Nebraska State Historical Society'', Vol. 19, edited by Albert Watkins, Nebraska State Historical Society, 1919, p. 64, at GenNet, accessed August 25, 2011</ref>
			In patriarchal tribes, gender roles tend to be rigid. Men have historically hunted, traded and made war while, as life-givers, women have primary responsibility for the survival and welfare of the families (and future of the tribe). Women usually gather and cultivate plants, use plants and herbs to treat illnesses, care for the young and the elderly, make all the clothing and instruments, and process and cure meat and skins from the game. Some mothers use ]s to carry an infant while working or traveling.<ref>, "Gender", ''Encyclopedia of North American Indians'', February 9, 2006.</ref> In matriarchal and egalitarian nations, the gender roles are usually not so clear-cut and are even less so in the modern era.<ref name=Estrada/>
	The husband had no standing in his wife's and children's clan, as he belonged to his own mother's clan. Hereditary clan chief positions passed through the mother's line. Chiefs were selected on recommendation of women elders, who also could disapprove of a chief. There were sometimes hereditary roles for men called peace chiefs, but war chiefs were selected based on proven prowess in battle. Men usually had the roles of hunting, waging war, and negotiating with other tribes, including the Europeans after their arrival.
	Others were ], although several ] were in use. In the ] tribes, such as the ], ] and ], hereditary leadership passed through the male line, and children were considered to belong to the father and his ]. For this reason, when Europeans or American men took wives from such tribes, their children were considered "white" like their fathers, or "]". Generally such children could have no official place in the tribe because their fathers did not belong to it, unless they were adopted by a male and made part of his family.<ref name="TrueLogan">, ''Publications of the Nebraska State Historical Society,'' Vol. 19, edited by Albert Watkins, Nebraska State Historical Society, 1919, p. 64, at GenNet, accessed 2011-08-25</ref>
	Men hunted, traded and made war. The women had primary responsibility for the survival and welfare of the families (and future of the tribe); they gathered and cultivated plants, used plants and herbs to treat illnesses, cared for the young and the elderly, made all the clothing and instruments, and processed and cured meat and skins from the game. They tanned hides to make clothing as well as bags, saddle cloths, and tepee covers. Mothers used ]s to carry an infant while working or traveling.<ref>, "Gender", ''Encyclopedia of North American Indians,'' February 9, 2006.</ref>
	At least several dozen tribes allowed ] to sisters, with procedural and economic limits.<ref name="Morgan1907"/>		At least several dozen tribes allowed ] to sisters, with procedural and economic limits.<ref name="Morgan1907"/>
			] girls are encouraged to learn to ride, hunt and fight.<ref>Zinn, Howard (2005). ''A People's History of the United States: 1492–present'', Harper Perennial Modern Classics. {{ISBN|0-06-083865-5}}.</ref> Though fighting in war has mostly been left to the boys and men, occasionally women have fought as well, both in battles and in defense of the home, especially if the tribe was severely threatened.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bluecloud.org/battle.html |title=Women in Battle |access-date=January 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618203223/http://www.bluecloud.org/battle.html |archive-date=June 18, 2012 |url-status=dead |website=Bluecloud}}</ref>
	Apart from making homes, women had many additional tasks that were also essential for the survival of the tribes. They made weapons and tools, took care of the roofs of their homes and often helped their men hunt ].<ref>, Indians.org. Retrieved 2007-01-11.</ref>
	In some of the Plains Indian tribes, medicine women gathered herbs and cured the ill.<ref>, Bluecloud.org. Retrieved 2007-01-11.{{dead link|date=May 2013}}</ref>
			===Modern education===
	The ] girls were encouraged to learn to ride, hunt and fight.<ref>Zinn, Howard (2005). ''A People's History of the United States: 1492–present'', Harper Perennial Modern Classics. ISBN 0-06-083865-5.</ref> Though fighting was mostly left to the boys and men, occasionally women fought with them, especially if the tribe was severely threatened.<ref>, Bluecloud.org. Retrieved 2007-01-11.</ref>
			{{As of|2020}} 90% of Native American school-aged children attend public schools operated by school districts.<ref name=Woodsgetsaway>{{cite news|last=Woods|first=Alden|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/the-federal-government-gives-native-students-an-inadequate-education-and-gets-away-with-it|title=The Federal Government Gives Native Students an Inadequate Education, and Gets Away With It|agency=]|publisher=]|date=August 6, 2020|access-date=July 29, 2021}}</ref> Tribally-operated schools under contracts/grants with the ] (BIE) and direct BIE-operated schools take about 8% of Native American students,<ref>{{cite web|last=Woods|first=Alden|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2020/09/28/bureau-of-indian-education-fails-provide-native-students-computers-home-learning/3537199001/|title=Feds promised Native American students computers and internet. Many are still waiting|newspaper=]|date=September 28, 2020|access-date=July 29, 2021}}</ref> including students who live in very rural remote areas.<ref name=Woodsgetsaway/>
			In 1978, 215,000 (78%) of Native Americans attended school district-operated public schools, 47,000 (17%) attended schools directly operated by the BIA, 2,500 (1%) attended tribal or other schools that contracted with the BIA, and the remaining 9,000 (3%) attended missionary schools for Native American children or other private schools.<ref>{{cite web|editor1=Green, Donald E.|editor2=Tonneson, Thomas V.|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED351157.pdf|title=American Indians: Social Justice and Public Policy|publisher=] Institute on Race and Ethnicity|year=1991|page=186 (PDF p. 198/282)}}</ref>
	===Sports===		===Sports===
	]—gold medalist at the 1912 Olympics, in the ] and ] events]]		], gold medalist at the 1912 Olympics, in the ] and ] events]]
	Native American leisure time led to competitive individual and team sports. ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ] are well known professional athletes.
	] and ] tribe as painted by ] in the 1830s]]
			Native American leisure time led to competitive individual and team sports. ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ] are well known professional athletes.
	====Team based====
			] and ] tribe in a 19th-century ] by ]]]
	Native American ball sports, sometimes referred to as ], stickball, or baggataway, was often used to settle disputes, rather than going to war, as a civil way to settle potential conflict. The ] called it ''isitoboli'' ("Little Brother of War");<ref name="choctaw_stickball">
	{{cite web
	| url = http://www.indians.org/articles/choctaw-indians.html
	| title = Choctaw Indians
	| accessdate = 2008-05-02
	| year = 2006
	}}
	</ref> the ] name was ''dehuntshigwa'es'' ("men hit a rounded object"). There are three basic versions, classified as Great Lakes, Iroquoian, and Southern.<ref name="three_stickball">
	{{cite web
	| url = http://www.uslacrosse.org/museum/history.phtml
	| title = History of Native American Lacrossee
	| author = Thomas Vennum Jr., author of American Indian Lacrosse: Little Brother of War
	| accessdate = 2008-09-11
	| year = 2002–2005
	}}
	</ref>
			====Team sports====
	The game is played with one or two rackets/sticks and one ball. The object of the game is to land the ball on the opposing team's goal (either a single post or net) to score and to prevent the opposing team from scoring on your goal. The game involves as few as 20 or as many as 300 players with no height or weight restrictions and no protective gear. The goals could be from around {{convert|200|ft}} apart to about {{convert|2|mi}}; in Lacrosse the field is {{convert|110|yd}}. A Jesuit priest{{Who|date=August 2009}} referenced stickball in 1729, and ] painted the subject.
			Native American ball sports, sometimes referred to as ], stickball, or baggataway, were often used to settle disputes, rather than going to war, as a civil way to settle potential conflict. The ] called it ''isitoboli'' ("Little Brother of War");<ref name="choctaw_stickball">{{cite web|url=http://www.indians.org/articles/choctaw-indians.html|title=Choctaw Indians|website=Indians.org|access-date=May 2, 2008|year=2006}}</ref> the ] name was ''dehuntshigwa'es'' ("men hit a rounded object"). There are three basic versions, classified as Great Lakes, Iroquoian, and Southern.<ref name="three_stickball">{{cite web|url=http://www.uslacrosse.org/museum/history.phtml|title=History of Native American Lacrosse|last=Vennum|first=Thomas Jr.|access-date=September 11, 2008|year=2002–2005|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411215231/http://www.uslacrosse.org/museum/history.phtml|archive-date=April 11, 2009}}</ref>
			The game is played with one or two rackets or sticks and one ball. The object of the game is to land the ball in the opposing team's goal (either a single post or net) to score and to prevent the opposing team from scoring on your goal. The game involves as few as 20 or as many as 300 players with no height or weight restrictions and no protective gear. The goals could be from around {{convert|200|ft}} apart to about {{convert|2|mi}}; in lacrosse the field is {{convert|110|yd}}.
	====Individual based====
	] was a game that consisted of a stone shaped disk that was about 1–2&nbsp;inches in diameter. The disk was thrown down a {{convert|200|ft|m|adj=on}} corridor so that it could roll past the players at great speed. The disk would roll down the corridor, and players would throw wooden shafts at the moving disk. The object of the game was to strike the disk or prevent your opponents from hitting it.
			====Individual sports====
	] crosses the finish line for the 10,000 meter race at the ]]]
			] was a game that consisted of a stone-shaped disk that was about 1–2&nbsp;inches in diameter. The disk was thrown down a {{convert|200|ft|m|adj=on}} corridor so that it could roll past the players at great speed. The disk would roll down the corridor, and players would throw wooden shafts at the moving disk. The object of the game was to strike the disk or prevent your opponents from hitting it.
			] crosses the finish line at the end of the 10,000-meter race at the ].]]
	====U.S. Olympics====		====U.S. Olympics====
	], a ] Native American, was an all-round athlete playing football and baseball in the early 20th century. Future President ] injured his knee while trying to tackle the young Thorpe. In a 1961 speech, Eisenhower recalled Thorpe: "Here and there, there are some people who are supremely endowed. My memory goes back to Jim Thorpe. He never practiced in his life, and he could do anything better than any other football player I ever saw."<ref name="CNN">Botelho, Greg. , CNN.com, July 14, 2004. Retrieved 2007-04-23.</ref>		], a ] Native American, was an all-around athlete playing football and baseball in the early 20th century. Future President ] injured his knee while trying to tackle the young Thorpe. In a 1961 speech, Eisenhower recalled Thorpe: "Here and there, there are some people who are supremely endowed. My memory goes back to Jim Thorpe. He never practiced in his life, and he could do anything better than any other football player I ever saw."<ref name="CNN">Botelho, Greg. , CNN.com, July 14, 2004. Retrieved April 23, 2007.</ref>
	In the 1912 Olympics, Thorpe could run the 100-yard dash in 10 seconds flat, the 220 in 21.8 seconds, the 440 in 51.8 seconds, the 880 in 1:57, the mile in 4:35, the 120-yard high hurdles in 15 seconds, and the 220-yard low hurdles in 24 seconds.<ref name="NYTobit">, '']'', March 29, 1953. Retrieved 2007-04-23.</ref> He could long jump 23&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in and high-jump 6&nbsp;ft 5&nbsp;in.<ref name="NYTobit"/> He could ] {{convert|11|ft|m}}, ] {{convert|47|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}, ] {{convert|163|ft|m}}, and throw the ] {{convert|136|ft|m}}.<ref name="NYTobit"/> Thorpe entered the U.S. Olympic trials for both the pentathlon and the decathlon.		In the 1912 Olympics, Thorpe could run the 100-yard dash in 10 seconds flat, the 220 in 21.8 seconds, the 440 in 51.8 seconds, the 880 in 1:57, the mile in 4:35, the 120-yard high hurdles in 15 seconds, and the 220-yard low hurdles in 24 seconds.<ref name="NYTobit">, '']'', March 29, 1953. Retrieved April 23, 2007.</ref> He could long jump 23&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in and high-jump 6&nbsp;ft 5&nbsp;in.<ref name="NYTobit"/> He could ] {{convert|11|ft|m}}, ] {{convert|47|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}, ] {{convert|163|ft|m}}, and throw the ] {{convert|136|ft|m}}.<ref name="NYTobit"/> Thorpe entered the U.S. Olympic trials for the pentathlon and the decathlon.
			], ], was an American two-time Olympic distance runner and silver medalist in the 10,000-meter run in 1912. He ran for the Carlisle Indian School where he was a teammate of Jim Thorpe. His silver medal in 1912 remained the best U.S. achievement in this event until another Indian, Billy Mills, won the gold medal in 1964. Tewanima also competed at the 1908 Olympics, where he finished in ninth place in the marathon.
	], of the ] from Rhode Island, better known as "Tarzan" Brown, won 2 Boston Marathons (1936, 1939) and also competed on the United States Olympic team in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, but did not finish due to injury. He qualified for the 1940 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland but the games were canceled due to the outbreak of World War II.
			], of the ] from Rhode Island, better known as "Tarzan" Brown, won two Boston Marathons (1936, 1939) and competed on the United States Olympic team in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, but did not finish due to injury. He qualified for the 1940 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland, but the games were canceled due to the outbreak of World War II.
	], a ] and ] officer, won the gold medal in the 10,000 meter run at the ]. He was the only American ever to win the Olympic gold in this event. An unknown prior to the Olympics, Mills finished second in the U.S. Olympic trials.
	], part ] from ], became the first American male to medal in ] in the Olympics, taking silver at age 20 in the ] in the ] at ], ].<br>Six years later at the 1970 World Championships, Kidd won the gold medal in the ] event and took the bronze medal in the slalom.		], a ] and ] officer, won the gold medal in the 10,000-meter run at the ]. He was the only American ever to win the Olympic gold in this event. An unknown before the Olympics, Mills finished second in the U.S. Olympic trials.
			], part ] from ], became the first American male to medal in ] in the Olympics, taking silver at age 20 in the ] in the ] at ], ]. Six years later at the 1970 World Championships, Kidd won the gold medal in the ] event and took the bronze medal in the slalom.
	===Music and art===
	{{Main|Native American music|Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas}}
			] (]), an uneven bars specialist was an alternate for the ] U.S. gymnastics team, the ].<ref name="ashloc">{{cite web |last1=Penny |first1=Brandon |title=Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman Lead Olympic Women's Gymnastics Team |url=https://www.teamusa.org/News/2016/July/10/US-Olympic-Team-Trials-For-Womens-Gymnastics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712204824/http://www.teamusa.org/News/2016/July/10/US-Olympic-Team-Trials-For-Womens-Gymnastics |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 12, 2016 |website=Team USA |publisher=United States Olympic Committee |access-date=January 28, 2019 |date=July 10, 2016}}</ref> In 2016, ] (]) also helped Team USA win the gold medal at the ]. With the win, he became just the fourth member of Team USA to capture the NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in the same year, joining ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2016/08/kyrie_irving_helps_team_usa_wi.html|title=Kyrie Irving helps Team USA win gold medal at 2016 Olympics, joins elite company|date=August 22, 2016}}</ref>
			===Literature===
			{{Main|Native American literature}}
			{{See also|List of writers from peoples Indigenous to the Americas|Postcolonial literature}}
			Native American literature, composed of both ] and written literature, has a long history. Relevantly, it is considered a series of literatures reflecting the varied traditions and histories of different tribes. Modern authors cover a wide range of genres and include ], ], ], ], ], ], and many more.
			===Music===
			{{Main|Native American music}}
			{{See also| Native American hip hop | Indigenous metal music}}
			]r at the Seafair Indian Days ], ], ]]]
	] from ]]]		] from ]]]
	Traditional ] is almost entirely ], but there are notable exceptions. Native American music often includes ]ming and/or the playing of rattles or other percussion instruments but little other instrumentation. ] and whistles made of wood, cane, or bone are also played, generally by individuals, but in former times also by large ensembles (as noted by Spanish ] ]). The tuning of modern flutes is typically ].
			Traditional Native American music is almost entirely ], but there are notable exceptions. Native American music often includes ] or the playing of rattles or other percussion instruments but little other instrumentation. ] and whistles made of wood, cane, or bone are also played, generally by individuals, but in former times also by large ensembles (as noted by Spanish ] ]). The tuning of modern flutes is typically ].
	Performers with Native American parentage have occasionally appeared in American popular music such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ] (members are also of Mexican descent), and ]. Some, such as ], have used music to comment on life in Native America. Other musicians such as ], ] and ] integrate traditional sounds with modern sounds in instrumental recordings, whereas the music by artist ] is derived from ancestral heritage as well as nature. A variety of small and medium-sized recording companies offer an abundance of recent music by Native American performers young and old, ranging from pow-wow drum music to hard-driving rock-and-roll and rap. In the International world of ballet dancing ] was considered America's first major ],<ref name=SunTimes_obit>{{cite news|title=American prima ballerina Maria Tallchief dies at 88|author=Hedy Weiss|date=April 12, 2013|work=Chicago Sun Times|url=http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/19439381-421/american-prima-ballerina-maria-tallchief-dies-at-88.html|accessdate=April 15, 2013}}</ref> and was the first person of ] descent to hold the rank.<ref name=TIME_obit>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.time.com/2013/04/12/the-silent-song-of-maria-tallchief-americas-prima-ballerina-1925-2013/|title=The Silent Song of Maria Tallchief: America’s Prima Ballerina (1925-2013)|work=]|date=April 12, 2013|author=Howard Chua-Eoan|accessdate=April 16, 2013}}</ref> along with her sister ] both became star ballerinas.
			Performers with Native American parentage have occasionally appeared in American popular music such as ], ], ], ], and ] (members are also of Mexican descent). Some, such as ], have used music to comment on life in Native America. Other musicians such as ], ] and ] integrate traditional sounds with modern sounds in instrumental recordings, whereas the music by artist ] is derived from ancestral heritage as well as nature. A variety of small and medium-sized recording companies offer an abundance of recent music by Native American performers young and old, ranging from pow-wow drum music to hard-driving rock-and-roll and rap. In the International world of ballet dancing ] was considered America's first major ],<ref name=SunTimes_obit>{{cite news|title=American prima ballerina Maria Tallchief dies at 88|first=Hedy|last=Weiss|date=April 12, 2013|work=Chicago Sun Times|url=http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/19439381-421/american-prima-ballerina-maria-tallchief-dies-at-88.html|access-date=April 15, 2013|archive-date=April 16, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130416013816/http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/19439381-421/american-prima-ballerina-maria-tallchief-dies-at-88.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and was the first person of Native American descent to hold the rank.<ref name=Time_obit>{{cite news|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2013/04/12/the-silent-song-of-maria-tallchief-americas-prima-ballerina-1925-2013/|title=The Silent Song of Maria Tallchief: America's Prima Ballerina (1925–2013)|magazine=]|date=April 12, 2013|first=Howard|last=Chua-Eoan|access-date=April 16, 2013}}</ref> along with her sister ] both became star ballerinas.
	The most widely practiced public musical form among Native Americans in the United States is that of the pow-wow. At ]s, such as the annual ] in ], members of drum groups sit in a circle around a large drum. Drum groups play in unison while they sing in a native language and dancers in colorful regalia dance clockwise around the drum groups in the center. Familiar pow-wow songs include honor songs, intertribal songs, crow-hops, sneak-up songs, grass-dances, two-steps, welcome songs, going-home songs, and war songs. Most indigenous communities in the United States also maintain traditional songs and ceremonies, some of which are shared and practiced exclusively within the community.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Bierhosrt, John |title=A Cry from the Earth: Music of North American Indians |publisher=Ancient City Press |year=1992}}</ref>
			The most widely practiced public musical form among Native Americans in the United States is that of the ]. At pow-wows, such as the annual ] in ], members of drum groups sit in a circle around a large drum. Drum groups play in unison while they sing in a native language and dancers in colorful regalia dance clockwise around the drum groups in the center. Familiar pow-wow songs include honor songs, intertribal songs, crow-hops, sneak-up songs, grass-dances, two-steps, welcome songs, going-home songs, and war songs. Most Indigenous communities in the United States also maintain traditional songs and ceremonies, some of which are shared and practiced exclusively within the community.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Bierhosrt, John |title=A Cry from the Earth: Music of North American Indians |publisher=Ancient City Press |year=1992}}{{page needed|date=March 2021}}</ref>
	] comprises a major category in the world art collection. Native American contributions include ], ]s, ], ]s, ], ], and ]. ] was a Cherokee artist who taught students from many tribes at Haskell Institute (now ]) in the 1940s, the ''Golden Age'' of Native American painters. The integrity of certain Native American artworks is protected by an act of Congress that prohibits representation of art as Native American when it is not the product of an enrolled Native American artist.
	===Traditional economy===		===Art===
			{{Further|petroglyph|pictogram|petroform|Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous ceramics of the Americas|Native American jewelry}}
	The ], or ], prepared and buried large amounts of dried meat and fish. ] tribes crafted seafaring dugouts {{convert|40|–|50|ft}} long for fishing. Farmers in the Eastern Woodlands tended fields of maize with hoes and digging sticks, while their neighbors in the Southeast grew tobacco as well as food crops. On the Plains, some tribes engaged in agriculture but also planned buffalo hunts in which herds were driven over bluffs.
			The ], living around the ] and extending east and north, used strings or belts called '']'' that served a dual function: the knots and beaded designs mnemonically chronicled tribal stories and legends, and further served as a medium of exchange and a unit of measure. The keepers of the articles were seen as tribal dignitaries.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.tolatsga.org/iro.html |title = Iroquois History |access-date = February 23, 2006|last = Sultzmann|first = Leo |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060404181034/http://www.tolatsga.org/iro.html |archive-date= Apr 4, 2006 }}</ref>
	Dwellers of the Southwest deserts hunted small animals and gathered acorns to grind into flour with which they baked wafer-thin bread on top of heated stones. Some groups on the region's mesas developed irrigation techniques, and filled storehouses with grain as protection against the area's frequent ].
			] crafted impressive items associated with their religious ceremonies. '']'' dancers wore elaborately painted and decorated masks as they ritually impersonated various ancestral spirits.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/kachina|title=Kachina|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=September 3, 2018}}</ref> Pueblo people are particularly noted for their traditional high-quality pottery, often with geometric designs and floral, animal and bird motifs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pueblo-pottery|title=Pueblo Pottery|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=September 3, 2018}}</ref> Sculpture was not highly developed, but carved stone and wood fetishes were made for religious use. Superior weaving, embroidered decorations, and rich dyes characterized the textile arts. Both turquoise and shell jewelry were created, as were formalized pictorial arts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reference.com/history/arts-crafts-pueblo-indians-75b95e4adf7c95e7#|title=What Are the Arts and Crafts of the Pueblo Indians? |website=Reference.com|date=August 4, 2015|access-date=September 3, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903215230/https://www.reference.com/history/arts-crafts-pueblo-indians-75b95e4adf7c95e7 |archive-date= September 3, 2018 }}</ref>
	In the early years, as these native peoples encountered European explorers and settlers and engaged in trade, they exchanged food, crafts, and furs for blankets, iron and steel implements, horses, trinkets, firearms, and alcoholic beverages.
			] spirituality focused on the maintenance of a harmonious relationship with the spirit world, often achieved by ceremonial acts, usually incorporating ]. For the Navajo, the sand painting is not merely a representational object, but a dynamic spiritual entity with a life of its own, which helped the patient at the center of the ceremony re-establish a connection with the life force. These vivid, intricate, and colorful sand creations were erased at the end of the healing ceremony.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://navajopeople.org/navajo-sand-painting.htm|title = Navajo Sandpaintings |website = Navajo People - The Diné |access-date = September 3, 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110903010631/http://navajopeople.org/navajo-sand-painting.htm|archive-date = September 3, 2011|url-status = dead}}</ref>
	====Contemporary barriers to economic development====
	] Native Americans and a whale, pictured in 1910 by ]. (The photo's title is "The King of the Seas in the Hands of the Makahs")]]
	Today, other than tribes successfully running casinos, many tribes struggle, as they are often located on reservations isolated from the main economic centers of the country. The estimated 2.1 million Native Americans are the most impoverished of all ethnic groups. According to the ], an estimated 400,000 Native Americans reside on reservation land. While some tribes have had success with gaming, only 40% of the 562 federally recognized tribes operate ]s.<ref name="NIGA">{{cite web |url=http://www.indiangaming.org/library/indian-gaming-facts/index.shtml |title=NIGA: Indian Gaming Facts}}</ref> According to a 2007 survey by the ], only 1% of Native Americans own and operate a business.<ref name="SBA">{{cite web |url=http://www.america.gov/st/diversity-english/2007/December/20071221175918ABretnuH0.3369257.html|title=Number of U.S. Minority Owned Businesses Increasing}}</ref>
			It has been estimated that the Native American arts and crafts industry brings in more than a billion USD in gross sales annually, nationwide.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cornell|first1=Maraya|title=Biggest Fake Native American Art Conspiracy Revealed|url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/native-american-indian-art-fake-forgery-hopi-zuni0/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315080714/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/native-american-indian-art-fake-forgery-hopi-zuni0/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 15, 2018|access-date=March 18, 2018|work=National Geographic News|publisher=]|date=March 15, 2018}}</ref>
	Native Americans rank at the bottom of nearly every social statistic: highest teen suicide rate of all minorities at 18.5 per 100,000, highest rate of teen pregnancy, highest high school drop-out rate at 54%, lowest ], and ] rates between 50% to 90%. Many{{clarify|this is vague term suggest using "some" or actual figure|date=October 2011}} Native Americans have become urbanized to survive, moving to urban centers in the states where their reservations are, or out of state.{{Citation needed|reason=This does not seem to differ from the experience of other Americans|date=October 2011}} Others have entered academic and political fields that take them away from the reservations.{{Citation needed|reason=sounds like original research (WP:OR) and not really fact-bound. There are enough of most minorities or majorities that they are found in every walk of life from beggar to high office/profession|date=October 2011}}
			Native American art comprises a major category in the world art collection. Native American contributions include ], ]s, ], ]s, ], ], and ]. ] was a Cherokee artist who taught students from many tribes at Haskell Institute (now ]) in the 1940s, the ''Golden Age'' of Native American painters. The integrity of certain Native American artworks is protected by the ], which prohibits the representation of art as Native American when it is not the product of an enrolled Native American artist. Attorney Gail Sheffield and others claim that this law has had "the unintended consequence of sanctioning discrimination against Native Americans whose tribal affiliation was not officially recognized".<ref>Gail Sheffield, ''The Arbitrary Indian: The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990''. University of Oklahoma Press, 1997.</ref> Native artists such as ] (]) who was not enrolled ran the risk of fines or imprisonment if they continued to sell their art while affirming their Indian heritage.<ref>James J. Kilpatrick, " {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221418/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1992-12-13/news/9203060467_1_indian-tribe-indian-arts-indian-blood |date=March 3, 2016}}". Broward & Palm Beach ''Sun-Sentinel'', December 13, 1992.</ref><ref>Sam Blackwell, "." ''The Southeast Missourian'', October 6, 2000.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Smoot |first1=D. E. |title=Judge rejects state's effort to restrict Native art |url=https://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/news/tribal_news/judge-rejects-state-s-effort-to-restrict-native-art/article_251107b5-eb84-55de-852d-868a4992ad51.html |access-date=August 5, 2019 |work=] |date=May 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805170311/https://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/news/tribal_news/judge-rejects-state-s-effort-to-restrict-native-art/article_251107b5-eb84-55de-852d-868a4992ad51.html |archive-date=August 5, 2019 |location=Tahlequah, Oklahoma}}</ref>
	The barriers to ] on Native American reservations have been identified by ]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hks.harvard.edu/hpaied/people/kalt.htm |title=Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development |accessdate=2008-06-17 |last=Kalt |first=Joseph}}</ref> and ]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://udallcenter.arizona.edu/staff/scornell.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080619015224/http://udallcenter.arizona.edu/staff/scornell.html|archivedate=2008-06-19 |title=Co-director, Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development |accessdate=2008-06-17 |last=Cornell |first=Stephen}}</ref> of the ] at ], in their report: ''What Can Tribes Do? Strategies and Institutions in American Indian Economic Development'' (2008),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20040407025730/http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/hpaied/docs/reloading%20the%20dice.pdf |title=What Can Tribes Do? Strategies and Institutions in American Indian Economic Development|accessdate=2008-06-17 |last=Cornell, S. |first=Kalt, J.}}</ref> are summarized as follows:
	* Lack of access to capital.
	* Lack of human capital (education, skills, technical expertise) and the means to develop it.
	* Reservations lack effective planning.
	* Reservations are poor in natural resources.
	* Reservations have natural resources, but lack sufficient control over them.
	* Reservations are disadvantaged by their distance from markets and the high costs of transportation.]
	* Tribes cannot persuade investors to locate on reservations because of intense competition from non-Native American communities.
	* The ] is inept, corrupt, and/or uninterested in reservation development.
	* Tribal politicians and bureaucrats are inept or corrupt.
	* On-reservation factionalism destroys stability in tribal decisions.
	* The instability of tribal government keeps outsiders from investing. (Many tribes adopted constitutions by the 1934 ] model, with two-year terms for elected positions of chief and council members deemed too short by the authors for getting things done)
	* Entrepreneurial skills and experience are scarce.
	* Tribal cultures get in the way.
			==Interracial relations==
	A major barrier to development is the lack of entrepreneurial knowledge and experience within ]. "A general lack of education and experience about business is a significant challenge to prospective entrepreneurs," was the report on Native American ] by the ] in 2004. "Native American communities that lack entrepreneurial traditions and recent experiences typically do not provide the support that entrepreneurs need to thrive. Consequently, experiential entrepreneurship education needs to be embedded into school curricula and after-school and other community activities. This would allow students to learn the essential elements of entrepreneurship from a young age and encourage them to apply these elements throughout life.".<ref name="CFED">{{cite web |url=http://www.energizingentrepreneurs.org/content/cr.php?id=4&sel=5 |title=Native Entrepreneurship: Challenges and opportunities for rural communities&nbsp;— CFED, Northwest Area Foundation December 2004}}</ref> '']'' magazine addresses these issues.
			]
			Interracial relations between Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans is a complex issue that has been mostly neglected with "few in-depth studies on interracial relationships".<ref name="lin">{{Cite news |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1546/is_n4_v11/ai_18953815|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050609074754/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1546/is_n4_v11/ai_18953815|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 9, 2005|title=The Indian connection|first=Mary A. |last=Dempsey |access-date=September 19, 2008 |year=1996 |publisher=American Visions}}</ref><ref name="takingAssToHeart">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/takingassimilati0000elli |url-access=registration |page= |title=Taking assimilation to heart |first=Katherine|last=Ellinghaus|isbn=978-0-8032-1829-1 |year=2006 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press}}</ref>
	]
			===Assimilation===
	=====Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans=====
			{{further|Cultural assimilation of Native Americans}}
	Interracial relations between Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans is a complex issue that has been mostly neglected with "few in-depth studies on interracial relationships".<ref name="lin">{{Cite news |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1546/is_n4_v11/ai_18953815|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071227103335/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1546/is_n4_v11/ai_18953815|archivedate=2007-12-27 |title=The Indian connection|author=Mary A. Dempsey |accessdate=2008-09-19 |year=1996 |publisher= American Visions}}</ref><ref name="takingAssToHeart">{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=3VCc9XEiFt4C&pg=PA176 |title=Taking assimilation to heart |author=Katherine Ellinghaus|isbn=978-0-8032-1829-1 |year=2006 |publisher=U of Nebraska Press}}</ref> Some of the first documented cases of European/Native American intermarriage and contact were recorded in Post-Columbian ]. One case is that of ], a European from ], who was shipwrecked along the ], and fathered three ] children with a ] noblewoman. Another is the case of ] and his mistress ], who gave birth to another of the first multi-racial people in the Americas.<ref name="rebecca">
	{{cite web
			European impact was immediate, widespread, and profound already during the early years of colonization and the creation of the countries which currently exist in the Americas. Europeans living among Native Americans were often called "white indians". They "lived in native communities for years, learned native languages fluently, attended native councils, and often fought alongside their native companions".<ref name="white_indians">{{cite web|url=http://www.galafilm.com/1812/e/background/nat_white_ind.html|title=Sharing Choctaw History|access-date=February 5, 2008|publisher=A First Nations Perspective, Galafilm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226024218/http://www.galafilm.com/1812/e/background/nat_white_ind.html|archive-date=December 26, 2007}}
	| url = http://www.virtualschool.edu/mon/SocialConstruction/SexualityAndInvasion.html
	| title = Sexuality and the Invasion of America: 1492–1806
	| accessdate = 2009-05-19
	}}
	</ref>		</ref>
			Early contact was often charged with tension and emotion, but also had moments of friendship, cooperation, and intimacy.<ref name="white_red_relations1">{{cite web|url=http://www.artsofcitizenship.umich.edu/sos/topics/native/early.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510222953/http://www.artsofcitizenship.umich.edu/sos/topics/native/early.html|archive-date=May 10, 2008|title=Native Americans: Early Contact|access-date=May 19, 2009|publisher=Students on Site}}</ref> Marriages took place in English, French, Russian and Spanish colonies between Native Americans and Europeans though Native American women were also the victims of rape.<ref name="udayu">{{cite web|url=http://academic.udayton.edu/Race/05intersection/Gender/rape.htm|title="The Realities of Enslaved Female Africans in America", excerpted from ''Failing Our Black Children: Statutory Rape Laws, Moral Reform and the Hypocrisy of Denial''|first=Gloria J.|last=Browne-Marshall|access-date=June 20, 2009|year=2009|publisher=University of Daytona|archive-date=November 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105133059/http://academic.udayton.edu/race/05intersection/gender/rape.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
	====Assimilation====
			There was fear on both sides, as the different peoples realized how different their societies were.<ref name="white_red_relations1"/> Many whites regarded Native people as "savages" because the Native people were not Protestant or Roman Catholic and therefore the Native people were not considered to be human beings.<ref name="white_red_relations1"/> The Native American author, Andrew J. Blackbird, wrote in his ''History of the ] and ] Indians of Michigan'' (1897), that white settlers introduced some immoralities into Native American tribes. Many Native Americans suffered because the Europeans introduced alcohol. Many Native people do not break down alcohol in the same way as people of Eurasian background. Many Native people were learning what their body could ] of this new substance and died as a result of imbibing too much.<ref name="white_red_relations1"/>
			Blackbird wrote:
			{{blockquote|The Ottawas and Chippewas were quite virtuous in their primitive state, as there were no illegitimate children reported in our old traditions. But very lately this evil came to exist among the Ottawas-so lately that the second case among the Ottawas of 'Arbor Croche' is yet living in 1897. And from that time this evil came to be quite frequent, for immorality has been introduced among these people by evil white persons who bring their vices into the tribes.<ref name="white_red_relations1"/>}}
	], ]. The Osage woman was married to a French soldier.]]		], ]. The Osage woman was married to a French soldier.]]
			], 1855]]
			The U.S. government had two purposes when making land agreements with Native Americans: to open up more land for white settlement,<ref name="white_red_relations1"/> and to "ease tensions" (in other words assimilate Native people to Eurasian social ways) between whites and Native Americans by forcing the Native Americans to use the land in the same way as did the whites—for subsistence farms.<ref name="white_red_relations1"/> The government used a variety of strategies to achieve these goals; many treaties required Native Americans to become farmers in order to keep their land.<ref name="white_red_relations1"/> Government officials often did not translate the documents which Native Americans were forced to sign, and native chiefs often had little or no idea what they were signing.<ref name="white_red_relations1"/>
			] was one of the first Native Americans to become certified as a ], after he graduated from Boston University.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A29 |title=Indian Achievement Award |publisher=Ipl.org |access-date=August 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703034312/http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A29 |archive-date=July 3, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.answers.com/topic/charles-eastman |title=Charles A. Eastman |publisher=Answers.com |access-date=August 22, 2010}}</ref>]]
	European impact was immediate, widespread, and profound—more than any other race that had contact with Native Americans during the early years of colonization and nationhood. Europeans living among Native Americans were often called "white indians". They "lived in native communities for years, learned native languages fluently, attended native councils, and often fought alongside their native companions."<ref name="white_indians">
			For a Native American man to marry a white woman, he had to get consent of her parents, as long as "he can prove to support her as a white woman in a good home".<ref name="white_reds">
	{{cite web
			{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/takingassimilati0000elli |url-access=registration |page= |title=Taking assimilation to heart |first=Katherine|last=Ellinghaus |isbn=978-0-8032-1829-1 |year=2006 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press}}
	|url = http://www.galafilm.com/1812/e/background/nat_white_ind.html
			</ref> In the early 19th century, the ] Tecumseh and blonde hair, blue-eyed Rebecca Galloway had an interracial affair. In the late 19th century, three European American middle-class women teachers at ] married Native American men whom they had met as students.<ref name="white_red_marriages">{{cite web|url=http://www.vahistorical.org/publications/Abstract_1083_ellinghaus.htm|title=Virginia Magazine of History and Biography|access-date=May 19, 2009|publisher=Virginia Historical Society|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081018202023/http://www.vahistorical.org/publications/Abstract_1083_ellinghaus.htm|archive-date=October 18, 2008}}</ref>
	|title = Sharing Choctaw History
	|accessdate = 2008-02-05
	|publisher = A First Nations Perspective, Galafilm
	}}{{dead link|date=August 2011}}
	</ref>
			As European American women started working independently at missions and Indian schools in the western states, there were more opportunities for their meeting and developing relationships with Native American men. For instance, ], a man of European and ] origin whose father sent both his sons to ], got his medical degree at ] and returned to the West to practice. He married ], whom he met in South Dakota. He was the grandson of ], a military officer from Maine, and a chief's daughter. Goodale was a young European American teacher from Massachusetts and a reformer, who was appointed as the U.S. superintendent of Native American education for the reservations in the Dakota Territory. They had six children together.
	Early contact was often charged with tension and emotion, but also had moments of friendship, cooperation, and intimacy.<ref name="white_red_relations1">
	{{cite web
	|url = http://www.artsofcitizenship.umich.edu/sos/topics/native/early.html
	|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080510222953/http://www.artsofcitizenship.umich.edu/sos/topics/native/early.html
	|archivedate = 2008-05-10
	|title = Native Americans: Early Contact
	|accessdate = 2009-05-19
	|publisher = Students on Site
	}}
	</ref> Marriages took place in English, Spanish, and French colonies between Native Americans and Europeans. Given the preponderance of men among the colonists in the early years, generally European men married American Indian women.
			===European enslavement===
	In 1528, ], an heir of ], was married to Alonso de Grado, a Spanish Conquistador. After his death, the widow married ]. Together they had five children. Many heirs of Emperor ] were acknowledged by the Spanish crown, who granted them titles including ].
			{{main|Slavery among Native Americans in the United States|Slavery among Indigenous peoples of the Americas}}
			The majority of Native American tribes did practice some form of slavery before the European introduction of African slavery into North America, but none exploited slave labor on a large scale. Most Native American tribes did not barter captives in the pre-colonial era, although they sometimes exchanged enslaved individuals with other tribes in peace gestures or in exchange for their own members.<ref name="laubchap1">{{cite book|last1=Lauber |first1=Almon Wheeler |title=Indian Slavery in Colonial Times Within the Present Limits of the United States Chapter 1: Enslavement by the Indians Themselves |date=1913 |volume=53 |issue=3 |pages=25–48 |publisher=]}}</ref> When Europeans arrived as ] in North America, Native Americans changed their practice of ] dramatically. Native Americans began selling war captives to Europeans rather than integrating them into their own societies as they had done before. As the demand for labor in the ] grew with the cultivation of ], Europeans enslaved Native Americans for the ], and some were exported to the "sugar islands". The British settlers, especially those in the southern colonies, purchased or captured Native Americans to use as forced labor in cultivating tobacco, rice, and indigo. Accurate records of the numbers enslaved do not exist because vital statistics and census reports were at best infrequent.<ref name="laub">Lauber (1913), "The Number of Indian Slaves" , in ''Indian Slavery'', pp. 105–117.</ref> Scholars estimate tens to hundreds of thousands of Native Americans may have been enslaved by the Europeans, being sold by Native Americans themselves or Europeans.<ref>Gallay, Alan. (2002) ''The Indian Slave Trade: The Rise of the English Empire in the American South 1670–171''. New York: Yale University Press. {{ISBN|0-300-10193-7}}.</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite book|title=The other slavery: The uncovered story of Indian enslavement in America|last=Reséndez|first=Andrés|date=2016|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0-544-94710-8|location=Boston|page=324}}</ref>
	On April 5, 1614, ] married the Englishman ]. They had a child called ]. Intimate relations among Native American and Europeans were widespread, beginning with the French and Spanish explorers and trappers. For instance, in the early 19th century, the Native American woman ], who would help translate for the ], was married to the French-Canadian trapper ]. They had a son named ]. This was the most typical pattern among the traders and trappers.
			In Colonial America, slavery soon became ], with those enslaved by the institution consisting of ethnic groups (non-Christian Native Americans and Africans) who were foreign to the Christian, European colonists. The ] define the terms of ] in 1705:
	], 1855]]
	There was fear on both sides, as the different peoples realized how different their societies were.<ref name="white_red_relations1"/> The whites regarded the Indians as "savage" because they were not Christian. They were suspicious of cultures which they did not understand.<ref name="white_red_relations1"/> The Native American author, Andrew J. Blackbird, wrote in his ''History of the ] and ] Indians of Michigan,'' (1897), that white settlers introduced some immoralities into Native American tribes. Many Indians suffered because the Europeans introduced alcohol and the whiskey trade resulted in alcoholism among the people, who were ].<ref name="white_red_relations1"/>
			{{blockquote|All servants imported and brought into the Country&nbsp;... who were not Christians in their native Country&nbsp;... shall be accounted and be slaves. All Negro, mulatto and Indian slaves within this dominion&nbsp;... shall be held to be real estate. If any slave resists his master&nbsp;... correcting such slave, and shall happen to be killed in such correction&nbsp;... the master shall be free of all punishment&nbsp;... as if such accident never happened.|Virginia General Assembly declaration, 1705<ref name="pbsafna">{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr3.html |title=The Terrible Transformation:From Indentured Servitude to Racial Slavery |access-date=2010-01-07 |year=2009 |publisher=PBS}}</ref>}}
	Blackbird wrote:
	<blockquote>
	"The Ottawas and Chippewas were quite virtuous in their primitive state, as there were no illegitimate children reported in our old traditions. But very lately this evil came to exist among the Ottawas-so lately that the second case among the Ottawas of 'Arbor Croche' is yet living in 1897. And from that time this evil came to be quite frequent, for immorality has been introduced among these people by evil white persons who bring their vices into the tribes."<ref name="white_red_relations1"/></blockquote>
			The slave trade of Native Americans lasted only until around 1750. It gave rise to a series of devastating wars among the tribes, including the ]. The ] of the early 18th century, combined with the increasing importation of African slaves, effectively ended the Native American slave trade by 1750. Colonists found that Native American slaves could easily escape, as they knew the country. The wars cost the lives of numerous colonial slave traders and disrupted their early societies. The remaining Native American groups banded together to face the Europeans from a position of strength. Many surviving Native American peoples of the southeast strengthened their loose coalitions of language groups and joined confederacies such as the ], the ], and the ] for protection. Even after the Indian Slave Trade ended in 1750, the enslavement of Native Americans continued (mostly through kidnappings) in the west and in the ].<ref name="ism">{{cite book |title=Race and the Cherokee Nation |chapter=Indian Slavery and Memory: Interracial sex from the slaves' perspective |first=Fay A. |last=Yarbrough |year=2008 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |pages=112–123}}</ref><ref>Castillo, E.D. 1998. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214031402/http://www.ceres.ca.gov/nahc/califindian.html |date=December 14, 2006}}, California Native American Heritage Commission, 1998. Retrieved October 24, 2007.</ref> Both Native American and African enslaved women suffered rape and sexual harassment by male slaveholders and other white men.<ref name="udayu"/>
	The U. S. government had two purposes when making land agreements with Native Americans: to open it up more land for white settlement,<ref name="white_red_relations22">
	{{cite web |url=http://www.artsofcitizenship.umich.edu/sos/topics/native/claiming.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080510222953/http://www.artsofcitizenship.umich.edu/sos/topics/native/early.html |archivedate=2008-05-10 |title=Native Americans: Early Contact |accessdate=2009-05-19 |publisher=Students on Site}}</ref> and to ease tensions between whites and Native Americans by forcing Natives to use the land in the same way as did the whites - for subsistence farms.<ref name="white_red_relations22"/> The government used a variety of strategies to achieve these goals; many treaties required Native Americans to become farmers in order to keep their land.<ref name="white_red_relations22"/> Government officials often did not translate the documents which Native Americans were forced to sign, and native chiefs often had little or no idea what they were signing.<ref name="white_red_relations22"/>
			===Native American and African relations===
	] was one of the first Native Americans to become certified as a ], after he graduated from Boston University.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A29 |title=Indian Achievement Award |publisher=Ipl.org |accessdate=2010-08-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.answers.com/topic/charles-eastman |title=Charles A. Eastman |publisher=Answers.com |accessdate=2010-08-22}}</ref>]]
			{{Further|Black Indians|Native American slave ownership}}
	For a Native American man to marry a white woman, he had to get consent of her parents, as long as "he can prove to support her as a white woman in a good home".<ref name="white_reds">
	{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=3VCc9XEiFt4C&pg=PA176 |title=Taking assimilation to heart |first=Katherine|last=Ellinghaus |isbn=978-0-8032-1829-1 |year=2006 |publisher=U of Nebraska Press}}
	</ref> In the early 19th century, the ] Tecumseh and blonde hair & blued eyed Rebbecca Galloway had an inter-racial affair. In the late 19th century, three European-American middle-class women teachers at ] married Native American men whom they had met as students.<ref name="white_red_marriages">
	{{cite web
	|url = http://www.vahistorical.org/publications/Abstract_1083_ellinghaus.htm
	|title = Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
	|accessdate = 2009-05-19
	|publisher = Virginia Historical Society
	}}
	</ref>
			African- and Native- Americans have interacted for centuries. The earliest record of Native American and African contact occurred in April 1502, when Spanish colonists transported the first Africans to ] to serve as slaves.<ref>''Muslims in American History : A Forgotten Legacy'' by Jerald F. Dirks. {{ISBN|1-59008-044-0}} p. 204.</ref>
	As European-American women started working independently at missions and Indian schools in the western states, there were more opportunities for their meeting and developing relationships with Native American men. For instance, ], a man of European and ] descent whose father sent both his sons to ], got his medical degree at ] and returned to the West to practice. He married ], whom he met in South Dakota. He was the grandson of ], a military officer from Maine, and a chief's daughter. Goodale was a young European-American teacher from Massachusetts and a reformer, who was appointed as the US superintendent of Native American education for the reservations in the Dakota Territory. They had six children together.
			]s, 1890. The nickname was given to the "Black Cavalry" by the Native American tribes they fought.]]
	====European enslavement====
			Sometimes Native Americans resented the presence of African Americans.<ref name="Red, White pg. 99">{{cite book |title =Red, White, and Black: Symposium on Indians in the Old South|date= April 26, 1971|page= 99|publisher= Southern Anthropological Society|isbn=978-0-8203-0308-6|editor-last = Hudson|editor-first = Charles M.}}</ref> The "Catawaba tribe in 1752 showed great anger and bitter resentment when an African American came among them as a trader".<ref name="Red, White pg. 99"/> To gain favor with Europeans, the Cherokee exhibited the strongest color prejudice of all Native Americans.<ref name="Red, White pg. 99"/> Because of European fears of a unified revolt of Native Americans and African Americans, the colonists tried to encourage hostility between the ethnic groups: "Whites sought to convince Native Americans that African Americans worked against their best interests."<ref>Red, White, and Black, p. 105, {{ISBN|0-8203-0308-9}}.</ref> In 1751, South Carolina law stated:
	When Europeans arrived as ] in North America, Native Americans changed their practice of ] dramatically. Native Americans began selling war captives to whites rather than integrating them into their own societies as they had done before. As the demand for labor in the ] grew with the cultivation of ], Europeans enslaved Native Americans for the ], and some were exported to the "sugar islands." The British settlers, especially those in the southern colonies, purchased or captured Native Americans to use as forced labor in cultivating tobacco, rice, and indigo. Accurate records of the numbers enslaved do not exist. Scholars estimate tens of thousands of Native Americans may have been enslaved by the Europeans, being sold by Native Americans themselves.
			{{blockquote|The carrying of Negroes among the Indians has all along been thought detrimental, as an intimacy ought to be avoided.<ref name="hid">{{cite web |url=http://www.colorq.org/MeltingPot/article.aspx?d=America&x=blackIndians |title=Black Indians (Afro-Native Americans) |author=ColorQ |access-date=2009-05-29 |year=2009 |publisher=ColorQ}}</ref>}}
	Slaves became a caste of people who were foreign to the English (Native Americans, Africans and their descendants) and non-Christians. The Virginia General Assembly defined some terms of slavery in 1705:
	{{quote|All servants imported and brought into the Country... who were not Christians in their native Country... shall be accounted and be slaves. All Negro, mulatto and Indian slaves within this dominion ... shall be held to be real estate. If any slave resists his master ... correcting such slave, and shall happen to be killed in such correction ... the master shall be free of all punishment ... as if such accident never happened.|Virginia General Assembly declaration, 1705<ref name="pbsafna">{{cite web |url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr3.html |title=The Terrible Transformation:From Indentured Servitude to Racial Slavery |accessdate=2010-01-07 |year=2009 |publisher=PBS}}</ref>}}
			In addition, in 1758 the governor of South Carolina James Glen wrote:
	The slave trade of Native Americans lasted only until around 1730. It gave rise to a series of devastating wars among the tribes, including the ]. The ] of the early 18th century, combined with the increasing importation of African slaves, effectively ended the Native American slave trade by 1750. Colonists found that Native American slaves could easily escape, as they knew the country. The wars cost the lives of numerous colonial slave traders and disrupted their early societies. The remaining Native American groups banded together to face the Europeans from a position of strength. Many surviving Native American peoples of the southeast strengthened their loose coalitions of language groups and joined confederacies such as the ], the ], and the ] for protection.
			{{blockquote|it has always been the policy of this government to create an aversion in them to Negroes.<ref name="afch">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xpusu6xQq6QC&q=afro+cherokee+smallpox&pg=PA33 |title=Ties That Bind: The Story of an Afro-Cherokee Family in Slavery and Freedom |first=Tiya |last=Miles |year=2008 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520250024}}</ref>}}
	Native American women were at risk for rape whether they were enslaved or not; during the early colonial years, settlers were disproportionately male. They turned to Native women for sexual relationships.<ref name="udayu">{{cite web |url=http://academic.udayton.edu/Race/05intersection/Gender/rape.htm|title="The Realities of Enslaved Female Africans in America", excerpted from ''Failing Our Black Children: Statutory Rape Laws, Moral Reform and the Hypocrisy of Denial'' |author=Gloria J. Browne-Marshall |accessdate=2009-06-20 |year=2009 |publisher=University of Daytona}}</ref> Both Native American and African enslaved women suffered rape and sexual harassment by male slaveholders and other white men.<ref name="udayu"/>
			Europeans considered both races inferior and made efforts to make both Native Americans and Africans enemies. Native Americans were rewarded if they returned escaped slaves, and African Americans were rewarded for fighting in the late 19th-century ].<ref name="nawomen">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UYWs-GQDiOkC&pg=PA214|title=Women in early America|first=Dorothy A.|last=Mays|year=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-429-5}}</ref><ref name="cherslav"/><ref name="infr">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sHJMNVV31T0C&pg=PA3|title=Race and the Cherokee Nation|first=Fay A.|last=Yarbrough|year=2007|publisher=Univ of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-4056-6}}</ref>
	====Native American slavery====
	{{Further|Slavery among Native Americans in the United States|Slavery among Indigenous peoples of the Americas}}
			According to the ], "Native Americans, during the transitional period of Africans becoming the primary race enslaved, were enslaved at the same time and shared a common experience of enslavement. They worked together, lived together in communal quarters, produced collective recipes for food, shared herbal remedies, myths and legends, and in the end they intermarried."<ref name="afrna">{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/ethnography/aah/aaheritage/lowCountry_furthRdg1.htm |title=African American Heritage and Ethnography: Work, Marriage, Christianity |author=National Park Service |date=May 30, 2009 |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref><ref name="slavbeg">{{cite book |title=Black Indians: A Hidden Heritage |chapter=Their Mixing is to be Prevented |first=William Loren |last=Katz |year=1996 |publisher=Atheneum Books For Young Readers |pages=109–125}}</ref> Because of a shortage of men due to warfare, many tribes encouraged marriage between the two groups, to create stronger, healthier children from the unions.<ref name="nadis">{{cite web|url=http://www.djembe.dk/no/19/08biwapi.html |title=Black Indians want a place in history |first=Nomad |last=Winterhawk |access-date=May 29, 2009 |year=1997 |work=Djembe Magazine |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714113317/http://www.djembe.dk/no/19/08biwapi.html |archive-date=July 14, 2009}}</ref>
	====Traditions of Native American slavery====
	The majority of Native American tribes did practice some form of slavery before the European introduction of African slavery into North America, but none exploited slave labor on a large scale. In addition, Native Americans did not buy and sell captives in the pre-colonial era, although they sometimes exchanged enslaved individuals with other tribes in peace gestures or in exchange for their own members.<ref name="amslav">{{cite web |url=http://mmslibrary.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/slavery-and-native-americans-in-british-north-america-and-the-united-states.pdf |title=Slavery and Native Americans in British North America and the United States: 1600 to 1865 |author= Tony Seybert |accessdate=2009-06-20 |year=2009 |publisher=}}</ref>
			In the 18th century, many Native American women married freed or ] African men due to a decrease in the population of men in Native American villages.<ref name="nawomen"/> Records show that many Native American women bought African men but, unknown to the European sellers, the women freed and married the men into their tribe.<ref name="nawomen"/> When African men married or had children by a Native American woman, their children were born free, because the mother was free (according to the principle of '']'', which the colonists incorporated into law).<ref name="nawomen"/>
	The conditions of enslaved Native Americans varied among the tribes. In many cases, young enslaved captives were adopted into the tribes to replace warriors killed during warfare or by disease. Other tribes practiced debt slavery or imposed slavery on tribal members who had committed crimes; but, this status was only temporary as the enslaved worked off their obligations to the tribal society.<ref name="amslav"/>
			While numerous tribes used captive enemies as servants and slaves, they also often adopted younger captives into their tribes to replace members who had died. In the Southeast, a few Native American tribes began to adopt a slavery system similar to that of the American colonists, buying African American slaves, especially the ], ], and ]. Though less than 3% of Native Americans owned slaves, divisions grew among the Native Americans over slavery.<ref name="wil">{{cite web|url=http://www.williamlkatz.com/Essays/History/AfricansIndians.php |title=Africans and Indians: Only in America |author=William Loren Katz |access-date=May 6, 2009 |year=2008 |publisher=William Loren Katz |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513235755/http://www.williamlkatz.com/Essays/History/AfricansIndians.php |archive-date=May 13, 2008}}</ref> Among the Cherokee, records show that slaveholders in the tribe were largely the children of European men who had shown their children the economics of slavery.<ref name="cherslav">{{cite web|url=http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/SLAVE_RV.HTM |title=CHEROKEE SLAVE REVOLT OF 1842 |first=Art T. |last=Burton |access-date=May 29, 2009 |year=1996 |publisher=LWF COMMUNICATIONS |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929002527/http://coax.net/people/lwf/SLAVE_RV.HTM |archive-date=September 29, 2009}}</ref> As European colonists took slaves into frontier areas, there were more opportunities for relationships between African and Native American peoples.<ref name="nawomen"/>
	Among some ] tribes, about a quarter of the population were slaves.<ref>"". ''Digital History'', University of Houston.</ref> Other slave-owning tribes of North America were, for example, ] of Texas, ] of Georgia, the ], and ].<ref>"". ''Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to Black History''.</ref>
	====Native American and African relations====		==Race, ethnicity, and citizenship==
			{{Main|Native American identity|Native Americans in United States elections}}
	{{Further|Black Indians}}
			] became one of the first two Native American women elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.]]
			] of South Dakota, the only ] elected to the U.S. House of Representatives]]
			] became one of the first two Native American women elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.]]
			], a citizen of the Choctaw Nation with mixed-African American heritage, nominated by President ] in 2019 to be a federal judge in Texas]]
			] became the first Alaska Native elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.]]
			Native American identity is determined by the tribal community that the individual or group is seeking to identify with.<ref name=TallBear1>{{cite journal|author=Kimberly TallBear |authorlink=Kim TallBear|title=DNA, Blood, and Racializing the Tribe|journal=Wíčazo Ša Review|date= 2003 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=81–107 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |jstor=140943|doi=10.1353/wic.2003.0008|s2cid=201778441 }}</ref><ref name="nhpr">{{cite news |last1=Furukawa |first1=Julia |title=Review of genealogies, other records fails to support local leaders' claims of Abenaki ancestry |url=https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2023-05-22/review-of-genealogies-other-records-fails-to-support-local-leaders-claims-of-abenaki-ancestry |access-date=7 July 2023 |work=New Hampshire Public Radio |date=May 22, 2023}}</ref> While it is common for non-Natives to consider it a racial or ethnic identity, it is considered by Native Americans in the United States to be a political identity, based on citizenship and immediate family relationships.<ref name=TallBear1/><ref name="nhpr"/> As culture can vary widely between the 574 extant ], the idea of a single unified "Native American" racial identity is a European construct that does not have an equivalent in tribal thought.<ref name=TallBear1/>
	African and Native Americans have interacted for centuries. The earliest record of Native American and African contact occurred in April 1502, when Spanish colonists transported the first Africans to ] to serve as slaves.<ref>''Muslims in American History : A Forgotten Legacy'' by Dr. Jerald F. Dirks. ISBN 1-59008-044-0 p. 204.</ref>
			In the 2010 Census, nearly 3 million people indicated that their "race" was Native American (including Alaska Native).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|title=U.S. Census website|author=United States Census Bureau|website=Census.gov|access-date=August 30, 2017}}</ref> Of these, more than 27% specifically indicated "Cherokee" as their ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nerve.com/life/why-do-so-many-people-claim-they-have-cherokee-in-their-blood|title=Why Do So Many People Claim They Have Cherokee In Their Blood? – Nerve|website=nerve.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2015/10/cherokee_blood_why_do_so_many_americans_believe_they_have_cherokee_ancestry.html|title=Why Do So Many Americans Think They Have Cherokee Blood?|author1-link=Gregory D. Smithers|first=Gregory D.|last=Smithers|date=October 1, 2015|journal=Slate}}</ref> Many of the ] or some other "]". This phenomenon has been dubbed the "]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyyonder.com/cherokee-syndrome/2011/02/10/3170/|title=The Cherokee Syndrome – Daily Yonder|website=dailyyonder.com|date=February 10, 2011}}</ref> Across the US, numerous individuals cultivate an ] as Native American, sometimes through ] or ]s.<ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/21/magazine/the-newest-indians.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529190012/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/21/magazine/the-newest-indians.html |archive-date=2015-05-29 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=The Newest Indians|first=Jack|last=Hitt|date=August 21, 2005|work=The New York Times}}</ref>
	]s, 1890. The nickname was given to the "Black Cavalry" by the Native American tribes they fought.]]
	Sometimes Native Americans resented the presence of African Americans.<ref name="Red, White pg. 99">Red, White, and Black, p. 99. ISBN 0-8203-0308-9.</ref> The "Catawaba tribe in 1752 showed great anger and bitter resentment when an African American came among them as a trader."<ref name="Red, White pg. 99"/> To gain favor with Europeans, the Cherokee exhibited the strongest color prejudice of all Native Americans.<ref>Red, White, and Black, p. 99, ISBN 0-8203-0308-9.</ref> He contends that because of European fears of a unified revolt of Native Americans and African Americans, the colonists encouraged hostility between the ethnic groups: "Whites sought to convince Native Americans that African Americans worked against their best interests."<ref>Red, White, and Black, p. 105, ISBN 0-8203-0308-9.</ref> In 1751, South Carolina law stated: <blockquote>
	"The carrying of Negroes among the Indians has all along been thought detrimental, as an intimacy ought to be avoided."<ref name="hid">{{cite web |url=http://www.colorq.org/MeltingPot/article.aspx?d=America&x=blackIndians |title=Black Indians (Afro-Native Americans) |author=ColorQ |accessdate=2009-05-29 |year=2009 |publisher=ColorQ}}</ref>
	</blockquote> In addition, in 1758 the governor of South Carolina James Glen wrote: <blockquote> it has always been the policy of this government to create an aversion in them Indians to Negroes.<ref name="afch"/></blockquote> Europeans considered both races inferior and made efforts to make both Native Americans and Africans enemies.<ref name="nawomen"/> Native Americans were rewarded if they returned escaped slaves, and African Americans were rewarded for fighting in the late 19th-century ].<ref name="nawomen"/><ref name="cherslav"/><ref name="infr">{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=sHJMNVV31T0C&pg=PA3 |title=Race and the Cherokee Nation |author=Fay A. Yarbrough |accessdate=2009-05-30 |year=2007 |publisher=Univ of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-4056-6
	}}</ref>
			Some tribes (particularly some in the ]) are primarily made up of individuals with an unambiguous ], despite having a large number of mixed-race citizens with prominent non-Native ancestry. More than 75% of those enrolled in the ] have less than one-quarter Cherokee blood,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/03/us/03cherokee.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070305161740/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/03/us/03cherokee.html |archive-date=2007-03-05 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Putting to a Vote the Question 'Who Is Cherokee?'|first=Evelyn|last=Nieves|date=March 3, 2007|work=The New York Times}}</ref> and the former ], ], is 1/32 Cherokee, amounting to about 3%.
	]-] singer and editor from ].]]
	"Native Americans, during the transitional period of Africans becoming the primary race enslaved, were enslaved at the same time and shared a common experience of enslavement. They worked together, lived together in communal quarters, produced collective recipes for food, shared herbal remedies, myths and legends, and in the end they intermarried."<ref name="afrna"/> Because of a shortage of men due to warfare, many tribes encouraged marriage between the two groups, to create stronger, healthier children from the unions.<ref name="nadis">{{cite web |url=http://www.djembe.dk/no/19/08biwapi.html|title=Black Indians want a place in history |author=Nomad Winterhawk |accessdate=2009-05-29 |year=1997 |publisher= ''Djembe Magazine''}}</ref>
			Historically, numerous Native Americans ], e.g. through ] and ]. In many cases, this process occurred through ] of children sent off to ] far from their families. Those who could eventually ] gained the advantage of ], yet often paid for it with the loss of community connections.<ref name="auto"/> With the enforcement of ], Indian blood could be diluted over generations through intermarrying with non-Native populations, as well as intermarrying with members of tribes that also required high blood-quantum, solely from one tribe.<ref>{{cite web|date=June 10, 2010|title=Blood_Quantum_II|url=http://nas.ucdavis.edu/Forbes/Blood_Quantum_II.html|access-date=February 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610050121/http://nas.ucdavis.edu/Forbes/Blood_Quantum_II.html|archive-date=June 10, 2010}}</ref> "Kill the Indian, save the man" was a mantra of nineteenth-century U.S. assimilation policies.<ref name="TallBear 31–66">{{Cite book|last=TallBear |first=Kim |title=Native American DNA |date=September 1, 2013|publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0-8166-6585-3|pages=31–66|doi=10.5749/minnesota/9780816665853.001.0001}}</ref>
	In the 18th century, many Native American women married freed or ] African men due to a decrease in the population of men in Native American villages.<ref name="nawomen"/> Records show that many Native American women bought African men but, unknown to the European sellers, the women freed and married the men into their tribe.<ref name="nawomen"/> When African men married or had children by a Native American woman, their children were born free, because the mother was free (according to the principle of partus sequitur ventrum, which the colonists incorporated into law.)<ref name="nawomen"/>
			Native Americans are more likely than any other racial group to practice ] among the different tribes and non-Natives, resulting in an ever-declining proportion of Indigenous blood among those who claim a Native American identity (tribes often count only the Indian blood from their own tribal background in the enrollment process, disregarding intertribal heritages).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-14089253|title=Blood affects US Indian identity|first=Paul|last=Adams|date=July 10, 2011|via=bbc.com|work=BBC News}}</ref> Some tribes ] those with low blood quantum. Disenrollment has become a contentious issue in ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/native-news/what-percentage-indian-do-you-have-to-be-in-order-to-be-a-member-of-a-tribe-or-nation/|title=What Percentage Indian Do You Have to Be in Order to Be a Member of a Tribe or Nation? – Indian Country Media Network|website=indiancountrymedianetwork.com|access-date=August 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021152949/https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/native-news/what-percentage-indian-do-you-have-to-be-in-order-to-be-a-member-of-a-tribe-or-nation/|archive-date=October 21, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/politics/disappearing-indians-part-ii-the-hypocrisy-of-race-in-deciding-whos-enrolled/|title=Disappearing Indians, Part II: The Hypocrisy of Race In Deciding Who's Enrolled – Indian Country Media Network|website=indiancountrymedianetwork.com|access-date=August 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922094009/https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/politics/disappearing-indians-part-ii-the-hypocrisy-of-race-in-deciding-whos-enrolled/|archive-date=September 22, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
	European colonists often required the return of ] to be included as a provision in treaties with American Indians. In 1726, the British Governor of New York exacted a promise from the Iroquois to return all runaway slaves who had joined up with them.<ref name="Katz">Katz WL 1997 p. 103.</ref> In the mid-1760s, the government requested the ] and ] to return runaway slaves, but there was no record of slaves having been returned.<ref name="Katzs">Katz WL 1997 p. 104.</ref> Colonists placed ads about runaway slaves.
			===Tribal enrollment===
	While numerous tribes used captive enemies as servants and slaves, they also often adopted younger captives into their tribes to replace members who had died. In the Southeast, a few Native American tribes began to adopt a slavery system similar to that of the American colonists, buying African American slaves, especially the ], ], and ]. Though less than 3% of Native Americans owned slaves, divisions grew among the Native Americans over slavery.<ref name="wil">
			{{Further|List of federally recognized tribes in the United States|State-recognized tribes|Cherokee freedmen controversy|Cherokee descent|Tribal disenrollment}}
	{{cite web |url=http://www.williamlkatz.com/Essays/History/AfricansIndians.php
	|title=Africans and Indians: Only in America |author=William Loren Katz |accessdate=2009-05-06 |year=2008 |publisher=William Loren Katz}}{{dead link|date=August 2011}}</ref> Among the Cherokee, records show that slave holders in the tribe were largely the children of European men that had shown their children the economics of slavery.<ref name="cherslav">{{cite web |url=http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/SLAVE_RV.HTM |title=CHEROKEE SLAVE REVOLT OF 1842 |author=Art T. Burton |accessdate=2009-05-29 |year=1996 |publisher=LWF COMMUNICATIONS}}</ref> As European colonists took slaves into frontier areas, there were more opportunities for relationships between African and Native American peoples.<ref name="nawomen"/>
			Requirements for tribal citizenship vary by tribe, but are generally based on who one's parents and grandparents are, as known and documented by community members and tribal records. Among the tribal nations, qualification for enrolling those who were not logged at birth by their parents may be based upon a required percentage of Native American "blood" (or the "]") of an individual, or upon documented ] from an ancestor on a specific census or register.
	Based on the work of ], a ] series on African Americans explained that while most African Americans are racially mixed, it is relatively rare that they have Native American ancestry.<ref name="African American Lives">
	{{cite web|url=http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20090313231943/http://racerelations.about.com/od/ahistoricalviewofrace/a/dnaandrace.htm
	|title=DNA Testing: review, ''African American Lives'', About.com}}</ref><ref name="African American Lives PBS">{{cite web |url=http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/dna/index.html
	|title=African American Lives 2}}</ref> According to the PBS series, the most common "non-black" mix is English and Scots-Irish.<ref name="African American Lives"/><ref name="African American Lives PBS"/> However, the Y-chromosome and mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) testing processes for direct-line male and female ancestors can fail to pick up the heritage of many ancestors. (Some critics thought the PBS series did not sufficiently explain the limitations of DNA testing for assessment of heritage.)<ref name="hur">{{cite web |url=http://www.geneticsandsociety.org/article.php?id=3908|title=Deep Roots and Tangled Branches |author=Troy Duster |accessdate=2008-10-02 |year=2008 |publisher=Chronicle of Higher Education}}</ref>
			Tribal rules regarding the recognition of members who have heritage from multiple tribes also vary, but most do not allow citizenship in multiple tribes at once. For those that do, usually citizens consider one of their citizenships primary, and their other heritage to be "descent". Federally recognized tribes do not accept genetic ethnicity percentages results as appropriate evidence of Native American identity, as they cannot indicate specific tribe, or even whether or not someone is Native American. Unless requested for a paternity test, they do not advise applicants to submit such things.<ref name="TallBear 31–66"/>
	Another study suggests that relatively few Native Americans have African-American heritage.<ref name="AJHG1">{{cite web |url=http://www.cell.com/AJHG/abstract/S0002-9297(07)61628-0
	|title=Estimating African American Admixture Proportions by Use of Population-Specific Alleles |author=Esteban Parra, et al |publisher=American Journal of Human Genetics}}</ref> A study reported in ''The American Journal of Human Genetics'' stated, "We analyzed the European genetic contribution to 10 populations of African descent in the United States (Maywood, Illinois; Detroit; New York; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Baltimore; Charleston, South Carolina; New Orleans; and Houston) ... mtDNA haplogroups analysis shows no evidence of a significant maternal Amerindian contribution to any of the 10 populations."<ref name="AJHG">{{cite web |url=http://www.cell.com/AJHG/abstract/S0002-9297(07)61628-0
	|title=Estimating African American Admixture Proportions by Use of Population|publisher=The American Journal of Human Genetics}}</ref> A few writers persist in the myth that most African Americans have Native American heritage.<ref name="dstu">{{cite web |url=http://www.rlnn.com/ArtOct06/MoreBlacksAfricanAmerNativeAmerConnection.html |title=More Blacks are Exploring the African-American/Native American Connection |author=Sherrel Wheeler Stewart |accessdate=2008-08-06 |year=2008 |publisher=BlackAmericaWeb.com}}{{dead link|date=August 2011}}</ref>
			To receive tribal services, a Native American must be a citizen of (or enrolled in) a ]. While each tribal government makes its own rules for the eligibility of citizens, the federal government has its own qualifications for federally-funded services. Federal scholarships for Native Americans require the student to be enrolled in a federally recognized tribe ''and'' to be of at least one-quarter Native American ], as attested to by a ] (CDIB) card issued by the federal government.
	DNA testing has limitations and should not be depended on by individuals to answer all their questions about heritage.<ref name="hur"/><ref name="bldl1">{{cite web |url=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071018145955.htm|title=Genetic Ancestral Testing Cannot Deliver On Its Promise, Study Warns|author=ScienceDaily|accessdate=2008-10-02 |year=2008 |publisher=ScienceDaily}}</ref> So far, such testing cannot distinguish among the many distinct Native American tribes. No tribes accept DNA testing to satisfy their differing qualifications for membership, usually based on documented blood quantum or descent from ancestor(s) listed on the ].<ref name="genej">{{cite web |url=http://www.ipcb.org/publications/briefing_papers/files/identity.html|title=Genetic Markers Not a Valid Test of Native Identity|author=Brett Lee Shelton, J.D. and Jonathan Marks, Ph.D.
	|accessdate=2008-10-02 |year=2008 |publisher=Counsel for Responsible Genetics}}</ref>
			Tribal membership conflicts have led to a number of legal disputes, court cases, and the formation of activist groups. One example of this is the ]. The ] requires documented direct genealogical descent from a Cherokee person listed in the early 1906 ]. The Freedmen are descendants of African Americans once enslaved by the Cherokees, who were granted, by federal treaty, citizenship in the ] as freedmen after the ]. The ], in the early 1980s, passed a law to require that all members must prove descent from a Cherokee Native American (not Cherokee Freedmen) listed on the Dawes Rolls, resulting in the exclusion of some individuals and families who had been active in Cherokee culture for years.
	=====Native American adoption of African slavery=====
	{{Further|Cherokee freedmen controversy}}
	Native Americans interacted with enslaved Africans and African Americans on many levels. Over time all the cultures interacted. Native Americans began slowly to adopt white culture.<ref name="nawomen">{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=UYWs-GQDiOkC&pg=PA214|title=Women in early America |author=Dorothy A. Mays |accessdate=2008-05-29 |year=2008 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-429-5
	}}</ref> Native Americans in the South shared some experiences with Africans, especially during the period, primarily in the 17th century, when both were enslaved. The colonists along the Atlantic Coast had begun enslaving Native Americans to ensure a source of labor. At one time the slave trade was so extensive that it caused increasing tensions with the various ] tribes, as well as the ]. Based in New York and Pennsylvania, they had threatened to attack colonists on behalf of the related ] ] before they migrated out of the South in the early 1700s.<ref name="afrna">{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/ethnography/aah/aaheritage/lowCountry_furthRdg1.htm |title=African American Heritage and Ethnography: Work, Marriage, Christianity |author=National Park Service |date=May 30, 2009 |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>
			===Increased self-identification===
	In the 1790s, ] was assigned as the US agent to the southeastern tribes, who became known as the Five Civilized Tribes for their adoption of numerous Anglo-European practices. He advised the tribes to take up slaveholding to aid them in European-style farming and plantations. He thought their traditional form of slavery, which had looser conditions, was less efficient than ] slavery.<ref name="afch">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=xpusu6xQq6QC&pg=PA33&dq=afro+cherokee+smallpox&lr=#v=onepage&q=afro%20cherokee%20smallpox&f=false |title=Ties That Bind: The Story of an Afro-Cherokee Family in Slavery and Freedom |author=Tiya Miles |accessdate=2009-10-27 |year=2008 |publisher=University of California Press }}</ref> In the 19th century, some members of these tribes who were more closely associated with settlers, began to purchase African-American slaves for workers. They adopted some European-American ways to benefit their people.
			Since the 2000 census, people may identify as being of more than one race.<ref name="2010 Census AMAN" /> Since the 1960s, the number of people claiming Native American ancestry has grown significantly and, by the 2000 census, the number had more than doubled. Sociologists attribute this dramatic change to "ethnic shifting" or "ethnic shopping"; they believe that it reflects a willingness of people to question their birth identities and adopt new ethnicities which they find more compatible.
			The author ] writes:
	From the late 1700s to the 1860s, the ] were involved in the institution of African slavery as ].<ref>Sturm, Circe. "Blood Politics, Racial Classification, and Cherokee National Identity: The Trials and Tribulations of the Cherokee Freedmen", ''American Indian Quarterly'', Vol. 22, No. 1/2. (Winter – Spring, 1998), p.231.</ref> For example, Cherokee leader ] owned more than 100 slaves. The proportion of ] families who owned slaves did not exceed ten percent, and was comparable to the percentage among white families across the South, where a slaveholding elite owned most of the laborers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/hs_es_indians_slavery.htm|title=Slavery and Native Americans in British North America and the United States: 1600 to 1865|author= Tony Seybert|accessdate=14 June 2011 |year=4 Aug 2004 |publisher=Slavery in America|archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20040804001522/http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/hs_es_indians_slavery.htm|archivedate= 4 August 2004}}</ref>
			{{blockquote|The reaction from lifelong Indians runs the gamut. It is easy to find Native Americans who denounce many of these new Indians as members of the ]. But it is also easy to find Indians like Clem Iron Wing, an elder among the ], who sees this flood of new ethnic claims as magnificent, a surge of Indians 'trying to come home.' Those Indians who ridicule Iron Wing's lax sense of tribal membership have retrofitted the old genocidal system of blood quantum—measuring racial purity by blood—into the new standard for real Indianness, a choice rich with paradox.<ref name="Newest Indians"/>}}
	The writer William Loren Katz contends that Native Americans treated their slaves better than did the typical white American in the ].<ref name="wil">{{cite web |url=http://www.williamlkatz.com/Essays/History/AfricansIndians.php |title=Africans and Indians: Only in America|author=William Loren Katz |accessdate=2008-09-20 |year=2008 |publisher=William Loren Katz}}{{dead link|date=August 2011}}</ref> Though less than 3% of Native Americans owned slaves, bondage created destructive cleavages among those who were slaveholders. Among the Five Civilized Tribes, mixed-race slaveholders were generally part of an elite hierarchy, often based on their mothers' clan status, as the societies had ] systems. As did Benjamin Hawkins, European fur traders and colonial officials tended to marry high-status women, in strategic alliances seen to benefit both sides. The Choctaw, Creek and Cherokee believed they benefited from stronger alliances with the traders and their societies.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}} The women's sons gained their status from their mother's families; they were part of hereditary leadership lines who exercised power and accumulated personal wealth in their changing Native American societies. The historian Greg O'Brien calls them the Creole generation to show that they were part of a changing society.{{Citation needed|reason=not sure this is helpful|date=October 2011}} The chiefs of the tribes believed that some of the new generation of mixed-race, bilingual chiefs would lead their people into the future and be better able to adapt to new conditions influenced by European Americans.<ref name="wil"/>
			Journalist Mary Annette Pember (]) writes that non-Natives identifying with Native American identity may be a result of a person's increased interest in ], the romanticization of what they believe the cultures to be, and family lore of Native American ancestors in the distant past. However, there are different issues if a person wants to pursue enrollment as a citizen of a tribal nation. Different tribes have different requirements for citizenship. Often those who live as non-Natives, yet claim distant heritage, say they are simply reluctant to enroll, arguing that it is a method of control initiated by the federal government. However, it is the tribes that set their own enrollment criteria, and "the various enrollment requirements are often a hurdle that ethnic shoppers are unable to clear." Says Grayson Noley, (Choctaw), of the ], "If you have to search for proof of your heritage, it probably isn't there."<ref name=EthnicFraud/> In other cases, there are some individuals who are 100% Native American but, if all of their recent ancestors are from different tribes, ] could result in them not meeting the citizenship criteria for any one of those individual tribes. Pember concludes:
	Proposals for ] heightened the tensions of cultural changes, due to the increase in the number of ] Native Americans in the South. Full bloods, who tended to live in areas less affected by colonial encroachment, generally worked to maintain traditional ways, including control of communal lands. While the traditional members often resented the sale of tribal lands to Anglo-Americans, by the 1830s they agreed it was not possible to go to war with the colonists on this issue.
			{{blockquote|The subjects of genuine American Indian blood, cultural connection and recognition by the community are extremely contentious issues, hotly debated throughout Indian country and beyond. The whole situation, some say, is ripe for misinterpretation, confusion and, ultimately, exploitation.<ref name=EthnicFraud>{{cite web|url=https://diverseeducation.com/article/6918/|title=Ethnic Fraud|date=January 25, 2007|website=diverseeducation}}</ref>|title=|source=}}
	==Who are Native Americans?==
	{{Further|Native American identity in the United States|Cherokee freedmen controversy}}
	=== Admixture and genetics ===		===Admixture and genetics===
	] around 1877; they include men with some European and African ancestry.<ref>Charles Hudson, ''The Southeastern Indians'', 1976, p. 479.</ref>]]		] around 1877; they include men with some European and African ancestry.<ref>Charles Hudson, ''The Southeastern Indians'', 1976, p. 479.</ref>]]
	Intertribal mixing was common among Native American tribes, so individuals often had ancestry from more than one tribe, particularly after tribes lost so many members from disease.<ref name="accessgenealogy1"/> Bands or entire tribes occasionally split or merged to form more viable groups in reaction to the pressures of climate, disease and warfare.<ref name="eurekalert.org">, ''Eureka Alert'', Department of Energy Public Newslist</ref>		Intertribal marriage is historically common among many Native American tribes, both prior to European contact and in the present. Historically, tribal conflicts might result in the eventual adoption of, or marriages with, captives taken in warfare, with former foes becoming full members of the community. Individuals often have ancestry from more than one tribe, and this became increasingly common after so many tribes lost family members to ] bringing disease, war and massacres. Bands or entire tribes were often reduced to very small numbers, and at times split or merged to form stronger communities in reaction to these pressures.<ref name="eurekalert.org">, ''Eureka Alert'', Department of Energy Public Newslist</ref>
	A number of tribes traditionally adopted ] into their group to replace members who had been captured or killed in battle. These captives were from rival tribes and later from European settlements. Some tribes also sheltered or adopted white traders and runaway slaves, and others owned slaves of their own. Tribes with long trading histories with Europeans show a higher rate of European admixture, reflecting years of intermarriage between European men and Native American women.<ref name="eurekalert.org"/> A number of paths to genetic and ethnic diversity among Native Americans existed.
			Tribes with long trading histories with Europeans show a higher rate of European admixture, reflecting admixture events between Native American women and European men.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Singh Malhi | first=Ripan | title=Distribution of Y chromosomes among native North Americans: A study of Athapaskan population history | journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology | publisher=Wiley | volume=137 | issue=4 | year=2008 | issn=0002-9483 | doi=10.1002/ajpa.20883 | pages=412–424| pmid=18618732 | pmc=2584155 }}</ref><ref name="eurekalert.org"/>
	In recent years, genetic genealogists have been able to determine the proportion of Native American ancestry carried by the African-American population. The literary and history scholar ] had experts on his TV programs who discussed African-American ancestry. They stated that 5% of African Americans have at least 12.5% Native American ancestry. A greater percentage could have a smaller proportion of Indian ancestry, but their conclusions show that popular estimates of admixture may have been too high.<ref>Henry Louis Gates, Jr., ''In Search of Our Roots: How 19 Extraordinary African Americans Reclaimed Their Past'', New York: Crown Publishers, 2009, pp. 20–21.</ref>
			The ] has also said that ] testing is not a valid means of determining Native American ancestry, and that the concept of using genetic testing to determine who is or is not Native American threatens ].<ref name="genej">{{cite web | last=Marks | first=Jonathan | title=Genetic "Markers"- Not a Valid Test of Native Identity | website=Indigenous People's Council on Biocolonialism | url=http://www.ipcb.org/publications/briefing_papers/files/identity.html | access-date=2023-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725075627/http://www.ipcb.org/publications/briefing_papers/files/identity.html|archive-date= 25 July 2008|url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Fitzgerald">{{cite book |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=Kathleen J. |title=Recognizing Race and Ethnicity: Power, Privilege, and Inequality |date=3 June 2020 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-51440-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4T_pDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT102 |language=en}}</ref> Author of ''Native American DNA: Tribal Belonging and the False Promise of Genetic Science'', ] (]), agrees, stating that not only is there no DNA test that can indicate a tribe, but "there is no DNA-test to prove you're Native American."<ref name=CBCTallBear>{{cite news|last1=Geddes|first1=Linda|title='There is no DNA test to prove you're Native American' |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129554-400-there-is-no-dna-test-to-prove-youre-native-american/ |accessdate=31 May 2019 |work=]|date=5 February 2014|archive-date=March 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315112433/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129554-400-there-is-no-dna-test-to-prove-youre-native-american/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=NativeDNA>{{Cite book| title=Native American DNA: Tribal-belonging and the false Promise of Genetic Science| isbn=| last1=TallBear| first1=Kim| author-link= Kim TallBear|year=2013|pages= 132–136}}</ref> Tallbear writes in ''Native American DNA'' that while a DNA test may bring up some markers associated with some Indigenous or Asian populations, the science in these cases is problematic,<ref name=CBCTallBear/> as Indigenous identity is not about one distant (and possibly nonexistent) ancestor, but rather political citizenship, culture, kinship, and daily, lived experience as part of an Indigenous community.<ref name=NativeDNA/> She adds that a person, "… could have up to two Native American grandparents and show no sign of Native American ancestry. For example, a genetic male could have a maternal grandfather (from whom he did not inherit his Y chromosome) and a paternal grandmother (from whom he did not inherit his mtDNA) who were descended from Native American founders, but mtDNA and Y-chromosome analyses would not detect them."<ref name="TallBear 31–66"/>
	DNA testing is not sufficient to qualify a person for specific tribal membership, as it cannot distinguish among Native American groups.
			Given all these factors, DNA testing is not sufficient to qualify a person for specific tribal membership, as the ethnicity admixture tests cannot distinguish among Native American tribes. They cannot even reliably indicate Native American ancestry:<ref name="bldl2"/>
	Native American identity has historically been based on culture, not just biology, as many American Indian peoples adopted captives from their enemies and assimilated them into their tribes. The Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism (IPCB) notes that:<blockquote>"Native American markers" are not found solely among Native Americans. While they occur more frequently among Native Americans, they are also found in people in other parts of the world.<ref name="bldl2">{{cite web |url=http://www.weyanoke.org/historyculture/hc-DNAandIndianAncestry.html |title=Can DNA Determine Who is American Indian?
	|author=Kim TallBear, Phd., Associate, Red Nation Consulting |accessdate=2009-10-27|year=2008 |publisher=The WEYANOKE Association}}</ref></blockquote>
	Geneticists state:<blockquote>Not all Native Americans have been tested; especially with the large number of deaths due to disease such as small pox, it is unlikely that Native Americans only have the genetic markers they have identified, even when their maternal or paternal bloodline does not include a non-Native American.<ref name="hur"/><ref name="bldl1"/></blockquote>
			<blockquote>"Native American markers" are not found solely among Native Americans. While they occur more frequently among Native Americans, they are also found in people in other parts of the world.<ref name="bldl2">{{cite web |url=http://www.weyanoke.org/historyculture/hc-DNAandIndianAncestry.html |title=Can DNA Determine Who is American Indian? |last=TallBear |first=Kim |access-date=2009-10-27 |year=2008 |publisher=The WEYANOKE Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724191733/http://www.weyanoke.org/historyculture/hc-DNAandIndianAncestry.html |archive-date=July 24, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref></blockquote>
	=== Tribal classifications ===
	To receive tribal services, a Native American must be a certified member of a recognized tribal organization. Each tribal government makes its own rules for eligibility of citizens or tribal members. The federal government has standards related to services available to certified Native Americans. For instance, federal scholarships for Native Americans require the student to be enrolled in a federally recognized tribe and have at least one-quarter Native American descent (equivalent to one grandparent), attested to by a ] (CDIB) card. Among tribes, qualification may be based upon a required percentage of Native American "blood" (or the "]") of an individual seeking recognition, or documented descent from an ancestor on the ] or other registers.
			The only use of DNA testing by legitimate tribes is that some, such as the ], may use DNA for paternity tests, or similar confirmation that an applicant who was not enrolled at birth is the biological child of an enrolled tribal member. It is solely about confirming or ruling out biological paternity, and has no relationship to race or ethnicity.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |title=Meshkawi Tribe Enrollment |url=https://www.meskwaki.org/about-us/enrollment/ |access-date=August 11, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Meshkawi Tribal Constitution - Sec. 10-4106| newspaper=Google Docs |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qHYvNQxCV_1YMSoFIrmsyQeqGZBhOSJe/view?pli=1|access-date=August 11, 2023|quote=. Burden of Proof. (b) To meet its burden to establish paternity, an applicant must submit a DNA test which uses a twelve- (12) marker protocol, or certified test results from another DNA company which has a degree of accuracy which is as great as or greater than that provided by a DNA test which uses a 12-marker protocol, certified by a competent court, and which establishes paternity necessary for membership. The cost of the paternity test shall be borne by the Tribe.}}</ref>
	Some tribes have begun requiring ]ing, but this is usually related to an individual's proving parentage or direct descent from a certified member.<ref>, Race Science Now (August 30, 2005), Retrieved 2006-02-20.{{dead link|date=April 2013}}</ref> Requirements for tribal membership vary widely by tribe. The Cherokee require documented genealogical descent from a Native American listed on the early 1906 ]. Tribal rules regarding recognition of members who have heritage from multiple tribes are equally diverse and complex.
			====African American admixtures====
	Tribal membership conflicts have led to a number of legal disputes, court cases, and the formation of activist groups. One example of this are the ]. Today, they include descendants of African Americans once enslaved by the Cherokees, who were granted, by federal treaty, citizenship in the ] as freedmen after the ]. The ], in the early 1980s, excluded them from citizenship, unless individuals can prove descent from a Cherokee Native American (not Cherokee Freedmen) listed on the Dawes Rolls.
			{{Main|Black Indians in the United States#Genealogy and genetics}}
			] testing and research has provided some data about the extent of Native American ancestry among African Americans, which varies in the general population. Based on the work of ], ] historian ] hosted a popular, and at times controversial, ] series, '']'', in which geneticists said DNA evidence shows that Native American ancestry is far less common among African Americans than previously believed.<ref name="Root2">{{cite web|last=Gates|first=Henry Louis Jr.|url= https://www.theroot.com/high-cheekbones-and-straight-black-hair-1790878167 |title=High Cheekbones and Straight Black Hair?| work=]|date=29 Dec 2014|access-date=19 July 2019}}</ref><ref name=GatesNPR>{{cite web|url= https://www.npr.org/2019/01/21/686531998/historian-henry-louis-gates-jr-on-dna-testing-and-finding-his-own-roots |title=Historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. On DNA Testing And Finding His Own Roots - Transcript| work=]|date=21 Jan 2017|access-date=19 July 2019}}</ref> Their conclusions were that while almost all African Americans are racially mixed, and many have family stories of Native heritage, usually these stories turn out to be inaccurate,<ref name="Root2"/><ref name=GatesNPR/> with only 5 percent of African American people showing more than 2 percent Native American ancestry.<ref name=Root2/>
	=== Increased self-identification ===
	Since the census of 2000, people who have, or believe they have, Native American ancestry may designate themselves, for census purposes, as being of more than one race.<ref name="2010 Census AMAN" /> Since the 1960s, the number of people claiming Native American ancestry has grown significantly and by the 2000 census, the number had more than doubled. Sociologists attribute this dramatic change to "ethnic shifting" or "ethnic shopping"; they believe that it reflects a willingness of people to question their birth identities and adopt new ethnicities which they find more compatible. The author ] writes:
			Gates summarized these statistics to mean that, "If you have 2 percent Native American ancestry, you had one such ancestor on your family tree five to nine generations back (150 to 270 years ago)."<ref name="Root2" /> Their findings also concluded that the most common "non-Black" mix among African Americans is English and ]. Some critics thought the PBS series did not sufficiently explain the limitations of DNA testing for assessment of heritage.<ref name="hur">{{cite news |author=Troy Duster |year=2008 |title=Deep Roots and Tangled Branches |url=http://www.geneticsandsociety.org/article.php?id=3908 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726082531/http://www.geneticsandsociety.org/article.php?id=3908 |archive-date=2011-07-26 |access-date=2008-10-02 |newspaper=Chronicle of Higher Education}}</ref> Another study, published in the '']'', also indicated that, despite how common these family stories are, relatively few African Americans who have these stories actually turned out to have detectable Native American ancestry.<ref name="AJHG1">{{cite journal |author=Esteban Parra |display-authors=etal |year=1998 |title=Estimating African American Admixture Proportions by Use of Population-Specific Alleles |url= |journal=American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=63 |issue=6 |pages=1839–1851 |doi=10.1086/302148 |pmc=1377655 |pmid=9837836}}</ref> A study reported in the ''American Journal of Human Genetics'' stated, "We analyzed the European genetic contribution to 10 populations of African descent in the United States (Maywood, Illinois; Detroit; New York; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Baltimore; Charleston, South Carolina; New Orleans; and Houston)&nbsp;... mtDNA haplogroups analysis shows no evidence of a significant maternal Amerindian contribution to any of the 10 populations."<ref name="AJHG">{{cite journal |last1=Parra |first1=Esteban J. |year=1998 |title=Estimating African American Admixture Proportions by Use of Population |url= |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=63 |issue=6 |pages=1839–1851 |doi=10.1086/302148 |pmc=1377655 |pmid=9837836}}</ref> Despite this, some still insist that most African Americans have at least some Native American heritage.<ref name="dstu">{{cite web |author=Sherrel Wheeler Stewart |year=2008 |title=More Blacks are Exploring the African-American/Native American Connection |url=http://www.rlnn.com/ArtOct06/MoreBlacksAfricanAmerNativeAmerConnection.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061031200938/http://www.rlnn.com/ArtOct06/MoreBlacksAfricanAmerNativeAmerConnection.html |archive-date=October 31, 2006 |access-date=2008-08-06 |publisher=BlackAmericaWeb.com}}</ref>
	{{quote|The reaction from lifelong Indians runs the gamut. It is easy to find Native Americans who denounce many of these new Indians as members of the wannabe tribe. But it is also easy to find Indians like Clem Iron Wing, an elder among the ], who sees this flood of new ethnic claims as magnificent, a surge of Indians ''trying to come home.'' Those Indians who ridicule Iron Wing's lax sense of tribal membership have retrofitted the old genocidal system of blood quantum—measuring racial purity by blood—into the new standard for real Indianness, a choice rich with paradox.<ref name="Newest Indians"/>}}
			An autosomal study from 2019 found small but detectable amounts of Native American ancestry among African-Americans, ranging from an average of 1.2% in the ] region, to 1.9% on the ]. The median amount of Native ancestry in African-Americans was found to be 1% nationwide.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jordan |first1=I. King |last2=Rishishwar |first2=Lavanya |last3=Conley |first3=Andrew B. |date=2019-09-23 |title=Native American admixture recapitulates population-specific migration and settlement of the continental United States |journal=PLOS Genetics |language=en |volume=15 |issue=9 |pages=e1008225 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1008225 |doi-access=free |issn=1553-7404 |pmc=6756731 |pmid=31545791}}</ref>
	The journalist Mary Annette Pember notes that identifying with Native American culture may be a result of a person's increased interest in genealogy, the romanticization of the lifestyle, and a family tradition of distant Native American ancestors. Problems in classification are compounded by different qualifications for tribal membership by different tribes, a fear of registering with a tribe because it is seen as a method of control initiated by the federal government, and the problem of individuals who are of 100% Native American background who, because of their mixed tribal heritage, do not qualify to belong to any individual tribe. Pember concludes:
			==== White and Hispanic admixtures ====
	{{quote|"The subjects of genuine American Indian blood, cultural connection and recognition by the community are extremely contentious issues, hotly debated throughout Indian country and beyond. The whole situation, some say, is ripe for misinterpretation, confusion and, ultimately, exploitation."{{Citation needed|date=January 2013}}}}
			An ] DNA study published in 2019 found evidence of minimal Native American ancestry among non-Hispanic White Americans, ranging from an average of 0.18% in the ] region to 0.93% in the ] region. However, the majority of White Americans were found to have no detectable Native American ancestry, with the median amount of European ancestry being 99.8% in White participants.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jordan |first1=I. King |last2=Rishishwar |first2=Lavanya |last3=Conley |first3=Andrew B. |date=2019-09-23 |title=Native American admixture recapitulates population-specific migration and settlement of the continental United States |journal=PLOS Genetics |language=en |volume=15 |issue=9 |pages=e1008225 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1008225 |doi-access=free |issn=1553-7404 |pmc=6756731 |pmid=31545791}}</ref>
			] Americans, on the other hand, were found to have a large and varying amount of Native American ancestry, with a median of 38% nationwide. This ancestry was the highest among Hispanics from the ] (Texas and Oklahoma) at 43.2%, and the West Coast, at 42.6%, reflecting the predominant ] population in these regions. Hispanics from the Mid-Atlantic, on the other hand, averaged only 11.1% Native American ancestry, reflecting the predominant ] and ] populations among Hispanics from that region.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jordan |first1=I. King |last2=Rishishwar |first2=Lavanya |last3=Conley |first3=Andrew B. |date=2019-09-23 |title=Native American admixture recapitulates population-specific migration and settlement of the continental United States |journal=PLOS Genetics |language=en |volume=15 |issue=9 |pages=e1008225 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1008225 |doi-access=free |issn=1553-7404 |pmc=6756731 |pmid=31545791}}</ref>
	===Genetics===
	{{details|Genetic history of indigenous peoples of the Americas}}
	The ] primarily focuses on ] and ]. "Y-DNA" is passed solely along the ] line, from father to son, while "mtDNA" is passed down the ] line, from mother to offspring of both sexes. Neither ], and thus Y-DNA and mtDNA change only by chance mutation at each generation with no intermixture between parents' genetic material.<ref name="nomenclature">{{cite journal |year=2002 |title=A Nomenclature System for the Tree of Human Y-Chromosomal Binary Haplogroups |pages=339–348 |volume=12|issue=2|doi=10.1101/gr.217602 |last1=Consortium |first1=T. Y C. |journal=Genome Research |pmid=11827954 |pmc=155271}} </ref> ] "atDNA" markers are also used, but differ from mtDNA or Y-DNA in that they overlap significantly.<ref name="Griffiths"/> Autosomal DNA is generally used to measure the average continent-of-ancestry ] in the entire ] and related ].<ref name="Griffiths">{{Cite book |last=Griffiths |first=Anthony J. F. |title=An Introduction to genetic analysis |year=1999|publisher=W.H. Freeman |location=New York |isbn=0-7167-3771-X|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?highlight=autosome&rid=iga.section.222|accessdate=2010-02-03}}</ref>
			====DNA====
	The genetic pattern indicates Indigenous Americans experienced two very distinctive genetic episodes; first with the initial-peopling of the ], and secondly with ].<ref name="SpencerWells2">{{Cite book |first1=Spencer |last1=Wells |first2=Mark |last2=Read |title=The Journey of Man&nbsp;— A Genetic Odyssey |url=http://books.google.com/?id=WAsKm-_zu5sC&lpg=PP1|format=Digitised online by Google books |publisher=Random House |isbn= 0-8129-7146-9 |accessdate=2009-11-21 |year=2002}}</ref><ref name="Genebase">{{cite web |title=Learn about Y-DNA Haplogroup Q. Genebase Tutorials |first=Wendy Tymchuk Senior Technical Editor |url=http://www.genebase.com/tutorial/item.php?tuId=16|format=Verbal tutorial possible |publisher=Genebase Systems |year=2008|accessdate=2009-11-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author=Orgel L |title=Prebiotic chemistry and the origin of the RNA world|url=http://www.d.umn.edu/~pschoff/documents/OrgelRNAWorld.pdf |journal=Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=99–123 |pmid=15217990 |doi=10.1080/10409230490460765 |format=PDF |year=2004 |accessdate=2010-01-19}}</ref> The former is the determinant factor for the number of ] lineages, ] mutations and founding ]s present in today's Indigenous Amerindian ].<ref name="Genebase"/>
			{{Main|Genetic history of indigenous peoples of the Americas}}
			{{See also|Y-DNA haplogroups in Indigenous peoples of the Americas}}
			The ] primarily focuses on ] and ]. "Y-DNA" is passed solely along the ] line, from father to son, while "mtDNA" is passed down the ] line, from mother to offspring of both sexes. Neither ], and thus Y-DNA and mtDNA change only by chance mutation at each generation with no intermixture between parents' genetic material.<ref name="nomenclature">{{cite journal |year=2002 |title=A Nomenclature System for the Tree of Human Y-Chromosomal Binary Haplogroups |pages=339–348 |volume=12|issue=2|doi=10.1101/gr.217602 |last1=Consortium |first1=T. Y C. |journal=Genome Research |pmid=11827954 |pmc=155271}} </ref> ] "atDNA" markers are also used, but differ from mtDNA or Y-DNA in that they overlap significantly.<ref name="Griffiths"/> Autosomal DNA is generally used to measure the average continent-of-ancestry ] in the entire ] and related ].<ref name="Griffiths">{{Cite book |last=Griffiths |first=Anthony J. F. |title=An Introduction to genetic analysis |year=1999|publisher=W.H. Freeman |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7167-3771-1|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?highlight=autosome&rid=iga.section.222|access-date=February 3, 2010}}</ref> Within mtDNA, genetic scientists have found specific nucleotide sequences that they have classified as "Native American markers" because the sequences are understood to have been inherited through the generations of genetic females within populations first found in the "New World". There are five primary Native American mtDNA haplogroups in which there are clusters of closely linked markers inherited together. All five haplogroups have been identified by researchers as "prehistoric Native North American samples", and it is commonly asserted that the majority of living Native Americans possess one of the common five mtDNA haplogroup markers.<ref name="TallBear 31–66"/>
	Human settlement of the ] occurred in stages from the ], with an initial 15, 000 to 20,000-year layover on ] for the small ].<ref name="SpencerWells2"/><ref name="First">{{Cite journal |title=First Americans Endured 20,000-Year Layover&nbsp;— Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News |url =http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/02/13/beringia-native-american.html |accessdate=2009-11-18 |publisher=]}} .</ref><ref name="first2">{{cite web |title=New World Settlers Took 20,000-Year Pit Stop |first=Ker |last=Than |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080214-america-layover.html |publisher=National Geographic Society |year=2008 |accessdate=2010-01-23}}</ref> The ] diversity and distributions of the Y lineage specific to ] indicates that certain Amerindian populations have been isolated since the initial colonization of the region.<ref name="subclades">{{cite web |title=Summary of knowledge on the subclades of Haplogroup Q|url=http://64.40.115.138/file/lu/6/52235/NTIyMzV9K3szNTc2Nzc=.jpg?download=1 |publisher=Genebase Systems |year=2009 |accessdate=2009-11-22}}</ref> The ], ] and ] populations exhibit ] mutations, however, that are distinct from other indigenous Amerindians, and that have various mtDNA and atDNA mutations.<ref name="NaDene">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1073/pnas.95.23.13994 |author=Ruhlen M |title=The origin of the Na-Dene |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=95 |issue=23 |pages=13994–6 |year=1998 |pmid=9811914 |pmc=25007}}</ref><ref name="Zhivotovsky">{{Cite journal |author=Zegura SL, Karafet TM, Zhivotovsky LA, Hammer MF |title=High-resolution SNPs and microsatellite haplotypes point to a single, recent entry of Native American Y chromosomes into the Americas |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=164–75 |year=2004 |pmid=14595095 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msh009}}</ref><ref name="inuit">{{cite journal |title=mtDNA Variation among Greenland Eskimos. The Edge of the Beringian Expansion |author=Juliette Saillard, Peter Forster, Niels Lynnerup1, Hans-Jürgen Bandelt and Søren Nørby |year=2000 |doi=10.1086/303038 |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=67 |issue=3|pages=718–726}}</ref> This suggests that the paleo-Indian migrants into the northern extremes of ] and ] were descended from a later, independent migrant population.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The peopling of the New World&nbsp;— Perspectives from Molecular Anthropology |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |year=2004 |volume=33 |doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.33.070203.143932 |pages=551–583 |last1=Schurr |first1=Theodore G.}}</ref><ref name=Nadene1>{{cite journal|title=Native American Mitochondrial DNA Analysis Indicates That the Amerind and the Nadene Populations Were Founded by Two Independent Migrations|author=A. Torroni ''et al.'' |volume=130 |pages=153–162 |pmid=1346260 |year=1992 |issue=1 |pmc=1204788|journal=Genetics}}</ref>
			The genetic pattern indicates Indigenous Americans experienced two very distinctive genetic episodes; first with the initial-peopling of the Americas, and secondly with ].<ref name="SpencerWells3">{{Cite book |first1=Spencer |last1=Wells |first2=Mark |last2=Read |title=The Journey of Man&nbsp;— A Genetic Odyssey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WAsKm-_zu5sC&pg=PP1|format=Digitised online by Google books |publisher=Random House |isbn= 978-0-8129-7146-0 |year=2002}}</ref><ref name="Genebase">{{cite web|title=Learn about Y-DNA Haplogroup Q. Genebase Tutorials |author=Wendy Tymchuk |url=http://www.genebase.com/tutorial/item.php?tuId=16 |format=Verbal tutorial possible |publisher=Genebase Systems |year=2008 |access-date=November 21, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100622001311/http://www.genebase.com/tutorial/item.php?tuId=16 |archive-date=June 22, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author=Orgel L |title=Prebiotic chemistry and the origin of the RNA world|url=http://www.d.umn.edu/~pschoff/documents/OrgelRNAWorld.pdf |journal=Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=99–123 |pmid=15217990 |doi=10.1080/10409230490460765 |year=2004 |access-date=January 19, 2010|citeseerx=10.1.1.537.7679|s2cid=4939632 }}</ref> The former is the determinant factor for the number of ] lineages, ] mutations and founding ]s present in today's Indigenous American ].<ref name="Genebase"/>
	==See also==
	{{Too many see alsos|date=October 2012}}
	{{Portal|Indigenous peoples of North America|United States}}
	{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	{{div col end}}
			The most popular theory is that human settlement of the Americas occurred in stages from the ], with an initial 15,000 to 20,000-year layover on ] for the small ].<ref name="SpencerWells3"/><ref name="First">{{Cite web|title=First Americans Endured 20,000-Year Layover&nbsp;— Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News |url=http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/02/13/beringia-native-american.html |access-date=November 18, 2009 |publisher=] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010092348/http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/02/13/beringia-native-american.html |archive-date=October 10, 2012}} {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313061401/http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/02/13/beringia-native-american-02.html |date=March 13, 2012}}</ref><ref name="first2">{{cite web |title=New World Settlers Took 20,000-Year Pit Stop |first=Ker |last=Than |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080214-america-layover.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080219013512/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080214-america-layover.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 19, 2008 |work=National Geographic Society |year=2008 |access-date=January 23, 2010}}</ref> The ] diversity and distributions of the Y lineage specific to South America indicates that certain ] populations have been isolated since the initial colonization of the region.<ref name="subclades">{{cite web|title=Summary of knowledge on the subclades of Haplogroup Q |url=http://64.40.115.138/file/lu/6/52235/NTIyMzV9K3szNTc2Nzc=.jpg?download=1 |publisher=Genebase Systems |year=2009 |access-date=November 22, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510204204/http://64.40.115.138/file/lu/6/52235/NTIyMzV9K3szNTc2Nzc%3D.jpg?download=1 |archive-date=May 10, 2011}}</ref> The ], ] and ] populations exhibit ] mutations, however, that are distinct from other Indigenous Amerindians, and that have various mtDNA and atDNA mutations.<ref name="NaDene">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1073/pnas.95.23.13994 |author=Ruhlen M |title=The origin of the Na-Dene |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=95 |issue=23 |pages=13994–6 |year=1998 |pmid=9811914 |pmc=25007|bibcode=1998PNAS...9513994R |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Zhivotovsky">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Zegura SL, Karafet TM, Zhivotovsky LA, Hammer MF |title=High-resolution SNPs and microsatellite haplotypes point to a single, recent entry of Native American Y chromosomes into the Americas |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=164–75 |year=2004 |pmid=14595095 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msh009 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="inuit">{{cite journal |title=mtDNA Variation among Greenland Eskimos. The Edge of the Beringian Expansion |vauthors=Saillard J, Forster P, Lynnerup N, Bandelt HJ, Nørby S |year=2000 |doi=10.1086/303038 |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=67 |issue=3|pages=718–726 |pmid=10924403 |pmc=1287530}}</ref> This suggests that the paleo-Indian migrants into the northern extremes of North America and ] were descended from a later, independent migrant population.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The peopling of the New World&nbsp;— Perspectives from Molecular Anthropology |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |year=2004 |volume=33 |doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.33.070203.143932 |pages=551–583 |last1=Schurr |first1=Theodore G.|s2cid=4647888}}</ref><ref name="Nadene1">{{cite journal|title=Native American Mitochondrial DNA Analysis Indicates That the Amerind and the Nadene Populations Were Founded by Two Independent Migrations|author=A. Torroni |volume=130 |pages=153–162 |pmid=1346260 |year=1992 |issue=1 |pmc=1204788|journal=Genetics|doi=10.1093/genetics/130.1.153 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>
	==Notes==
	{{reflist|3}}
			Genetic analyses of HLA I and HLA II genes as well as HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 gene frequencies links the ] of northern ] and southeastern ] to some ], especially to populations on the ] such as ]. Scientists suggest that the main ancestor of the Ainu and of some Native American groups can be traced back to ] groups in ].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tokunaga |first1=Katsushi |last2=Ohashi |first2=Jun |last3=Bannai |first3=Makoto |last4=Juji |first4=Takeo |title=Genetic link between Asians and native Americans: evidence from HLA genes and haplotypes |journal=Human Immunology |date=September 2001 |volume=62 |issue=9 |pages=1001–1008 |doi=10.1016/S0198-8859(01)00301-9 |pmid=11543902}}</ref>
			==See also==
			{{Portal bar|Indigenous peoples of the Americas|United States}}
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ] (notable Native Americans)
			* ]
			* ]
	==References==		==References==
	{{refbegin|2}}		{{Reflist|24em}}
	* Barak, Gregg, Paul Leighton, and Jeanne Flavin. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2010. ISBN 978-0-7425-9969-7.
	* Adams, David Wallace. ''Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience 1875–1928'', , 1975. ISBN 0-7006-0735-8 (hbk); ISBN 0-7006-0838-9 (pbk).
	* Anderson, Owanah. ''Jamestown Commitment: the Episcopal Church and the American Indian''. Cincinnati, Ohio: Forward Movement Publications, 1988. 170 p. ISBN 0-88028-082-4
	* Bierhorst, John. ''A Cry from the Earth: Music of North American Indians''. ISBN 0-941270-53-X.
	* ]. 1969. ''].'' New York: Macmillan.
	* Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR), Title 50: Wildlife and Fisheries Part 22-Eagle permits {{cite web|url=http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title50/50cfr22_main_02.tpl |title=Electronic Code of Federal Regulations: |publisher=Ecfr.gpoaccess.gov |date=February 27, 2007 |accessdate=2010-08-22}}
	* Hirschfelder, Arlene B.; Byler, Mary G.; & Dorris, Michael. ''Guide to research on North American Indians''. American Library Association (1983). ISBN 0-8389-0353-3.
	* Johnston, Eric F. ''The Life of the Native American'', Atlanta, GA: Tradewinds Press (2003).
	* Johnston, Eric. ''The Life Of the Native''. Philadelphia, PA: E.C. Biddle, etc. 1836–44. University of Georgia Library.
	* Jones, Peter N. ''Respect for the Ancestors: American Indian Cultural Affiliation in the American West''. Boulder, CO: Bauu Press (2005). ISBN 0-9721349-2-1.
	* {{cite book|last1=Kroeber |first1= Alfred L. |title= Cultural and Natural Areas of Native North America |publisher= University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology|year=1939|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=_M70pNlgDf0C}}
	* Nichols, Roger L. ''Indians in the United States & Canada, A Comparative History''. University of Nebraska Press (1998). ISBN 0-8032-8377-6.
	* {{cite book|last1=Pohl |first1= Frances K. |url=http://www.thamesandhudsonusa.com/new/fall02/523792.htm |title=Framing America: A Social History of American Art|location=New York|publisher=Thames & Hudson |year= 2002 |pages= 54–56, 105–106 & 110–111|isbn=0-500-23792-1}}{{dead link|date=August 2011}}
	* {{cite journal|last1 = Shanley|first1 = Kathryn Winona|year = 2004|title = The Paradox of Native American Indian Intellectualism and Literature|url = http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5008600865|journal = Melus|volume = 29|issue =}}
	* {{cite journal|last1 = Shanley|first1 = Kathryn Winona|url=http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=76961328 |title=The Indians America Loves to Love and Read: American Indian Identity and Cultural Appropriation|journal=American Indian Quarterly |volume= 21 |issue= 4 |year= 1997 |pages=675–702|doi=10.2307/1185719}}
	* Krech, Shepard. ''The Ecological Indian: Myth and History'', New York: W.W. Norton, 1999. 352 p.&nbsp;ISBN 0-393-04755-5
	* {{cite book|last1=Shohat |first1= Ella |last2= Stam |first2= Robert|title= Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media |location= New York |publisher= Routledge |year= 1994|isbn=0-415-06324-8}}
	* Sletcher, Michael, "North American Indians", in Will Kaufman and Heidi Macpherson, eds., ''Britain and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History'', New York: Oxford University Press, 2005, 2 vols.
	* {{cite book|last1=Snipp |first1= C.M. |title=American Indians: The first of this land|location = New York |publisher= Russell Sage Foundation |year= 1989|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=E0CsvVoVA90C|isbn=0-87154-822-4}}
	* Sturtevant, William C. (Ed.). '']'' (Vol. 1–20). Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution. (Vols. 1–3, 16, 18–20 not yet published), (1978–present).
	* Tiller, Veronica E. (Ed.). ''Discover Indian Reservations USA: A Visitors' Welcome Guide''. Foreword by ]. Denver, CO: Council Publications, 1992. ISBN 0-9632580-0-1.
	{{refend}}
	==External links==		==External links==
			{{Sister project links|d=Q49297|wikt=American Indian|c=Category:Native American people of the United States|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|s=no|species=no}}
	{{Commons|Native Americans}}
			* of the ], part of the ]
	* , 2011, Official Website, multi-media platform, a partnership between the ] and KVCR, a ] member station located in California’s ].
			* of the ]
	* from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''
	* from the ] ] project		* from the ]
			* of the ], part of the ]
	* {{dmoz|Society/Ethnicity/The_Americas/Indigenous/Native_Americans}}
	* , Archival Research Catalog, ]		* of the ] – a law library of federal Indian and tribal law
	* , University of South Carolina Library's Digital Collections Page
	* , National Archives at Atlanta
	*
	*
	*
	* in the Claremont Colleges Digital Library
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Revision as of 08:28, 28 December 2024

Indigenous peoples of the United States

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Ethnic group

Native Americans

Proportion of Native Americans in each county as of the 2020 US census
Total population
Alone (one race) 3,727,135 (2020 census) 1.12% of the total US population In combination (multiracial) 5,938,923 (2020 census) 1.79% of the total US population Alone or in combination 9,666,058 (2020 census) 2.92% of the total US population
Regions with significant populations
Predominantly in Alaska, the Western and Midwestern, with smaller communities in the Eastern United States.
California	631,016
Oklahoma	332,791
Arizona	319,512
Texas	278,948
New Mexico	212,241
Languages
English Native American languages (including Navajo, Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Tlingit, Haida, Dakota, Seneca, Lakota, Western Apache, Keres, Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Kiowa, Comanche, Osage, Zuni, Pawnee, Shawnee, Winnebago, Ojibwe, Cree, O'odham) Spanish Native Pidgin (extinct) French
Religion
Predominantly Traditional Native American religions, unique to specific tribes or bands Native American Church Christian, denomination dependent on tribe Protestant Catholic Russian Orthodox (mostly in Alaska)
Related ethnic groups
Indigenous peoples of the Americas Indigenous peoples in Canada Indigenous peoples of Mexico Indigenous peoples of South America

Part of a series on
Native Americans in the United States
History Paleo-Indians Lithic stage Archaic period in the Americas Formative stage Classic stage Post-Classic stage Woodland period Age of Discovery European colonization of the Americas Population history of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas Genocide Paper genocide Slavery Slavery in the United States Partus sequitur ventrem Indian Removal Act Trail of Tears Native American slave ownership Indian Territory American Civil War Dawes Rolls Cultural assimilation of Native Americans Racism against Native Americans Indian Appropriations Act Racial Integrity Act Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 Jim Crow laws Blood quantum laws Native Americans and World War II American Indian boarding schools Civil rights movement Red Power movement Native American rights Alcohol and Native Americans Native American temperance activists
Culture Mississippian culture Adena culture Hohokam culture Iroquois culture Art Food Music Pow wow Dance Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Film Indigenous Peoples' Day Literature Fashion Neighborhoods Health Tribal sovereignty
Wars Beaver Wars Anglo-Powhatan Wars Pequot War Kieft's War Peach Tree War Esopus Wars King Philip's War Tuscarora War Yamasee War Dummer's War Pontiac's War Lord Dunmore's War American Revolutionary War Cherokee–American wars Northwest Indian War War of 1812 Creek War Arikara War Seminole Wars / Second Seminole War Osage Indian War American Civil War Texas–Indian wars (1836–1877) / Comanche Wars (1836–1877) / (1858)|Antelope Hills expedition / Comanche Campaign (1867–1875) / Red River War (1874–1875) / Buffalo Hunters' War (1876–1877) Cayuse War Apache Wars (1849–1924) / Jicarilla War (1849–1855) / Chiricahua Wars (1860–1886) / Tonto War (1871–1875) / Victorio's War (1879–1880) / Geronimo's War (1881–1886) / Post 1887 Apache Wars period (1887–1924) Yuma War Ute Wars(1850–1923) / Battle at Fort Utah (1850) / Walker War (1853–1854) / Tintic War (1856) / Black Hawk War (1865–1872) / White River War (1879) / Ute War (1887) / Bluff War (1914–1915) / Bluff Skirmish (1921) Posey War (1923) Sioux Wars (1854–1891) / First Sioux War (1854-1856) / Dakota War (1862) / Colorado War (1863–1865) / Powder River War (1865) / Red Cloud's War (1866–1868) / Great Sioux War (1876–1877) / Northern Cheyenne Exodus (1878-1879) / Ghost Dance War (1890–1891) Rogue River Wars (1855–1856) Yakima War (1855–1858) / Puget Sound War (1855–1856) / Coeur d'Alene War (1858) Mohave War(1858–1859) Navajo Wars (1849–1866) Paiute War(1860) Yavapai Wars(1861–1875) Snake War (1864–1869) Hualapai War (1865–1870) Modoc War (1872–1873) Nez Perce War (1877) Bannock War (1878) Crow War (1887) Bannock Uprising (1895) Yaqui Uprising (1896) Battle of Sugar Point (1898) Crazy Snake Rebellion (1909) Last Massacre (1911) Battle of Kelley Creek (1911) Battle of Bear Valley (1918)
Political movements Civil rights movement Self-determination Women in politics Nationalism American Indian Movement (AIM) Red Power Movement Occupation of Alcatraz Trail of Broken Treaties Occupation of Wounded Knee MMIW (Red handprint)
Religion American Indian Religious Freedom Act Christianity Eagle Feather law Mormonism Traditional religions Native American Church Longhouse Religion Sun Dance Keetoowah Society Midewiwin Wabunowin Wocekiye
Groups National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Native American Rights Fund (NARF) National Congress of American Indians National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) Women of All Red Nations (WARN) The International Indian Treaty Council (IITC)
Ethnic subdivisions Black Indians Indigenous peoples of the Americas Louisiana Creole
Languages English American English Native American languages
Demographics Neighborhoods Societal statistics Reservations Tribal disenrollment Reservation poverty
Geography by region Great Basin Northeastern Woodlands Northwest Plateau Pacific Northwest The Great Plains Southeastern Woodlands Southwest by state Alaska Arizona California Colorado Florida Hawaii Iowa Maryland Michigan Nebraska North Carolina Oklahoma Oregon Virginia Wisconsin
Lists Native Americans artists actors war leaders musicians congressional politicians Native American Medal of Honor recipients List of federally recognized tribes List of federally recognized tribes by state List of Indian reservations in the United States
v t e

Native Americans (also called American Indians, First Americans, or Indigenous Americans) are the Indigenous peoples of the United States, particularly of the lower 48 states and Alaska. They may also include any Americans whose origins lie in any of the indigenous peoples of North or South America. The United States Census Bureau publishes data about "American Indians and Alaska Natives", whom it defines as anyone "having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America ... and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment". The census does not, however, enumerate "Native Americans" as such, noting that the latter term can encompass a broader set of groups, e.g. Native Hawaiians, which it tabulates separately.

The European colonization of the Americas from 1492 resulted in a precipitous decline in the size of the Native American population because of newly introduced diseases, including weaponized diseases and biological warfare by colonizers, wars, ethnic cleansing, and enslavement. Numerous scholars have classified elements of the colonization process as comprising genocide against Native Americans. As part of a policy of white settler colonialism, European settlers continued to wage war and perpetrated massacres against Native American peoples, removed them from their ancestral lands, and subjected them to one-sided government treaties and discriminatory government policies. Into the 20th century, these policies focused on forced assimilation.

When the United States was established, Native American tribes were considered semi-independent nations, because they generally lived in communities which were separate from communities of white settlers. The federal government signed treaties at a government-to-government level until the Indian Appropriations Act of 1871 ended recognition of independent Native nations, and started treating them as "domestic dependent nations" subject to applicable federal laws. This law did preserve rights and privileges, including a large degree of tribal sovereignty. For this reason, many Native American reservations are still independent of state law and the actions of tribal citizens on these reservations are subject only to tribal courts and federal law. The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granted US citizenship to all Native Americans born in the US who had not yet obtained it. This emptied the "Indians not taxed" category established by the United States Constitution, allowed Natives to vote in elections, and extended the Fourteenth Amendment protections granted to people "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States. However, some states continued to deny Native Americans voting rights for decades. Titles II through VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 comprise the Indian Civil Rights Act, which applies to Native American tribes and makes many but not all of the guarantees of the U.S. Bill of Rights applicable within the tribes.

Since the 1960s, Native American self-determination movements have resulted in positive changes to the lives of many Native Americans, though there are still many contemporary issues faced by them. Today, there are over five million Native Americans in the US, about 80% of whom live outside reservations. As of 2020, the states with the highest percentage of Native Americans are Alaska, Oklahoma, Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas.

Background

Beginning toward the end of the 15th century, the migration of Europeans to the Americas led to centuries of population, cultural, and agricultural transfer and adjustment between Old and New World societies, a process known as the Columbian exchange. Because most Native American groups had preserved their histories by means of oral traditions and artwork, the first written accounts of the contact were provided by Europeans.

Ethnographers classify the Indigenous peoples of North America into ten geographical regions which are inhabited by groups of people who share certain cultural traits, called cultural areas. The ten cultural areas are:

• Arctic, including Aleut, Inuit, and Yupik peoples
• Subarctic
• Northeastern Woodlands
• Southeastern Woodlands
• Great Plains
• Great Basin
• Northwest Plateau
• Northwest Coast
• California
• Southwest (Oasisamerica)

At the time of the first contact, the Indigenous cultures were different from those of the proto-industrial and mostly Christian immigrants. Some Northeastern and Southwestern cultures, in particular, were matrilineal and they were organized and operated on a more collective basis than the culture which Europeans were familiar with. Most Indigenous American tribes treated their hunting grounds and agricultural lands as land that could be used by their entire tribe. Europeans had developed concepts of individual property rights with respect to land that were extremely different. The differences in cultures, as well as the shifting alliances among different nations during periods of warfare, caused extensive political tension, ethnic violence, and social disruption.

Native Americans suffered high fatality rates from contact with European diseases that were new to them, and to which they had not acquired immunity. Smallpox epidemics are thought to have caused the greatest loss of life for Indigenous populations. "The decline of native American populations was rapid and severe, probably the greatest demographic disaster ever. Old World diseases were the primary killer. In many regions, particularly the tropical lowlands, populations fell by 90 percent or more in the first century after the contact."

Estimates of pre-Columbian population of the United States vary from 4 to 18 million. Jeffrey Ostler writes: "Most Indigenous communities were eventually afflicted by a variety of diseases, but in many cases this happened long after Europeans first arrived. When severe epidemics did hit, it was often less because Native bodies lack immunity than because European colonialism disrupted Native Communities and damaged their resources, making them more vulnerable to pathogens."

After the thirteen British colonies revolted against Great Britain and established the United States, President George Washington and Secretary of War Henry Knox conceived the idea of "civilizing" Native Americans in preparation for their assimilation as U.S. citizens. Assimilation, whether it was voluntary, as it was with the Choctaw, or forced, was consistently maintained as a matter of policy by consecutive American administrations.

During the 19th century, the ideology known as manifest destiny became integral to the American nationalist movement. Westward expansion of European American populations after the American Revolution resulted in increasing pressure on Native Americans and their lands, warfare, and rising tensions. In 1830, the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, authorizing the federal government to relocate Native Americans from their homelands within established states to lands west of the Mississippi River, in order to accommodate continued European American expansion. This resulted in what amounted to the ethnic cleansing or genocide of many tribes, who were subjected to brutal forced marches. The most infamous of these came to be known as the Trail of Tears.

Contemporary Native Americans have a unique relationship with the United States because they may be members of nations, tribes, or bands that have sovereignty and treaty rights upon which federal Indian law and a federal Indian trust relationship are based. Cultural activism since the late 1960s has increased the participation of Indigenous peoples in American politics. It has also led to expanded efforts to teach and preserve Indigenous languages for younger generations, and to establish a more robust cultural infrastructure: Native Americans have founded independent newspapers and online media outlets, including First Nations Experience, the first Native American television channel; established Native American studies programs, tribal schools universities, museums, and language programs. Literature is at the growing forefront of American Indian studies in many genres, with the notable exception of fiction—some traditional American Indians experience fictional narratives as insulting when they conflict with traditional oral tribal narratives.

The terms used to refer to Native Americans have at times been controversial. The ways Native Americans refer to themselves vary by region and generation, with many older Native Americans self-identifying as "Indians" or "American Indians", while younger Native Americans often identify as "Indigenous" or "Aboriginal". The term "Native American" has not traditionally included Native Hawaiians or certain Alaskan Natives, such as Aleut, Yup'ik, or Inuit peoples. By comparison, the Indigenous peoples of Canada are generally known as First Nations, Inuit and Métis (FNIM).

History

Main articles: History of Native Americans in the United States and Population history of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The history of Native Americans in the United States began before the founding of the U.S., tens of thousands of years ago with the settlement of the Americas by the Paleo-Indians. The Eurasian migration to the Americas occurred over millennia via Beringia, a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska, as early humans spread southward and eastward, forming distinct cultures and societies. Archaeological evidence suggests these migrations began 60,000 years ago and continued until around 12,000 years ago. Some may have arrived even before this time fishing in kayaks along what is known as the "Kelp Highway". The early inhabitants by land were classified as Paleo-Indians, who spread throughout the Americas, diversifying into numerous culturally distinct nations. Major Paleo-Indian cultures included the Clovis and Folsom traditions, identified through unique spear points and large-game hunting methods, especially during the Lithic stage.

Around 8000 BCE, as the climate stabilized, new cultural periods like the Archaic stage arose, during which hunter-gatherer communities developed complex societies across North America. The Mound Builders created large earthworks, such as at Watson Brake and Poverty Point, which date to 3500 BCE and 2200 BCE, respectively, indicating early social and organizational complexity. By 1000 BCE, Native societies in the Woodland period developed advanced social structures and trade networks, with the Hopewell tradition connecting the Eastern Woodlands to the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. This period led to the Mississippian culture, with large urban centers like Cahokia—a city with complex mounds and a population exceeding 20,000 by 1250 CE.

From the 15th century onward, European contact drastically reshaped the Americas. Explorers and settlers introduced diseases, causing massive Indigenous population declines, and engaged in violent conflicts with Native groups. By the 19th century, westward U.S. expansion, rationalized by Manifest destiny, pressured tribes into forced relocations like the Trail of Tears, which decimated communities and redefined Native territories. Despite resistance in events like the Sioux Uprising and Battle of Little Bighorn, Native American lands continued to be reduced through policies like the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and later the Dawes Act, which undermined communal landholding.

A justification for the policy of conquest and subjugation of the Indigenous people emanated from the stereotyped perceptions of Native Americans as "merciless Indian savages" (as described in the United States Declaration of Independence). Sam Wolfson in The Guardian writes, "The declaration's passage has often been cited as an encapsulation of the dehumanizing attitude toward Indigenous Americans that the US was founded on."

Native American nations on the plains in the west continued armed conflicts with the U.S. throughout the 19th century, through what were called generally Indian Wars. Notable conflicts in this period include the Dakota War, Great Sioux War, Snake War, Colorado War, and Texas-Indian Wars. Expressing the frontier anti-Indian sentiment, Theodore Roosevelt believed the Indians were destined to vanish under the pressure of white civilization, stating in an 1886 lecture:

I don't go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of ten are, and I shouldn't like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth.

One of the last and most notable events during the Indian wars was the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. In the years leading up to it the U.S. government had continued to seize Lakota lands. A Ghost Dance ritual on the Northern Lakota reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, led to the U.S. Army's attempt to subdue the Lakota. The dance was part of a religious movement founded by the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka that told of the return of the Messiah to relieve the suffering of Native Americans and promised that if they would live righteous lives and perform the Ghost Dance properly, the European American colonists would vanish, the bison would return, and the living and the dead would be reunited in an Edenic world. On December 29 at Wounded Knee, gunfire erupted, and U.S. soldiers killed up to 300 Indians, mostly old men, women, and children.

Days after the massacre, the author L. Frank Baum wrote:

The Pioneer has before declared that our only safety depends upon the total extermination of the Indians. Having wronged them for centuries, we had better, in order to protect our civilization, follow it up by one more wrong and wipe these untamed and untamable creatures from the face of the earth.

In the 20th century, Native Americans served in significant numbers during World War II, marking a turning point for Indigenous visibility and involvement in broader American society. Post-war, Native activism grew, with movements such as the American Indian Movement (AIM) drawing attention to Indigenous rights. Landmark legislation like the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 recognized tribal autonomy, leading to the establishment of Native-run schools and economic initiatives. Tribal sovereignty has continued to evolve, with legal victories and federal acknowledgments supporting cultural revitalization.

By the 21st century, Native Americans had achieved increased control over tribal lands and resources, although many communities continue to grapple with the legacy of displacement and economic challenges. Urban migration has also grown, with over 70% of Native Americans residing in cities by 2012, navigating issues of cultural preservation and discrimination. Continuing legal and social efforts address these concerns, building on centuries of resilience and adaptation that characterize Indigenous history across the Americas.

Demographics

Further information: Modern social statistics of Native Americans See also: Population history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas

According to the 2020 census, the U.S. population was 331.4 million. Of this, 3.7 million people, or 1.1 percent, reported American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry alone. In addition, 5.9 million people (1.8 percent), reported American Indian or Alaska Native in combination with one or more other races.

The definition of American Indian or Alaska Native used in the 2010 census was as follows:

According to Office of Management and Budget, "American Indian or Alaska Native" refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.

Despite generally referring to groups indigenous to the continental US and Alaska, this demographic as defined by the US Census Bureau includes all Indigenous people of the Americas, including Mesoamerican peoples such as the Maya, as well as Canadian and South American natives. In 2022, 634,503 Indigenous people in the United States identified with Central American Indigenous groups, 875,183 identified with the Indigenous people of Mexico, and 47,518 identified with Canadian First Nations. Of the 3.2 million Americans who identified as American Indian or Alaska Native alone in 2022, around 45% are of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, with this number growing as increasing numbers of Indigenous people from Latin American countries immigrate to the US and more Latinos self-identify with indigenous heritage. Of groups Indigenous to the United States, the largest self-reported tribes are Cherokee (1,449,888), Navajo (434,910), Choctaw (295,373), Blackfeet (288,255), Sioux (220,739), and Apache (191,823). 205,954 respondents specified an Alaska Native identity.

Native Hawaiians are counted separately from Native Americans by the census, being classified as Pacific Islanders. According to 2022 estimates, 714,847 Americans reported Native Hawaiian ancestry.

The 2010 census permitted respondents to self-identify as being of one or more races. Self-identification dates from the census of 1960; prior to that the race of the respondent was determined by the opinion of the census taker. The option to select more than one race was introduced in 2000. If American Indian or Alaska Native was selected, the form requested the individual provide the name of the "enrolled or principal tribe".

Population since 1880

Censuses counted around 346,000 Native Americans in 1880 (including 33,000 in Alaska and 82,000 in Oklahoma, back then known as Indian Territory), around 274,000 in 1890 (including 25,500 in Alaska and 64,500 in Oklahoma), 362,500 in 1930 and 366,500 in 1940, including those on and off reservations in the 48 states and Alaska. Native American population rebounded sharply from 1950, when they numbered 377,273; it reached 551,669 in 1960, 827,268 in 1970, with an annual growth rate of 5%, four times the national average. Total spending on Native Americans averaged $38 million a year in the late 1920s, dropping to a low of $23 million in 1933, and returning to $38 million in 1940. The Office of Indian Affairs counted more American Indians than the Census Bureau until 1930:

American Indians according to the Census Bureau and the Office of Indian Affairs 1890-1930

Decade	American Indians, Census Bureau	American Indians, Office of Indian Affairs	Alaska Natives
1890	248,253	249,278	25,354
1900	237,196	270,544	29,536
1910	265,683	304,950	25,331
1920	244,437	336,337	26,558
1930	332,397	340,541	29,983

American Indians and Alaska Natives as percentage of the total population between 1880 and 2020:

American Indian and Alaska Native as percentage of population by U.S. state and territory (1880–2020)

State/Territory	1880	1890	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	2010	2020
Alabama	0.0%	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.2%	0.4%	0.5%	0.6%	0.7%
Alaska	98.7%	79.1%	46.5%	39.4%	48.3%	50.6%	44.8%	26.3%	19.1%	16.8%	16.0%	15.6%	15.6%	14.8%	21.9%
Arizona	37.5%	34.0%	21.5%	14.3%	9.9%	10.0%	11.0%	8.8%	6.4%	5.4%	5.6%	5.6%	5.0%	4.6%	6.3%
Arkansas	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.4%	0.5%	0.7%	0.8%	0.9%
California	2.4%	1.4%	1.0%	0.7%	0.5%	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%	0.2%	0.5%	0.9%	0.8%	1.0%	1.0%	1.6%
Colorado	1.4%	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.4%	0.6%	0.8%	1.0%	1.1%	1.3%
Connecticut	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%	0.4%
Delaware	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%	0.5%	0.5%
Florida	0.3%	0.0%	0.1%	0.0%	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%	0.4%	0.4%
Georgia	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%	0.5%
Hawaii	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.3%	0.5%	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%
Idaho	10.0%	4.8%	2.6%	1.1%	0.7%	0.8%	0.7%	0.6%	0.8%	0.9%	1.1%	1.4%	1.4%	1.4%	1.4%
Illinois	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%	0.8%
Indiana	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%	0.4%
Iowa	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%	0.4%	0.5%
Kansas	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.4%	0.7%	0.9%	0.9%	1.0%	1.1%
Kentucky	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%
Louisiana	0.1%	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.3%	0.4%	0.6%	0.7%	0.7%
Maine	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.4%	0.5%	0.6%	0.6%	0.6%
Maryland	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%	0.4%	0.5%
Massachusetts	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%
Michigan	1.1%	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.4%	0.6%	0.6%	0.6%	0.6%
Minnesota	1.1%	0.8%	0.5%	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%	0.5%	0.6%	0.9%	1.1%	1.1%	1.1%	1.2%
Mississippi	0.2%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%	0.4%	0.5%	0.6%
Missouri	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.3%	0.4%	0.4%	0.5%	0.5%
Montana	38.3%	7.8%	4.7%	0.8%	2.0%	2.8%	3.0%	2.8%	3.1%	3.9%	4.7%	6.0%	6.2%	6.3%	9.3%
Nebraska	1.0%	0.6%	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%	0.4%	0.4%	0.6%	0.8%	0.9%	1.2%	1.2%
Nevada	13.9%	10.9%	12.3%	6.4%	6.3%	5.3%	4.3%	3.1%	2.3%	1.6%	1.7%	1.6%	1.3%	1.2%	1.4%
New Hampshire	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%
New Jersey	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%	0.6%
New Mexico	23.2%	9.4%	6.7%	6.3%	5.4%	6.8%	6.5%	6.2%	5.9%	7.2%	8.1%	8.9%	9.5%	9.4%	12.4%
New York	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%	0.4%	0.6%	0.7%
North Carolina	0.1%	0.1%	0.3%	0.4%	0.5%	0.5%	0.6%	0.1%	0.8%	0.9%	1.1%	1.2%	1.2%	1.3%	1.2%
North Dakota	13.0%	4.3%	2.2%	1.1%	1.0%	1.2%	1.6%	1.7%	1.9%	2.3%	3.1%	4.1%	4.9%	5.4%	7.2%
South Dakota	20.6%	5.7%	5.0%	3.3%	2.6%	3.2%	3.6%	3.6%	3.8%	4.9%	6.5%	7.3%	8.3%	8.8%	11.1%
Ohio	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%
Oklahoma	100.0%	24.9%	8.2%	4.5%	2.8%	3.9%	2.7%	2.4%	2.8%	3.8%	5.6%	8.0%	7.9%	8.6%	16.0%
Oregon	3.5%	1.6%	1.2%	0.8%	0.6%	0.5%	0.4%	0.4%	0.5%	0.6%	1.0%	1.4%	1.3%	1.4%	4.4%
Pennsylvania	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%
Rhode Island	0.0%	0.1%	0.0%	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.3%	0.4%	0.5%	0.6%	0.7%
South Carolina	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%	0.4%	0.5%
Tennessee	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%	0.4%
Texas	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.4%	0.6%	0.7%	1.0%
Utah	0.9%	1.6%	0.9%	0.8%	0.6%	0.6%	0.7%	0.6%	0.8%	1.1%	1.3%	1.4%	1.3%	1.2%	1.3%
Vermont	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%
Virginia	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%	0.4%	0.5%
Washington	20.8%	3.1%	1.9%	1.0%	0.7%	0.7%	0.7%	0.6%	0.7%	1.0%	1.5%	1.7%	1.6%	1.5%	4.1%
West Virginia	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%
Wisconsin	0.8%	0.6%	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%	0.6%	0.8%	0.9%	1.0%	1.0%
Wyoming	9.6%	2.9%	1.8%	1.0%	0.7%	0.8%	0.9%	1.1%	1.2%	1.5%	1.5%	2.1%	2.3%	2.4%	4.8%
Washington, D.C.	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%	0.5%
Puerto Rico													0.4%	0.5%	0.5%
United States	0.7%	0.4%	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%	0.3%	0.4%	0.6%	0.8%	0.9%	0.9%	1.1%

Absolute numbers of American Indians and Alaska Natives between 1880 and 2020 (since 1890 according to the Census Bureau):

American Indian and Alaska Native population by U.S. state and territory (1880–2020)

State/Territory	1880	1890	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	2010	2020
Alabama	213	1143	177	909	405	465	464	928	1276	2443	9239	16506	22430	28218	33625
Alaska	32996	25354	29536	25331	26558	29983	32458	33863	42522	50814	64103	85698	98043	104871	111575
Arizona	22199	29981	26480	29201	32989	43726	55076	65761	83387	95812	154175	203527	255879	296529	319512
Arkansas	195	250	66	460	106	408	278	533	580	2014	12713	12773	17808	22248	27177
California	20385	16624	15377	16371	17360	19212	18675	19947	39014	91018	227757	242164	333346	362801	631016
Colorado	2684	1092	1437	1482	1383	1395	1360	1567	4288	8836	20682	27776	44241	56010	74129
Connecticut	255	228	153	152	159	162	201	333	923	2222	4822	6654	9639	11256	16051
Delaware	5	4	9	5	2	5	14	0	597	656	1380	2019	2731	4181	5148
Florida	780	171	358	74	518	587	690	1011	2504	6677	24714	36335	53541	71458	94795
Georgia	124	68	19	95	125	43	106	333	749	2347	9876	13348	21737	32151	50618
Hawaii	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	472	1126	2833	5099	3535	4164	4370
Idaho	3585	4223	4226	3488	3098	3638	3537	3800	5231	6687	10405	13780	17645	21441	25621
Illinois	140	98	16	188	194	469	624	1443	4704	11413	19118	21836	31006	43963	96498
Indiana	246	343	243	279	125	285	223	438	948	3887	9495	12720	15815	18462	26086
Iowa	821	457	382	471	529	660	733	1084	1708	2992	6311	7349	8989	11084	14486
Kansas	1499	1682	2130	2444	2276	2454	1165	2381	5069	8672	17829	21965	24936	28150	30995
Kentucky	50	71	102	234	57	22	44	234	391	1531	4497	5769	8616	10120	12801
Louisiana	848	628	593	780	1069	1536	1801	409	3587	5294	12841	18541	25477	30579	31657
Maine	625	559	798	892	830	1012	1251	1522	1879	2195	4360	5998	7098	8568	7885
Maryland	15	44	3	55	32	50	73	314	1538	4239	8946	12972	15423	20420	31845
Massachusetts	369	428	587	688	555	874	769	1201	2118	4475	8996	12241	15015	18850	24018
Michigan	17390	5625	6354	7519	5614	7080	6282	7000	9701	16854	44712	55638	58479	62007	61261
Minnesota	8498	10096	9182	9053	8761	11077	12528	12533	15496	23128	36527	49909	54967	60916	68641
Mississippi	1857	2036	2203	1253	1105	1458	2134	2502	3119	4113	6836	8525	11652	15030	16450
Missouri	113	128	130	313	171	578	330	547	1723	5405	14820	19835	25076	27376	30518
Montana	23313	11206	11343	10745	10956	14798	16841	16606	21181	27130	37623	47679	56068	62555	67612
Nebraska	4541	6431	3322	3502	2888	3256	3401	3954	5545	6624	9059	12410	14896	18427	23102
Nevada	9603	5156	5216	5240	4907	4871	4747	5025	6681	7933	14256	19637	26420	32062	43932
New Hampshire	63	16	22	34	28	64	50	74	135	361	1342	2134	2964	3150	3031
New Jersey	74	84	63	168	106	213	211	621	1699	4706	10028	14970	19492	29026	51186
New Mexico	33224	15044	13144	20573	19512	28941	34510	41901	56255	72788	106585	134355	173483	193222	212241
New York	5958	6044	5257	6046	5503	6973	8651	10640	16491	28355	43508	62651	82461	106906	149690
North Carolina	1230	1516	5687	7851	11824	16579	22546	3742	38129	44406	65808	80155	99551	122110	130032
North Dakota	8329	8174	6968	6486	6254	8387	10114	10766	11736	14369	19905	25917	31329	36591	38914
Ohio	130	206	42	127	151	435	338	1146	1910	6654	15300	20358	24486	25292	30720
Oklahoma	82334	64456	64445	74825	57337	92725	63125	53769	64689	98468	171092	252420	273230	321687	332791
Oregon	6249	4971	4951	5090	4590	4776	4594	5820	8026	13510	29783	38496	45211	53203	62993
Pennsylvania	184	1081	1639	1503	337	523	441	1141	2122	5533	10928	14733	18348	26843	31052
Rhode Island	77	180	35	284	110	318	196	385	932	1390	3186	4071	5121	6058	7385
South Carolina	131	173	121	331	304	959	1234	554	1098	2241	6655	8246	13718	19524	24303
South Dakota	20230	19854	20225	19137	16384	21833	23347	23344	25794	32365	45525	50575	62283	71817	77748
Tennessee	352	146	108	216	56	161	114	339	638	2276	6946	10039	15152	19994	28044
Texas	992	708	470	702	2109	1001	1103	2736	5750	17957	50296	65877	118362	170972	278948
Utah	1257	3456	2623	3123	2711	2869	3611	4201	6961	11273	19994	24283	29684	32927	41644
Vermont	11	34	5	26	24	36	16	30	57	229	1041	1696	2420	2207	2289
Virginia	85	349	354	539	824	779	198	1056	2155	4853	9867	15282	21172	29225	40007
Washington	18594	11181	10039	10997	9061	11253	11394	13816	21076	33386	61233	81483	93301	103869	121468
West Virginia	29	9	12	36	7	18	25	160	181	751	2317	2458	3606	3787	3706
Wisconsin	10798	9930	8372	10142	9611	11548	12265	12196	14297	18924	30553	39387	47228	54526	60428
Wyoming	2203	1844	1686	1486	1343	1845	2349	3237	4020	4980	8192	9479	11133	13336	13898
Washington, D.C.	5	25	22	68	37	40	190	330	587	956	986	1466	1713	2079	3193
United States	345,888	273,607	266,732	291,014	270,995	362,380	366,427	377,273	551,669	827,268	1,519,995	1,959,234	2,475,956	2,932,248	3,727,135
Non-Hispanic	345,888	273,607	266,732	291,014	270,995	362,380	366,427	377,273	551,669	800,409	1,425,250	1,793,773	2,068,883	2,247,098	2,251,699

1. In Florida in 1880 there were reported 180 taxed Indians and 600 inhabitants of unknown race, possibly also Indians.
2. For Oklahoma one count reported 76585 Indians in 1880 (including 59187 in Five Civilized Tribes), another count reported 79769 or 79469 (including 64000 in Five Civilized Tribes) and yet another reported 82334 (including 64000 in Five Civilized Tribes) as of 1884.

Population distribution

78% of Native Americans live outside a reservation. Full-blood individuals are more likely to live on a reservation than mixed-blood individuals. The Navajo, with 286,000 full-blood individuals, is the largest tribe if only full-blood individuals are counted; the Navajo are the tribe with the highest proportion of full-blood individuals, 86.3%. The Cherokee have a different history; it is the largest tribe, with 819,000 individuals, and it has 284,000 full-blood individuals.

Urban migration

Further information: Urban Indian

As of 2012, 70% of Native Americans live in urban areas, up from 45% in 1970 and 8% in 1940. Urban areas with significant Native American populations include Minneapolis, Denver, Phoenix, Tucson, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Houston, New York City, and Los Angeles. Many live in poverty. Racism, unemployment, drugs and gangs are common problems which Indian social service organizations such as the Little Earth housing complex in Minneapolis attempt to address.

Population by tribal grouping

Below are numbers for U.S. citizens self-identifying to selected tribal groupings, according to the 2010 U.S. census.

2010 Native American distribution by tribal group

Tribal grouping	Tribal flag	Tribal seal	American Indian & Alaska Native Alone one tribal grouping reported	American Indian & Alaska Native Alone more than one tribal grouping reported	American Indian & Alaska Native Mixed one tribal grouping reported	American Indian & Alaska Native Mixed more than one tribal grouping reported	American Indian & Alaska Native tribal grouping alone or mixed in any combination
Total			2,879,638	52,610	2,209,267	79,064	5,220,579
Apache			63,193	6,501	33,303	8,813	111,810
Arapaho			8,014	388	2,084	375	10,861
Blackfeet			27,279	4,519	54,109	19,397	105,304
Canadian & French American Indian			6,433	618	6,981	790	14,822
Central American Indian			15,882	572	10,865	525	27,844
Cherokee			284,247	16,216	468,082	50,560	819,105
Cheyenne (Northern and Southern)			11,375	1,118	5,311	1,247	19,051
Chickasaw			27,973	2,233	19,220	2,852	52,278
Chippewa			112,757	2,645	52,091	3,249	170,742
Choctaw			103,910	6,398	72,101	13,355	195,764
Colville			8,114	200	2,148	87	10,549
Comanche			12,284	1,187	8,131	1,728	23,330
Cree			2,211	739	4,023	1,010	7,983
Creek			48,352	4,596	30,618	4,766	88,332
Crow			10,332	528	3,309	1,034	15,203
Delaware (Lenape)			7,843	372	9,439	610	18,264
Hopi			12,580	2,054	3,013	680	18,327
Houma			8,169	71	2,438	90	10,768
Iroquois			40,570	1,891	34,490	4,051	81,002
Kiowa			9,437	918	2,947	485	13,787
Lumbee			62,306	651	10,039	695	73,691
Menominee			8,374	253	2,330	176	11,133
Mexican American Indian			121,221	2,329	49,670	2,274	175,494
Navajo			286,731	8,285	32,918	4,195	332,129
Osage			8,938	1,125	7,090	1,423	18,576
Ottawa			7,272	776	4,274	711	13,033
Paiute			9,340	865	3,135	427	13,767
Pima			22,040	1,165	3,116	334	26,655
Potawatomi			20,412	462	12,249	648	33,771
Pueblo			49,695	2,331	9,568	946	62,540
Puget Sound Salish			14,320	215	5,540	185	20,260
Seminole			14,080	2,368	12,447	3,076	31,971
Shoshone			7,852	610	3,969	571	13,002
Sioux			112,176	4,301	46,964	6,669	170,110
South American Indian			20,901	479	25,015	838	47,233
Spanish American Indian			13,460	298	6,012	181	19,951
Tohono O'odham			19,522	725	3,033	198	23,478
Ute			7,435	785	2,802	469	11,491
Yakama			8,786	310	2,207	224	11,527
Yaqui			21,679	1,516	8,183	1,217	32,595
Yuman			7,727	551	1,642	169	10,089
All other American Indian tribes			270,141	12,606	135,032	11,850	429,629
American Indian tribes, not specified			131,943	117	102,188	72	234,320
Alaska Native tribes, specified			98,892	4,194	32,992	2,772	138,850
Alaskan Athabaskans			15,623	804	5,531	526	22,484
Aleut			11,920	723	6,108	531	19,282
Inupiat			24,859	877	7,051	573	33,360
Tlingit-Haida			15,256	859	9,331	634	26,080
Tsimshian			2,307	240	1,010	198	3,755
Yup'ik			28,927	691	3,961	310	33,889
Alaska Native tribes, not specified			19,731	173	9,896	133	29,933
American Indian or Alaska Native tribes, not specified			693,709	no data	852,253	1	1,545,963

Tribal sovereignty

Main articles: Tribal sovereignty in the United States, Native American tribe, and Indian reservation

There are 573 federally recognized tribal governments and 326 Indian reservations in the United States. These tribes possess the right to form their own governments, to enforce laws (both civil and criminal) within their lands, to tax, to establish requirements for membership, to license and regulate activities, to zone, and to exclude persons from tribal territories. Limitations on tribal powers of self-government include the same limitations applicable to states; for example, neither tribes nor states have the power to make war, engage in foreign relations, or coin money (this includes paper currency). In addition, there are a number of tribes that are recognized by individual states, but not by the federal government. The rights and benefits associated with state recognition vary from state to state.

Many Native Americans and advocates of Native American rights point out that the U.S. federal government's claim to recognize the "sovereignty" of Native American peoples falls short, given that the United States wishes to govern Native American peoples and treat them as subject to U.S. law. Such advocates contend that full respect for Native American sovereignty would require the U.S. government to deal with Native American peoples in the same manner as any other sovereign nation, handling matters related to relations with Native Americans through the Secretary of State, rather than the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Bureau of Indian Affairs reports on its website that its "responsibility is the administration and management of 55,700,000 acres (225,000 km) of land held in trust by the United States for American Indians, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives". Many Native Americans and advocates of Native American rights believe that it is condescending for such lands to be considered "held in trust" and regulated in any fashion by any entity other than their own tribes.

Some tribal groups have been unable to document the cultural continuity required for federal recognition. To achieve federal recognition and its benefits, tribes must prove continuous existence since 1900. The federal government has maintained this requirement, in part because through participation on councils and committees, federally recognized tribes have been adamant about groups' satisfying the same requirements as they did. The Muwekma Ohlone of the San Francisco Bay Area are pursuing litigation in the federal court system to establish recognition. Many of the smaller eastern tribes, long considered remnants of extinct peoples, have been trying to gain official recognition of their tribal status. Several tribes in Virginia and North Carolina have gained state recognition. Federal recognition confers some benefits, including the right to label arts and crafts as Native American and permission to apply for grants that are specifically reserved for Native Americans. But gaining federal recognition as a tribe is extremely difficult; to be established as a tribal group, members have to submit extensive genealogical proof of tribal descent and continuity of the tribe as a culture.

In July 2000, the Washington State Republican Party adopted a resolution recommending that the federal and legislative branches of the U.S. government terminate tribal governments. In 2007, a group of Democratic Party congressmen and congresswomen introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to terminate Federal recognition of the Cherokee Nation. This was related to their voting to exclude Cherokee Freedmen as members of the tribe unless they had a Cherokee ancestor on the Dawes Rolls, although all Cherokee Freedmen and their descendants had been members since 1866.

As of 2004, various Native Americans are wary of attempts by others to gain control of their reservation lands for natural resources, such as coal and uranium in the West.

The State of Maine is the only State House Legislature that allows Representatives from Indian Tribes. The three nonvoting members represent the Penobscot Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and Passamaquoddy Tribe. These representatives can sponsor any legislation regarding American Indian affairs or co-sponsor any pending State of Maine legislation. Maine is unique regarding Indigenous leadership representation.

In the state of Virginia, Native Americans face a unique problem. Until 2017 Virginia previously had no federally recognized tribes but the state had recognized eight. This is related historically to the greater impact of disease and warfare on the Virginia Indian populations, as well as their intermarriage with Europeans and Africans. Some people confused ancestry with culture, but groups of Virginia Indians maintained their cultural continuity. Most of their early reservations were ended under the pressure of early European settlement.

Some historians also note the problems of Virginia Indians in establishing documented continuity of identity, due to the work of Walter Ashby Plecker (1912–1946). As registrar of the state's Bureau of Vital Statistics, he applied his own interpretation of the one-drop rule, enacted in law in 1924 as the state's Racial Integrity Act. It recognized only two races: "white" and "colored".

Plecker, a segregationist, believed that the state's Native Americans had been "mongrelized" by intermarriage with African Americans; to him, ancestry determined identity, rather than culture. He thought that some people of partial black ancestry were trying to "pass" as Native Americans. Plecker thought that anyone with any African heritage had to be classified as colored, regardless of appearance, amount of European or Native American ancestry, and cultural/community identification. Plecker pressured local governments into reclassifying all Native Americans in the state as "colored" and gave them lists of family surnames to examine for reclassification based on his interpretation of data and the law. This led to the state's destruction of accurate records related to families and communities who identified as Native American (as in church records and daily life). By his actions, sometimes different members of the same family were split by being classified as "white" or "colored". He did not allow people to enter their primary identification as Native American in state records. In 2009, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee endorsed a bill that would grant federal recognition to tribes in Virginia.

As of 2000, the largest groups in the United States by population were Navajo, Cherokee, Choctaw, Sioux, Chippewa, Apache, Blackfeet, Iroquois, and Pueblo. In 2000, eight of ten Americans with Native American ancestry were of mixed ancestry. It is estimated that by 2100 that figure will rise to nine out of ten.

Civil rights movement

Main articles: Civil rights movement, Jim Crow Laws, Martin Luther King Jr., National Congress of American Indians, National Indian Youth Council, Native American Rights Fund, and Brown v. Board of Education

The civil rights movement was a very significant moment for the rights of Native Americans and other people of color. Native Americans faced racism and prejudice for hundreds of years, and this increased after the American Civil War. Native Americans, like African Americans, were subjected to the Jim Crow Laws and segregation in the Deep South especially after they were made citizens through the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. As a body of law, Jim Crow institutionalized economic, educational, and social disadvantages for Native Americans, and other people of color living in the south. Native American identity was especially targeted by a system that only wanted to recognize white or colored, and the government began to question the legitimacy of some tribes because they had intermarried with African Americans. Native Americans were also discriminated and discouraged from voting in the southern and western states.

In the south segregation was a major problem for Native Americans seeking education, but the NAACP's legal strategy would later change this. Movements such as Brown v. Board of Education was a major victory for the Civil Rights Movement headed by the NAACP, and inspired Native Americans to start participating in the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. began assisting Native Americans in the south in the late 1950s after they reached out to him. At that time the remaining Creek in Alabama were trying to completely desegregate schools in their area. In this case, light-complexioned Native children were allowed to ride school buses to previously all white schools, while dark-skinned Native children from the same band were barred from riding the same buses. Tribal leaders, upon hearing of King's desegregation campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, contacted him for assistance. He promptly responded and, through his intervention, the problem was quickly resolved. King would later make trips to Arizona visiting Native Americans on reservations, and in churches encouraging them to be involved in the Civil Rights Movement. In King's book Why We Can't Wait he writes:

Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. Even before there were large numbers of Negroes on our shores, the scar of racial hatred had already disfigured colonial society. From the sixteenth century forward, blood flowed in battles over racial supremacy. We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe out its Indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or to feel remorse for this shameful episode. Our literature, our films, our drama, our folklore all exalt it.

Native Americans would then actively participate and support the NAACP, and the civil rights movement. The National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) would soon rise in 1961 to fight for Native American rights during the Civil Rights Movement, and were strong King supporters. During the 1963 March on Washington there was a sizable Native American contingent, including many from South Dakota, and many from the Navajo nation. Native Americans also participated the Poor People's Campaign in 1968. The NIYC were very active supporters of the Poor People's Campaign unlike the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI); the NIYC and other Native organizations met with King in March 1968 but the NCAI disagreed on how to approach the anti-poverty campaign; the NCAI decided against participating in the march. The NCAI wished to pursue their battles in the courts and with Congress, unlike the NIYC. The NAACP also inspired the creation of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) which was patterned after the NAACP's Legal Defense and Education Fund. Furthermore, the NAACP continued to organize to stop mass incarceration and end the criminalization of Native Americans and other communities of people of color. The following is an excerpt from a statement from Mel Thom on May 1, 1968, during a meeting with Secretary of State Dean Rusk: (It was written by members of the Workshop on American Indian Affairs and the NIYC)

We have joined the Poor People's Campaign because most of our families, tribes, and communities number among those suffering most in this country. We are not begging. We are demanding what is rightfully ours. This is no more than the right to have a decent life in our own communities. We need guaranteed jobs, guaranteed income, housing, schools, economic development, but most important- we want them on our own terms. Our chief spokesman in the federal government, the Department of Interior, has failed us. In fact it began failing us from its very beginning. The Interior Department began failing us because it was built upon and operates under a racist, immoral, paternalistic and colonialistic system. There is no way to improve upon racism, immorality and colonialism; it can only be done away with. The system and power structure serving Indian peoples is a sickness which has grown to epidemic proportions. The Indian system is sick. Paternalism is the virus and the secretary of the Interior is the carrier.

Contemporary issues

Main article: Contemporary Native American issues in the United States See also: Environmental Justice and Social Justice

Native American struggles amid poverty to maintain life on the reservation or in larger society have resulted in a variety of health issues, some related to nutrition and health practices. The community suffers a vulnerability to and disproportionately high rate of alcoholism:

It has long been recognized that Native Americans are dying of diabetes, alcoholism, tuberculosis, suicide, and other health conditions at shocking rates. Beyond disturbingly high mortality rates, Native Americans also suffer a significantly lower health status and disproportionate rates of disease compared with all other Americans.

— U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (September 2004)

Recent studies also point to rising rates of stroke, heart disease, and diabetes in the Native American population.

Societal discrimination and racism

Further information: Stereotypes of Native Americans and Racism against Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans have been subjected to discrimination for centuries. In response to being labeled "merciless Indian savages" in the Declaration of Independence, Simon Moya-Smith, culture editor at Indian Country Today, states, "Any holiday that would refer to my people in such a repugnant, racist manner is certainly not worth celebrating. is a day we celebrate our resiliency, our culture, our languages, our children and we mourn the millions — literally millions — of indigenous people who have died as a consequence of American imperialism."

In a study conducted in 2006–2007, non-Native Americans admitted they rarely encountered Native Americans in their daily lives. This is largely due to the number of Native Americans having dwindled since white settler colonialism, while those who survived were forcibly moved into reservations; both of these factors were referenced by Adolf Hitler in 1928 when he admiringly stated the US had "gunned down the millions of Redskins to a few hundred thousand, and now keep the modest remnant under observation in a cage". While sympathetic toward Native Americans and expressing regret over the past, most people had only a vague understanding of the problems facing Native Americans today. For their part, Native Americans told researchers that they believed they continued to face prejudice, mistreatment, and inequality in the broader society.

Affirmative action issues

Federal contractors and subcontractors, such as businesses and educational institutions, are legally required to adopt equal opportunity employment and affirmative action measures intended to prevent discrimination against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of "color, religion, sex, or national origin". For this purpose, a Native American is defined as "A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains a tribal affiliation or community attachment". The passing of the Indian Relocation Act saw a 56% increase in Native American city dwellers over 40 years. The Native American urban poverty rate exceeds that of reservation poverty rates due to discrimination in hiring processes. However, self-reporting is permitted: "Educational institutions and other recipients should allow students and staff to self-identify their race and ethnicity unless self-identification is not practicable or feasible."

Self-reporting opens the door to "box checking" by people who, despite not having a substantial relationship to Native American culture, innocently or fraudulently check the box for Native American.

The difficulties that Native Americans face in the workforce, for example, a lack of promotions and wrongful terminations are attributed to racial stereotypes and implicit biases. Native American business owners are seldom offered auxiliary resources that are crucial for entrepreneurial success.

Sexual violence as a tool for settler colonialism

Throughout history, settler colonialism has remained a violent and destructive tool to displace and exterminate Native American peoples. The use of sexual violence to perpetuate this is very common. Musocgee Creek law professor Sarah Deer highlights the high number of Native women who still experience this violence: "Since 1999 a variety of reports and studies have come to the same conclusion- namely, that Native women in particular suffer the highest rate of per capita rape in the United States." The continued acts of sexual violence against Native women have been perpetuated by colonization and the actions of colonizers. Native women through time have been portrayed as extremely sexual which only enforces sexual violence. Deer explains, "Dispossession and relocation of indigenous peoples on this continent both necessitated and precipitated a highly gendered and sexualized dynamic in which Native women's bodies became commodities- bought and sold for the purposes of sexual gratification (or profit), invariably transporting them far away from their homes."

Native American mascots in sports

Main article: Native American mascot controversy Further information: NCAA Native American mascot decision

American Indian activists in the United States and Canada have criticized the use of Native American mascots in sports, as perpetuating stereotypes. This is considered cultural appropriation. There has been a steady decline in the number of secondary school and college teams using such names, images, and mascots. Some tribal team names have been approved by the tribe in question, such as the Seminole Council of Florida approving use of their name for the teams of Florida State University.The NCAA allows the use even though the NCAA "continues to believe the stereotyping of Native Americans is wrong."

Among professional teams, the NBA's Golden State Warriors discontinued use of Native American-themed logos in 1971. The NFL's Washington Commanders, formerly the Washington Redskins, changed their name in 2020, as the term is considered to be a racial slur.

MLB's Cleveland Guardians were formerly known as the Cleveland Indians. Their use of a caricature called Chief Wahoo faced protest for decades. Starting in 2019, Chief Wahoo ceased to be a logo for Cleveland Indians, though Chief Wahoo merchandise could still be sold in the Cleveland-area. On December 13, 2020, The New York Times reported that Cleveland would be officially changing their name. On November 19, 2021, the team officially became the Cleveland Guardians.

Historical depictions in art

Native Americans have been depicted by American artists in various ways at different periods. A number of 19th- and 20th-century United States and Canadian painters, often motivated by a desire to document and preserve Native culture, specialized in Native American subjects. Among the most prominent of these were Elbridge Ayer Burbank, George Catlin, Seth Eastman, Paul Kane, W. Langdon Kihn, Charles Bird King, Joseph Henry Sharp, and John Mix Stanley.

In the 20th century, early portrayals of Native Americans in movies and television roles were first performed by European Americans dressed in mock traditional attire. Examples included The Last of the Mohicans (1920), Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans (1957), and F Troop (1965–1967). In later decades, Native American actors such as Jay Silverheels in The Lone Ranger television series (1949–1957) came to prominence. The roles of Native Americans were limited and not reflective of Native American culture. By the 1970s some Native American film roles began to show more complexity, such as those in Little Big Man (1970), Billy Jack (1971), and The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), which depicted Native Americans in minor supporting roles.

For years, Native people on American television were relegated to secondary, subordinate roles. During the years of the series Bonanza (1959–1973), no major or secondary Native characters appeared on a consistent basis. The series The Lone Ranger (1949–1957), Cheyenne (1955–1963), and Law of the Plainsman (1959–1963) had Native characters who were essentially aides to the central white characters. This continued in such series as How the West Was Won. These programs resembled the "sympathetic" yet contradictory film Dances With Wolves of 1990, in which, according to Ella Shohat and Robert Stam, the narrative choice was to relate the Lakota story as told through a Euro-American voice, for wider impact among a general audience. Like the 1992 remake of The Last of the Mohicans and Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), Dances with Wolves employed a number of Native American actors, and made an effort to portray Indigenous languages. In 1996, Plains Cree actor Michael Greyeyes would play renowned Native American warrior Crazy Horse in the 1996 television film Crazy Horse, and would also later play renowned Sioux chief Sitting Bull in the 2017 movie Woman Walks Ahead.

The 1998 film Smoke Signals, which was set on the Coeur D'Alene Reservation and discussed hardships of present-day American Indian families living on reservations, featured numerous Native American actors as well. The film was the first feature film to be produced and directed by Native Americans, and was also the first feature to include an exclusive Native American cast. At the annual Sundance Film Festival, Smoke Signals would win the Audience Award and its producer Chris Eyre, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, would win the Filmmaker's Trophy. In 2009, We Shall Remain (2009), a television documentary by Ric Burns and part of the American Experience series, presented a five-episode series "from a Native American perspective". It represented "an unprecedented collaboration between Native and non-Native filmmakers and involves Native advisors and scholars at all levels of the project". The five episodes explore the impact of King Philip's War on the northeastern tribes, the "Native American confederacy" of Tecumseh's War, the U.S.-forced relocation of Southeastern tribes known as the Trail of Tears, the pursuit and capture of Geronimo and the Apache Wars, and concludes with the Wounded Knee incident, participation by the American Indian Movement, and the increasing resurgence of modern Native cultures since.

Differences in terminology

Further information: Native American name controversy

The most common of the modern terms to refer to Indigenous peoples of the United States are Indians, American Indians, and Native Americans. Up to the early to mid 18th century, the term Americans was not applied to people of European heritage in North America. Instead it was equivalent to the term Indians. As people of European heritage began using the term Americans to refer instead to themselves, the word Indians became historically the most often employed term.

The term Indians, long laden with racist stereotypes, began to be widely replaced in the 1960s with the term Native Americans, which recognized the Indigeneity of the people who first made the Americas home. But as the term Native Americans became popular, the American Indian Movement saw pejorative connotations in the term native and reappropriated the term Indian, seeing it as witness to the history of violence against the many nations that lived in the Americas before European arrival.

The term Native American was introduced in the United States in preference to the older term Indian to distinguish the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the people of India. It may have been coined by Mohican Sachem John Wannuaucon Quinney, in an 1852 address to the US Congress where he argued against proposed resettlement.

The term Amerindian, a portmanteau of "American Indian", was coined in 1902 by the American Anthropological Association. However, it has been controversial since its creation. It was immediately rejected by some leading members of the Association, and, while adopted by many, it was never universally accepted. While never popular in Indigenous communities themselves, it remains a preferred term among some anthropologists, notably in some parts of Canada and the English-speaking Caribbean.

During World War II, draft boards typically classified American Indians from Virginia as Negroes.

In 1995, a plurality of Indigenous Americans, however, preferred the term American Indian and many tribes include the word Indian in their formal title.

Criticism of the neologism Native American comes from diverse sources. Russell Means, an Oglala Lakota activist, opposed the term Native American because he believed it was imposed by the government without the consent of Native people.

A 1995 U.S. Census Bureau survey found that more Native Americans in the United States preferred American Indian to Native American. Most American Indians are comfortable with Indian, American Indian, and Native American. That term is reflected in the name chosen for the National Museum of the American Indian, which opened in 2004 on the Mall in Washington, D.C..

Other commonly used terms are First Americans, First Nations, and Native Peoples.

Colonial ecological violence

Colonial ecological violence, defined by sociologist J. M. Bacon as the result of eco-social disruptions that "generate colonial ecological violence, a unique form of violence perpetrated by the settler-colonial state, private industry, and settler-colonial culture as a whole." The relocation and displacement of Native peoples is a result of the colonizer mindset that land is a commodity. By removing these communities from their Native land, settlers are preventing the ways of life and the use of culture-affirming resources. Gilio-Whitaker, highlights some of the ways in which these practices are reinforced, with the concept of environmental deprivation – "historical processes of land and resource dispossession calculated to bring about the destruction of Indigenous lives and cultures." The reason these lands are so important to Native populations is because, “Since a strong component of many Indigenous cultures is a robust relationship to place, it serves to reason that forced removals, settler resource appropriation, and the ecological damage perpetuated by US settle colonial society contribute to significant "conflict" between "traditional cultural values" and "those of majority culture".

Colonial ecological violence in the Pacific Northwest

The Karuk tribe in Klamath, California are one of the many victims to colonial ecological violence. One of the major ways of life to the Karuk tribe is the use of fires to maintain and regulate their environment. Sociologist Kari Marie Norgaard goes into detail about how colonialism disrupted these ways of life. These fires were also used to correct travel routes and optimized hunting, which is a major part of Karuk life. In 1905, the Klamath National Forest was established which prevented the burning of fires on Karuk land- "Fire exclusion, then, has simultaneously produced indigenous exclusion, erasure, and replacement." Norgaard explains that this land is one of the most economically wealthy spots due to the establishment of the forest, which only further demonstrates the ways in which settler-colonialism enables and continues to negatively impact the land that Indigenous people live(d) on.

Colonial ecological violence in the Great Lakes region of North America

The Potawatomi tribe had long occupied the Great Lakes region of Northern America, up until they were displaced and spread out around the US. They had previously lived on 30 million acres of land, building cultural, familial, and other-than-human relationships for generations. (Whyte, 2016) Citizen Potawatomi environmental philosopher Kyle Powys Whyte highlights the ways in which this displacement has had violent and detrimental impacts on the tribe. “The consequences of capitalist economics, such as deforestation, water pollution, the clearing of land for large scale agriculture and urbanization, generate immediate disruptions on ecosystems "rapidly" rendering them very different from what they were like before, undermining Indigenous knowledge systems and Indigenous peoples' capacity to cultivate landscapes and adjust to environmental change.”

Colonial ecological violence in the Northeast

The Miami tribe, which now occupies Oklahoma, once resided in Oxford, Ohio, where Miami University now is placed. Historian Jeffrey Ostler provides insight into the forced movement of the Miami tribe off their land. In 1818, the tribe agreed to give up a large amount of land to U.S. officials (enough to create twenty-two Indiana counties. It was not until 1826 that Lewis Cass informed them and nearby Potawatomi, "You must remove or perish." This plan did not work, but the officials persisted and eventually the Miami tribe would be forced off their land in 1846. Miami University has a land acknowledgement document and a center dedicated to working with the Miami tribe of Oklahoma, though this is the only tribe from the original Miami tribe that is accredited by the U.S. government.

Gambling industry

Main article: Native American gaming

Because Indian reservations have tribal sovereignty, states have limited ability to forbid gambling there, as codified by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. Tribes run casinos, bingo halls, and other gambling operations, and as of 2011, there were 460 such operations run by 240 tribes, with a total annual revenue of $27 billion.

Financial services

Numerous tribes around the country have entered the financial services market including the Otoe-Missouria, Tunica-Biloxi, and the Rosebud Sioux. Because of the challenges involved in starting a financial services business from scratch, many tribes hire outside consultants and vendors to help them launch these businesses and manage the regulatory issues involved. Similar to the tribal sovereignty debates that occurred when tribes first entered the gaming industry, the tribes, states, and federal government are currently in disagreement regarding who possesses the authority to regulate these e-commerce business entities.

Crime on reservations

Prosecution of serious crime, historically endemic on reservations, was required by the 1885 Major Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. §§1153, 3242, and court decisions to be investigated by the federal government, usually the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and prosecuted by United States Attorneys of the United States federal judicial district in which the reservation lies.

A December 13, 2009 New York Times article about growing gang violence on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation estimated that there were 39 gangs with 5,000 members on that reservation alone. Navajo country recently reported 225 gangs in its territory.

As of 2012, a high incidence of rape continued to impact Native American women and Alaskan native women. According to the Department of Justice, 1 in 3 Native women have suffered rape or attempted rape, more than twice the national rate. About 46 percent of Native American women have been raped, beaten, or stalked by an intimate partner, according to a 2010 study by the Centers for Disease Control. According to Professor N. Bruce Duthu, "More than 80 percent of Indian victims identify their attacker as non-Indian".

Barriers to economic development

Today, other than tribes successfully running casinos, many tribes struggle, as they are often located on reservations isolated from the main economic centers of the country. The estimated 2.1 million Native Americans are the most impoverished of all ethnic groups. According to the 2000 census, an estimated 400,000 Native Americans reside on reservation land. While some tribes have had success with gaming, only 40% of the 562 federally recognized tribes operate casinos. According to a 2007 survey by the U.S. Small Business Administration, only 1% of Native Americans own and operate a business.

The barriers to economic development on Native American reservations have been identified by Joseph Kalt and Stephen Cornell of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development at Harvard University, in their report: What Can Tribes Do? Strategies and Institutions in American Indian Economic Development (2008), are summarized as follows:

• Lack of access to capital
• Lack of human capital (education, skills, technical expertise) and the means to develop it
• Reservations lack effective planning
• Reservations are poor in natural resources
• Reservations have natural resources but lack sufficient control over them
• Reservations are disadvantaged by their distance from markets and the high costs of transportation
• Tribes cannot persuade investors to locate on reservations because of intense competition from non-Native American communities
• The Bureau of Indian Affairs is inept, corrupt or uninterested in reservation development
• Tribal politicians and bureaucrats are inept or corrupt
• On-reservation factionalism destroys stability in tribal decisions
• The instability of tribal government keeps outsiders from investing. The lack of international recognition Native American tribal sovereignty weakens their political-economic legitimacy. (Many tribes adopted constitutions by the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act model, with two-year terms for elected positions of chief and council members deemed too short by the authors for getting things done)
• Entrepreneurial skills and experience are scarce

A major barrier to development is the lack of entrepreneurial knowledge and experience within Indian reservations. "A general lack of education and experience about business is a significant challenge to prospective entrepreneurs", was the report on Native American entrepreneurship by the Northwest Area Foundation in 2004. "Native American communities that lack entrepreneurial traditions and recent experiences typically do not provide the support that entrepreneurs need to thrive. Consequently, experiential entrepreneurship education needs to be embedded into school curriculum and after-school and other community activities. This would allow students to learn the essential elements of entrepreneurship from a young age and encourage them to apply these elements throughout life".

Discourse in Native American economic development

Some scholars argue that the existing theories and practices of economic development are not suitable for Native American communities—given the lifestyle, economic, and cultural differences, as well as the unique history of Native American-U.S. relations. Little economic development research has been conducted on Native American communities. The federal government fails to consider place-based issues of American Indian poverty by generalizing the demographic. In addition, the concept of economic development threatens to upend the multidimensionality of Native American culture. The dominance of federal government involvement in Indigenous developmental activities perpetuates and exacerbates the salvage paradigm.

Land ownership challenges

Native land owned by individual Native Americans sometimes cannot be developed because of fractionalization. Fractionalization occurs when a landowner dies, and their land is inherited by their children, but not subdivided. This means that one parcel might be owned by 50 different individuals. A majority of those holding interest must agree to any proposal to develop the land, and establishing this consent is time-consuming, cumbersome, and sometimes impossible.

Another landownership issue on reservations is checkerboarding, where tribal land is interspersed with land owned by the federal government on behalf of Natives, individually owned plots, and land owned by non-Native individuals. This prevents Tribal governments from securing plots of land large enough for economic development or agricultural uses. Because reservation land is owned "in trust" by the federal government, individuals living on reservations cannot build equity in their homes. This bars Native Americans from getting loans, as there is nothing that a bank can collect if the loan is not paid. Past efforts to encourage land ownership (such as the Dawes Act) resulted in a net loss of Tribal land. After they were familiarized with their smallholder status, Native American landowners were lifted of trust restrictions and their land would get transferred back to them, contingent on a transactional fee to the federal government. The transfer fee discouraged Native American land ownership, with 65% of tribal-owned land being sold to non-Native Americans by the 1920s. Activists against property rights point to historical evidence of communal ownership of land and resources by tribes. They claim that because of this history, property rights are foreign to Natives and have no place in the modern reservation system. Those in favor of property rights cite examples of tribes negotiating with colonial communities or other tribes about fishing and hunting rights in an area. Land ownership was also a challenge because of the different definitions of land that the Natives and the Europeans had. Most Native American tribes thought of property rights more as "borrowing" the land, while those from Europe thought of land as individual property.

Land ownership and bureaucratic challenges in historical context

State-level efforts such as the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act were attempts to contain tribal land in Native American hands. However, more bureaucratic decisions only expanded the bureaucracy. The knowledge disconnect between the decision-making bureaucracy and Native American stakeholders resulted in ineffective development efforts.

Traditional Native American entrepreneurship does not prioritize profit maximization; rather, business transactions must align with Native American social and cultural values. In response to Indigenous business philosophy, the federal government created policies that aimed to formalize their business practices, which undermined the Native American status quo. Additionally, legal disputes interfered with tribal land leasing, which were settled with the verdict against tribal sovereignty.

Often, bureaucratic overseers of development are far removed from Native American communities and lack the knowledge and understanding to develop plans or make resource allocation decisions. The top-down heavy involvement in developmental operations, does not mitigate incentives for bureaucrats to act in their self-interest. Such instances include reports that exaggerate results.

Geographic poverty

While Native American urban poverty is attributed to hiring and workplace discrimination in a heterogeneous setting, reservation and trust land poverty rates are endogenous to deserted opportunities in isolated regions.

Trauma

Historical trauma

Historical trauma is described as collective emotional and psychological damage throughout a person's lifetime and across multiple generations. Examples of historical trauma can be seen through the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890, where over 200 unarmed Lakota were killed, and the Dawes Allotment Act of 1887, when American Indians lost four-fifths of their land.

Impacts of intergenerational trauma

American Indian youth have higher rates of substance and alcohol use deaths than the general population. Many American Indians can trace the beginning of their substance and alcohol use to a traumatic event related to their offender's own substance use. A person's substance use can be described as a defense mechanism against the user's emotions and trauma. For American Indians alcoholism is a symptom of trauma passed from generation to generation and influenced by oppressive behaviors and policies by the dominant European-American society. Boarding schools were made to "Kill the Indian, Save the man". Shame among American Indians can be attributed to the hundreds of years of oppression and annihilation.

Food insecurity

Studies are being conducted which show Native Americans often experience higher rates of food insecurity than other racial groups in the United States. The studies do not focus on the overall picture of Native American households, however, and tend to focus rather on smaller sample sizes in the available research. In a study that evaluated the level of food insecurity among Indigenous Americans, White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian: it was reported that over the 10-year span of 2000–2010, Indigenous people were reported to be one of the highest at-risk groups from a lack of access to adequate food, reporting anywhere from 20% to 30% of households suffering from this type of insecurity. There are many reasons that contribute to the issue, but overall, the biggest lie in high food costs on or near reservations, lack of access to well-paying jobs, and predisposition to health issues relating to obesity and mental health.

Society, language, and culture

Main article: Native American cultures of the United States Further information: Category:Archaeological cultures of North America

The culture of Pre-Columbian North America is usually defined by the concept of the culture area, namely a geographical region where shared cultural traits occur. The northwest culture area, for example, shared common traits such as salmon fishing, woodworking, and large villages or towns and a hierarchical social structure. Ethnographers generally classify the Indigenous peoples of North America into ten cultural areas based on geographical region.

Though cultural features, language, clothing, and customs vary enormously from one tribe to another, there are certain elements which are encountered frequently and shared by many tribes. Early European American scholars described the Native Americans as having a society dominated by clans.

European colonization of the Americas had a major impact on Native American cultures through what is known as the Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, which was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, and ideas between the Americas and Eurasia (the Old World) in the 15th and 16th centuries, following Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage. The Columbian exchange generally had a destructive impact on Native American cultures through disease, and a 'clash of cultures', whereby European values of private land ownership, the family, and division of labor, led to conflict, appropriation of traditional communal lands and changed how the Indigenous tribes practiced slavery.

The impact of the Columbian exchange was not entirely negative, however. For example, the re-introduction of the horse to North America allowed the Plains Indians to revolutionize their ways of life by making hunting, trading, and warfare far more effective, and to greatly improve their ability to transport possessions and move their settlements.

The Great Plains tribes were still hunting the bison when they first encountered the Europeans. The Spanish reintroduction of the horse to North America in the 17th century and Native Americans' learning to use them greatly altered the Native Americans' cultures, including changing the way in which they hunted large game. Horses became such a valuable, central element of Native lives that they were counted as a measure of wealth by many tribes.

In the early years, as Native peoples encountered European explorers and settlers and engaged in trade, they exchanged food, crafts, and furs for blankets, iron and steel implements, horses, trinkets, firearms, and alcoholic beverages.

Ethno-linguistic classification

Main article: Indigenous languages of the Americas See also: American Indian English

The Na-Dené, Algic, and Uto-Aztecan families are the largest in terms of the number of languages. Uto-Aztecan has the most speakers (1.95 million) if the languages in Mexico are considered (mostly due to 1.5 million speakers of Nahuatl); Na-Dené comes in second with approximately 200,000 speakers (nearly 180,000 of these are speakers of Navajo), and Algic in third with about 180,000 speakers (mainly Cree and Ojibwe). Na-Dené and Algic have the widest geographic distributions: Algic currently spans from northeastern Canada across much of the continent down to northeastern Mexico (due to later migrations of the Kickapoo) with two outliers in California (Yurok and Wiyot); Na-Dené spans from Alaska and western Canada through Washington, Oregon, and California to the U.S. Southwest and northern Mexico (with one outlier in the Plains). Several families consist of only 2 or 3 languages. Demonstrating genetic relationships has proved difficult due to the great linguistic diversity present in North America. Two large (super-) family proposals, Penutian and Hokan have potential. However, even after decades of research, a large number of families remain.

Words used in English have been derived from Native American languages.

Language education

See also: Massachusett language § Current status

To counteract a shift to English, some Native American tribes have initiated language immersion schools for children, where an Indigenous American language is the medium of instruction. For example, the Cherokee Nation initiated a 10-year language preservation plan that involved raising new fluent speakers of the Cherokee language from childhood on up through school immersion programs as well as a collaborative community effort to continue to use the language at home. This plan was part of an ambitious goal that, in 50 years, will result in 80% or more of the Cherokee people being fluent in the language. The Cherokee Preservation Foundation has invested $3 million in opening schools, training teachers, and developing curricula for language education, as well as initiating community gatherings where the language can be actively used. Formed in 2006, the Kituwah Preservation & Education Program (KPEP) on the Qualla Boundary focuses on language immersion programs for children from birth to fifth grade, developing cultural resources for the general public and community language programs to foster the Cherokee language among adults.

There is also a Cherokee language immersion school in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, that educates students from pre-school through eighth grade. Because Oklahoma's official language is English, Cherokee immersion students are hindered when taking state-mandated tests because they have little competence in English. The Department of Education of Oklahoma said that in 2012 state tests: 11% of the school's sixth-graders showed proficiency in math, and 25% showed proficiency in reading; 31% of the seventh-graders showed proficiency in math, and 87% showed proficiency in reading; 50% of the eighth-graders showed proficiency in math, and 78% showed proficiency in reading. The Oklahoma Department of Education listed the charter school as a Targeted Intervention school, meaning the school was identified as a low-performing school but has not so that it was a Priority School. Ultimately, the school made a C, or a 2.33 grade point average on the state's A-F report card system. The report card shows the school getting an F in mathematics achievement and mathematics growth, a C in social studies achievement, a D in reading achievement, and an A in reading growth and student attendance. "The C we made is tremendous", said school principal Holly Davis, "here is no English instruction in our school's younger grades, and we gave them this test in English." She said she had anticipated the low grade because it was the school's first year as a state-funded charter school, and many students had difficulty with English. Eighth graders who graduate from the Tahlequah immersion school are fluent speakers of the language, and they usually go on to attend Sequoyah High School where classes are taught in both English and Cherokee.

Indigenous foodways

Further information: Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, Inuit cuisine, and Eastern Agricultural Complex

Historical diets of Native Americans differed dramatically from region to region. Different peoples might have relied more heavily on agriculture, horticulture, hunting, fishing, or gathering wild plants and fungi. Tribes developed diets best suited to their environments.

Iñupiat, Yupiit, Unangan, and fellow Alaska Natives fished, hunted, and harvested wild plants, but did not rely on agriculture. Coastal peoples relied more heavily on sea mammals, fish, and fish eggs, while inland peoples hunted caribou and moose. Alaskan Natives prepared and preserved dried and smoked meat and fish.

Pacific Northwest tribes crafted seafaring dugout canoes 40–50 feet (12–15 m) long for fishing. In the Eastern Woodlands, early peoples independently invented agricultural and by 1800 BCE developed the crops of the Eastern Agricultural Complex, which include squash (Cucurbita pepo ssp. ovifera), sunflower (Helianthus annuus var. macrocarpus), goosefoot (Chenopodium berlandieri), and marsh elder (Iva annua var. macrocarpa).

The Sonoran Desert region including parts of Arizona and California, part of a region known as Aridoamerica, relied heavily on the tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius) as a staple crop. This and other desert crops, mesquite bead pods, tunas (prickly pear fruit), cholla buds, saguaro cactus fruit, and acorns are being actively promoted today by Tohono O'odham Community Action. In the Southwest, some communities developed irrigation techniques while others, such as the Hopi dry-farmed. They filled storehouses with grain as protection against the area's frequent droughts.

Maize or corn, first cultivated in what is now Mexico was traded north into Aridoamerica and Oasisamerica, southwest. From there, maize cultivation spread throughout the Great Plains and Eastern Woodlands by 200 CE. Native farmers practiced polycropping maize, beans, and squash; these crops are known as the Three Sisters. The beans would replace the nitrogen, which the maize leached from the ground, as well as using corn stalks for support for climbing. The deficiencies of a diet heavily dependent on maize were mitigated by the common practice among Native Americans of converting maize kernels into hominy in a process called Nixtamalization.

The agriculture gender roles of the Native Americans varied from region to region. In the Southwest area, men prepared the soil with hoes. The women were in charge of planting, weeding, and harvesting the crops. In most other regions, the women were in charge of most agriculture, including clearing the land. Clearing the land was an immense chore since the Native Americans rotated fields.

Europeans in the eastern part of the continent observed that Native Americans cleared large areas for cropland. Their fields in New England sometimes covered hundreds of acres. Colonists in Virginia noted thousands of acres under cultivation by Native Americans.

Early farmers commonly used tools such as the hoe, maul, and dibber. The hoe was the main tool used to till the land and prepare it for planting; then it was used for weeding. The first versions were made out of wood and stone. When the settlers brought iron, Native Americans switched to iron hoes and hatchets. The dibber was a digging stick, used to plant the seed. Once the plants were harvested, women prepared the produce for eating. They used the maul to grind the corn into a mash. It was cooked and eaten that way or baked as cornbread.

Religion

Main article: Native American religions

Native American religious practices, beliefs, and philosophies differ widely across tribes. These spiritualities, practices, beliefs, and philosophies may accompany adherence to another faith or can represent a person's primary religious, faith, spiritual or philosophical identity. Much Native American spirituality exists in a tribal-cultural continuum, and as such cannot be easily separated from tribal identity itself.

Cultural spiritual, philosophical, and faith ways differ from tribe to tribe and person to person. Some tribes include the use of sacred leaves and herbs such as tobacco, sweetgrass or sage. Many Plains tribes have sweatlodge ceremonies, though the specifics of the ceremony vary among tribes. Fasting, singing and prayer in the ancient languages of their people, and sometimes drumming are common.

The Midewiwin Lodge is a medicine society inspired by the oral history and prophesies of the Ojibwa (Chippewa) and related tribes.

Another significant religious body among Native peoples is known as the Native American Church. It is a syncretistic church incorporating elements of Native spiritual practice from a number of different tribes as well as symbolic elements from Christianity. Its main rite is the peyote ceremony. Prior to 1890, traditional religious beliefs included Wakan Tanka. In the American Southwest, especially New Mexico, a syncretism between the Catholicism brought by Spanish missionaries and the native religion is common; the religious drums, chants, and dances of the Pueblo people are regularly part of Masses at Santa Fe's Saint Francis Cathedral. Native American-Catholic syncretism is also found elsewhere in the United States. (e.g., the National Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine in Fonda, New York, and the National Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, New York). Some Native American tribes who practice Christianity, including the Lumbee, organized denominations, such as the Lumber River Conference of the Holiness Methodist Church.

The eagle feather law (Title 50 Part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations) stipulates that only individuals of certifiable Native American ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain eagle feathers for religious or spiritual use. The law does not allow Native Americans to give eagle feathers to non-Native Americans.

Gender roles

Main articles: Gender roles among the indigenous peoples of North America, Clan Mother, Matriarchy, Matrilineality, and Two-Spirit

Gender roles are differentiated in many Native American tribes. Many Natives have retained traditional expectations of sexuality and gender and continue to do so in contemporary life despite continued and on-going colonial pressures.

Whether a particular tribe is predominantly matrilineal or patrilineal, often both sexes have some degree of decision-making power within the tribe. Many Nations, such as the Haudenosaunee Five Nations and the Southeast Muskogean tribes, have matrilineal or Clan Mother systems, in which property and hereditary leadership are controlled by and passed through the maternal lines. In these Nations, the children are considered to belong to the mother's clan. In Cherokee culture, women own the family property. When traditional young women marry, their husbands may join them in their mother's household.

Matrilineal structures enable young women to have assistance in childbirth and rearing and protect them in case of conflicts between the couple. If a couple separates or the man dies, the woman has her family to assist her. In matrilineal cultures the mother's brothers are usually the leading male figures in her children's lives; fathers have no standing in their wife and children's clan, as they still belong to their own mother's clan. Hereditary clan chief positions pass through the mother's line and chiefs have historically been selected on the recommendations of women elders, who could also disapprove of a chief.

In the patrilineal tribes, such as the Omaha, Osage, Ponca, and Lakota, hereditary leadership passes through the male line, and children are considered to belong to the father and his clan. In patrilineal tribes, if a woman marries a non-Native, she is no longer considered part of the tribe, and her children are considered to share the ethnicity and culture of their father.

In patriarchal tribes, gender roles tend to be rigid. Men have historically hunted, traded and made war while, as life-givers, women have primary responsibility for the survival and welfare of the families (and future of the tribe). Women usually gather and cultivate plants, use plants and herbs to treat illnesses, care for the young and the elderly, make all the clothing and instruments, and process and cure meat and skins from the game. Some mothers use cradleboards to carry an infant while working or traveling. In matriarchal and egalitarian nations, the gender roles are usually not so clear-cut and are even less so in the modern era.

At least several dozen tribes allowed polygyny to sisters, with procedural and economic limits.

Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota girls are encouraged to learn to ride, hunt and fight. Though fighting in war has mostly been left to the boys and men, occasionally women have fought as well, both in battles and in defense of the home, especially if the tribe was severely threatened.

Modern education

As of 2020 90% of Native American school-aged children attend public schools operated by school districts. Tribally-operated schools under contracts/grants with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and direct BIE-operated schools take about 8% of Native American students, including students who live in very rural remote areas.

In 1978, 215,000 (78%) of Native Americans attended school district-operated public schools, 47,000 (17%) attended schools directly operated by the BIA, 2,500 (1%) attended tribal or other schools that contracted with the BIA, and the remaining 9,000 (3%) attended missionary schools for Native American children or other private schools.

Sports

Native American leisure time led to competitive individual and team sports. Jim Thorpe, Lewis Tewanima, Joe Hipp, Notah Begay III, Chris Wondolowski, Jacoby Ellsbury, Joba Chamberlain, Kyle Lohse, Sam Bradford, Jack Brisco, Tommy Morrison, Billy Mills, Angel Goodrich, Shoni Schimmel, and Kyrie Irving are well known professional athletes.

Team sports

Native American ball sports, sometimes referred to as lacrosse, stickball, or baggataway, were often used to settle disputes, rather than going to war, as a civil way to settle potential conflict. The Choctaw called it isitoboli ("Little Brother of War"); the Onondaga name was dehuntshigwa'es ("men hit a rounded object"). There are three basic versions, classified as Great Lakes, Iroquoian, and Southern.

The game is played with one or two rackets or sticks and one ball. The object of the game is to land the ball in the opposing team's goal (either a single post or net) to score and to prevent the opposing team from scoring on your goal. The game involves as few as 20 or as many as 300 players with no height or weight restrictions and no protective gear. The goals could be from around 200 feet (61 m) apart to about 2 miles (3.2 km); in lacrosse the field is 110 yards (100 m).

Individual sports

Chunkey was a game that consisted of a stone-shaped disk that was about 1–2 inches in diameter. The disk was thrown down a 200-foot (61 m) corridor so that it could roll past the players at great speed. The disk would roll down the corridor, and players would throw wooden shafts at the moving disk. The object of the game was to strike the disk or prevent your opponents from hitting it.

U.S. Olympics

Jim Thorpe, a Sauk and Fox Native American, was an all-around athlete playing football and baseball in the early 20th century. Future President Dwight Eisenhower injured his knee while trying to tackle the young Thorpe. In a 1961 speech, Eisenhower recalled Thorpe: "Here and there, there are some people who are supremely endowed. My memory goes back to Jim Thorpe. He never practiced in his life, and he could do anything better than any other football player I ever saw."

In the 1912 Olympics, Thorpe could run the 100-yard dash in 10 seconds flat, the 220 in 21.8 seconds, the 440 in 51.8 seconds, the 880 in 1:57, the mile in 4:35, the 120-yard high hurdles in 15 seconds, and the 220-yard low hurdles in 24 seconds. He could long jump 23 ft 6 in and high-jump 6 ft 5 in. He could pole vault 11 feet (3.4 m), put the shot 47 ft 9 in (14.55 m), throw the javelin 163 feet (50 m), and throw the discus 136 feet (41 m). Thorpe entered the U.S. Olympic trials for the pentathlon and the decathlon.

Louis Tewanima, Hopi people, was an American two-time Olympic distance runner and silver medalist in the 10,000-meter run in 1912. He ran for the Carlisle Indian School where he was a teammate of Jim Thorpe. His silver medal in 1912 remained the best U.S. achievement in this event until another Indian, Billy Mills, won the gold medal in 1964. Tewanima also competed at the 1908 Olympics, where he finished in ninth place in the marathon.

Ellison Brown, of the Narragansett people from Rhode Island, better known as "Tarzan" Brown, won two Boston Marathons (1936, 1939) and competed on the United States Olympic team in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, but did not finish due to injury. He qualified for the 1940 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland, but the games were canceled due to the outbreak of World War II.

Billy Mills, a Lakota and USMC officer, won the gold medal in the 10,000-meter run at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He was the only American ever to win the Olympic gold in this event. An unknown before the Olympics, Mills finished second in the U.S. Olympic trials.

Billy Kidd, part Abenaki from Vermont, became the first American male to medal in alpine skiing in the Olympics, taking silver at age 20 in the slalom in the 1964 Winter Olympics at Innsbruck, Austria. Six years later at the 1970 World Championships, Kidd won the gold medal in the combined event and took the bronze medal in the slalom.

Ashton Locklear (Lumbee), an uneven bars specialist was an alternate for the 2016 Summer Olympics U.S. gymnastics team, the Final Five. In 2016, Kyrie Irving (Sioux) also helped Team USA win the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. With the win, he became just the fourth member of Team USA to capture the NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in the same year, joining LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Scottie Pippen.

Literature

Main article: Native American literature See also: List of writers from peoples Indigenous to the Americas and Postcolonial literature

Native American literature, composed of both oral literature and written literature, has a long history. Relevantly, it is considered a series of literatures reflecting the varied traditions and histories of different tribes. Modern authors cover a wide range of genres and include Tommy Orange, Joy Harjo, Louise Erdrich, Stephen Graham Jones, Rebecca Roanhorse, Tommy Pico, and many more.

Music

Main article: Native American music See also: Native American hip hop and Indigenous metal music

Traditional Native American music is almost entirely monophonic, but there are notable exceptions. Native American music often includes drumming or the playing of rattles or other percussion instruments but little other instrumentation. Flutes and whistles made of wood, cane, or bone are also played, generally by individuals, but in former times also by large ensembles (as noted by Spanish conquistador de Soto). The tuning of modern flutes is typically pentatonic.

Performers with Native American parentage have occasionally appeared in American popular music such as Rita Coolidge, Wayne Newton, Gene Clark, Blackfoot, and Redbone (members are also of Mexican descent). Some, such as John Trudell, have used music to comment on life in Native America. Other musicians such as R. Carlos Nakai, Joanne Shenandoah and Robert "Tree" Cody integrate traditional sounds with modern sounds in instrumental recordings, whereas the music by artist Charles Littleleaf is derived from ancestral heritage as well as nature. A variety of small and medium-sized recording companies offer an abundance of recent music by Native American performers young and old, ranging from pow-wow drum music to hard-driving rock-and-roll and rap. In the International world of ballet dancing Maria Tallchief was considered America's first major prima ballerina, and was the first person of Native American descent to hold the rank. along with her sister Marjorie Tallchief both became star ballerinas.

The most widely practiced public musical form among Native Americans in the United States is that of the pow-wow. At pow-wows, such as the annual Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, members of drum groups sit in a circle around a large drum. Drum groups play in unison while they sing in a native language and dancers in colorful regalia dance clockwise around the drum groups in the center. Familiar pow-wow songs include honor songs, intertribal songs, crow-hops, sneak-up songs, grass-dances, two-steps, welcome songs, going-home songs, and war songs. Most Indigenous communities in the United States also maintain traditional songs and ceremonies, some of which are shared and practiced exclusively within the community.

Art

Further information: petroglyph, pictogram, petroform, Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous ceramics of the Americas, and Native American jewelry

The Iroquois, living around the Great Lakes and extending east and north, used strings or belts called wampum that served a dual function: the knots and beaded designs mnemonically chronicled tribal stories and legends, and further served as a medium of exchange and a unit of measure. The keepers of the articles were seen as tribal dignitaries.

Pueblo peoples crafted impressive items associated with their religious ceremonies. Kachina dancers wore elaborately painted and decorated masks as they ritually impersonated various ancestral spirits. Pueblo people are particularly noted for their traditional high-quality pottery, often with geometric designs and floral, animal and bird motifs. Sculpture was not highly developed, but carved stone and wood fetishes were made for religious use. Superior weaving, embroidered decorations, and rich dyes characterized the textile arts. Both turquoise and shell jewelry were created, as were formalized pictorial arts.

Navajo spirituality focused on the maintenance of a harmonious relationship with the spirit world, often achieved by ceremonial acts, usually incorporating sandpainting. For the Navajo, the sand painting is not merely a representational object, but a dynamic spiritual entity with a life of its own, which helped the patient at the center of the ceremony re-establish a connection with the life force. These vivid, intricate, and colorful sand creations were erased at the end of the healing ceremony.

It has been estimated that the Native American arts and crafts industry brings in more than a billion USD in gross sales annually, nationwide.

Native American art comprises a major category in the world art collection. Native American contributions include pottery, paintings, jewellery, weavings, sculpture, basketry, and carvings. Franklin Gritts was a Cherokee artist who taught students from many tribes at Haskell Institute (now Haskell Indian Nations University) in the 1940s, the Golden Age of Native American painters. The integrity of certain Native American artworks is protected by the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, which prohibits the representation of art as Native American when it is not the product of an enrolled Native American artist. Attorney Gail Sheffield and others claim that this law has had "the unintended consequence of sanctioning discrimination against Native Americans whose tribal affiliation was not officially recognized". Native artists such as Jeanne Rorex Bridges (Echota Cherokee) who was not enrolled ran the risk of fines or imprisonment if they continued to sell their art while affirming their Indian heritage.

Interracial relations

Interracial relations between Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans is a complex issue that has been mostly neglected with "few in-depth studies on interracial relationships".

Assimilation

Further information: Cultural assimilation of Native Americans

European impact was immediate, widespread, and profound already during the early years of colonization and the creation of the countries which currently exist in the Americas. Europeans living among Native Americans were often called "white indians". They "lived in native communities for years, learned native languages fluently, attended native councils, and often fought alongside their native companions".

Early contact was often charged with tension and emotion, but also had moments of friendship, cooperation, and intimacy. Marriages took place in English, French, Russian and Spanish colonies between Native Americans and Europeans though Native American women were also the victims of rape.

There was fear on both sides, as the different peoples realized how different their societies were. Many whites regarded Native people as "savages" because the Native people were not Protestant or Roman Catholic and therefore the Native people were not considered to be human beings. The Native American author, Andrew J. Blackbird, wrote in his History of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of Michigan (1897), that white settlers introduced some immoralities into Native American tribes. Many Native Americans suffered because the Europeans introduced alcohol. Many Native people do not break down alcohol in the same way as people of Eurasian background. Many Native people were learning what their body could tolerate of this new substance and died as a result of imbibing too much.

Blackbird wrote:

The Ottawas and Chippewas were quite virtuous in their primitive state, as there were no illegitimate children reported in our old traditions. But very lately this evil came to exist among the Ottawas-so lately that the second case among the Ottawas of 'Arbor Croche' is yet living in 1897. And from that time this evil came to be quite frequent, for immorality has been introduced among these people by evil white persons who bring their vices into the tribes.

The U.S. government had two purposes when making land agreements with Native Americans: to open up more land for white settlement, and to "ease tensions" (in other words assimilate Native people to Eurasian social ways) between whites and Native Americans by forcing the Native Americans to use the land in the same way as did the whites—for subsistence farms. The government used a variety of strategies to achieve these goals; many treaties required Native Americans to become farmers in order to keep their land. Government officials often did not translate the documents which Native Americans were forced to sign, and native chiefs often had little or no idea what they were signing.

For a Native American man to marry a white woman, he had to get consent of her parents, as long as "he can prove to support her as a white woman in a good home". In the early 19th century, the Shawnee Tecumseh and blonde hair, blue-eyed Rebecca Galloway had an interracial affair. In the late 19th century, three European American middle-class women teachers at Hampton Institute married Native American men whom they had met as students.

As European American women started working independently at missions and Indian schools in the western states, there were more opportunities for their meeting and developing relationships with Native American men. For instance, Charles Eastman, a man of European and Lakota origin whose father sent both his sons to Dartmouth College, got his medical degree at Boston University and returned to the West to practice. He married Elaine Goodale, whom he met in South Dakota. He was the grandson of Seth Eastman, a military officer from Maine, and a chief's daughter. Goodale was a young European American teacher from Massachusetts and a reformer, who was appointed as the U.S. superintendent of Native American education for the reservations in the Dakota Territory. They had six children together.

European enslavement

Main articles: Slavery among Native Americans in the United States and Slavery among Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The majority of Native American tribes did practice some form of slavery before the European introduction of African slavery into North America, but none exploited slave labor on a large scale. Most Native American tribes did not barter captives in the pre-colonial era, although they sometimes exchanged enslaved individuals with other tribes in peace gestures or in exchange for their own members. When Europeans arrived as colonists in North America, Native Americans changed their practice of slavery dramatically. Native Americans began selling war captives to Europeans rather than integrating them into their own societies as they had done before. As the demand for labor in the West Indies grew with the cultivation of sugar cane, Europeans enslaved Native Americans for the Thirteen Colonies, and some were exported to the "sugar islands". The British settlers, especially those in the southern colonies, purchased or captured Native Americans to use as forced labor in cultivating tobacco, rice, and indigo. Accurate records of the numbers enslaved do not exist because vital statistics and census reports were at best infrequent. Scholars estimate tens to hundreds of thousands of Native Americans may have been enslaved by the Europeans, being sold by Native Americans themselves or Europeans.

In Colonial America, slavery soon became racialized, with those enslaved by the institution consisting of ethnic groups (non-Christian Native Americans and Africans) who were foreign to the Christian, European colonists. The House of Burgesses define the terms of slavery in Virginia in 1705:

All servants imported and brought into the Country ... who were not Christians in their native Country ... shall be accounted and be slaves. All Negro, mulatto and Indian slaves within this dominion ... shall be held to be real estate. If any slave resists his master ... correcting such slave, and shall happen to be killed in such correction ... the master shall be free of all punishment ... as if such accident never happened.

— Virginia General Assembly declaration, 1705

The slave trade of Native Americans lasted only until around 1750. It gave rise to a series of devastating wars among the tribes, including the Yamasee War. The Indian Wars of the early 18th century, combined with the increasing importation of African slaves, effectively ended the Native American slave trade by 1750. Colonists found that Native American slaves could easily escape, as they knew the country. The wars cost the lives of numerous colonial slave traders and disrupted their early societies. The remaining Native American groups banded together to face the Europeans from a position of strength. Many surviving Native American peoples of the southeast strengthened their loose coalitions of language groups and joined confederacies such as the Choctaw, the Creek, and the Catawba for protection. Even after the Indian Slave Trade ended in 1750, the enslavement of Native Americans continued (mostly through kidnappings) in the west and in the Southern states. Both Native American and African enslaved women suffered rape and sexual harassment by male slaveholders and other white men.

Native American and African relations

Further information: Black Indians and Native American slave ownership

African- and Native- Americans have interacted for centuries. The earliest record of Native American and African contact occurred in April 1502, when Spanish colonists transported the first Africans to Hispaniola to serve as slaves.

Sometimes Native Americans resented the presence of African Americans. The "Catawaba tribe in 1752 showed great anger and bitter resentment when an African American came among them as a trader". To gain favor with Europeans, the Cherokee exhibited the strongest color prejudice of all Native Americans. Because of European fears of a unified revolt of Native Americans and African Americans, the colonists tried to encourage hostility between the ethnic groups: "Whites sought to convince Native Americans that African Americans worked against their best interests." In 1751, South Carolina law stated:

The carrying of Negroes among the Indians has all along been thought detrimental, as an intimacy ought to be avoided.

In addition, in 1758 the governor of South Carolina James Glen wrote:

it has always been the policy of this government to create an aversion in them to Negroes.

Europeans considered both races inferior and made efforts to make both Native Americans and Africans enemies. Native Americans were rewarded if they returned escaped slaves, and African Americans were rewarded for fighting in the late 19th-century Indian Wars.

According to the National Park Service, "Native Americans, during the transitional period of Africans becoming the primary race enslaved, were enslaved at the same time and shared a common experience of enslavement. They worked together, lived together in communal quarters, produced collective recipes for food, shared herbal remedies, myths and legends, and in the end they intermarried." Because of a shortage of men due to warfare, many tribes encouraged marriage between the two groups, to create stronger, healthier children from the unions.

In the 18th century, many Native American women married freed or runaway African men due to a decrease in the population of men in Native American villages. Records show that many Native American women bought African men but, unknown to the European sellers, the women freed and married the men into their tribe. When African men married or had children by a Native American woman, their children were born free, because the mother was free (according to the principle of partus sequitur ventrem, which the colonists incorporated into law).

While numerous tribes used captive enemies as servants and slaves, they also often adopted younger captives into their tribes to replace members who had died. In the Southeast, a few Native American tribes began to adopt a slavery system similar to that of the American colonists, buying African American slaves, especially the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Creek. Though less than 3% of Native Americans owned slaves, divisions grew among the Native Americans over slavery. Among the Cherokee, records show that slaveholders in the tribe were largely the children of European men who had shown their children the economics of slavery. As European colonists took slaves into frontier areas, there were more opportunities for relationships between African and Native American peoples.

Race, ethnicity, and citizenship

Main articles: Native American identity and Native Americans in United States elections

Native American identity is determined by the tribal community that the individual or group is seeking to identify with. While it is common for non-Natives to consider it a racial or ethnic identity, it is considered by Native Americans in the United States to be a political identity, based on citizenship and immediate family relationships. As culture can vary widely between the 574 extant federally recognized tribes in the United States, the idea of a single unified "Native American" racial identity is a European construct that does not have an equivalent in tribal thought.

In the 2010 Census, nearly 3 million people indicated that their "race" was Native American (including Alaska Native). Of these, more than 27% specifically indicated "Cherokee" as their ethnic origin. Many of the First Families of Virginia claim descent from Pocahontas or some other "Indian princess". This phenomenon has been dubbed the "Cherokee Syndrome". Across the US, numerous individuals cultivate an opportunistic ethnic identity as Native American, sometimes through Cherokee heritage groups or Indian Wedding Blessings.

Some tribes (particularly some in the Eastern United States) are primarily made up of individuals with an unambiguous Native American identity, despite having a large number of mixed-race citizens with prominent non-Native ancestry. More than 75% of those enrolled in the Cherokee Nation have less than one-quarter Cherokee blood, and the former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Bill John Baker, is 1/32 Cherokee, amounting to about 3%.

Historically, numerous Native Americans assimilated into colonial and later American society, e.g. through adopting English and converting to Christianity. In many cases, this process occurred through forced assimilation of children sent off to American Indian boarding schools far from their families. Those who could eventually pass for white gained the advantage of white privilege, yet often paid for it with the loss of community connections. With the enforcement of blood quantum laws, Indian blood could be diluted over generations through intermarrying with non-Native populations, as well as intermarrying with members of tribes that also required high blood-quantum, solely from one tribe. "Kill the Indian, save the man" was a mantra of nineteenth-century U.S. assimilation policies.

Native Americans are more likely than any other racial group to practice interracial or intertribal marriage among the different tribes and non-Natives, resulting in an ever-declining proportion of Indigenous blood among those who claim a Native American identity (tribes often count only the Indian blood from their own tribal background in the enrollment process, disregarding intertribal heritages). Some tribes disenroll those with low blood quantum. Disenrollment has become a contentious issue in Native American reservation politics.

Tribal enrollment

Further information: List of federally recognized tribes in the United States, State-recognized tribes, Cherokee freedmen controversy, Cherokee descent, and Tribal disenrollment

Requirements for tribal citizenship vary by tribe, but are generally based on who one's parents and grandparents are, as known and documented by community members and tribal records. Among the tribal nations, qualification for enrolling those who were not logged at birth by their parents may be based upon a required percentage of Native American "blood" (or the "blood quantum") of an individual, or upon documented lineal descent from an ancestor on a specific census or register.

Tribal rules regarding the recognition of members who have heritage from multiple tribes also vary, but most do not allow citizenship in multiple tribes at once. For those that do, usually citizens consider one of their citizenships primary, and their other heritage to be "descent". Federally recognized tribes do not accept genetic ethnicity percentages results as appropriate evidence of Native American identity, as they cannot indicate specific tribe, or even whether or not someone is Native American. Unless requested for a paternity test, they do not advise applicants to submit such things.

To receive tribal services, a Native American must be a citizen of (or enrolled in) a federally recognized tribe. While each tribal government makes its own rules for the eligibility of citizens, the federal government has its own qualifications for federally-funded services. Federal scholarships for Native Americans require the student to be enrolled in a federally recognized tribe and to be of at least one-quarter Native American blood quantum, as attested to by a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB) card issued by the federal government.

Tribal membership conflicts have led to a number of legal disputes, court cases, and the formation of activist groups. One example of this is the Cherokee Freedmen. The Cherokee Nation requires documented direct genealogical descent from a Cherokee person listed in the early 1906 Dawes Rolls. The Freedmen are descendants of African Americans once enslaved by the Cherokees, who were granted, by federal treaty, citizenship in the historic Cherokee Nation as freedmen after the Civil War. The modern Cherokee Nation, in the early 1980s, passed a law to require that all members must prove descent from a Cherokee Native American (not Cherokee Freedmen) listed on the Dawes Rolls, resulting in the exclusion of some individuals and families who had been active in Cherokee culture for years.

Increased self-identification

Since the 2000 census, people may identify as being of more than one race. Since the 1960s, the number of people claiming Native American ancestry has grown significantly and, by the 2000 census, the number had more than doubled. Sociologists attribute this dramatic change to "ethnic shifting" or "ethnic shopping"; they believe that it reflects a willingness of people to question their birth identities and adopt new ethnicities which they find more compatible.

The author Jack Hitt writes:

The reaction from lifelong Indians runs the gamut. It is easy to find Native Americans who denounce many of these new Indians as members of the wannabe tribe. But it is also easy to find Indians like Clem Iron Wing, an elder among the Lakota, who sees this flood of new ethnic claims as magnificent, a surge of Indians 'trying to come home.' Those Indians who ridicule Iron Wing's lax sense of tribal membership have retrofitted the old genocidal system of blood quantum—measuring racial purity by blood—into the new standard for real Indianness, a choice rich with paradox.

Journalist Mary Annette Pember (Ojibwe) writes that non-Natives identifying with Native American identity may be a result of a person's increased interest in genealogy, the romanticization of what they believe the cultures to be, and family lore of Native American ancestors in the distant past. However, there are different issues if a person wants to pursue enrollment as a citizen of a tribal nation. Different tribes have different requirements for citizenship. Often those who live as non-Natives, yet claim distant heritage, say they are simply reluctant to enroll, arguing that it is a method of control initiated by the federal government. However, it is the tribes that set their own enrollment criteria, and "the various enrollment requirements are often a hurdle that ethnic shoppers are unable to clear." Says Grayson Noley, (Choctaw), of the University of Oklahoma, "If you have to search for proof of your heritage, it probably isn't there." In other cases, there are some individuals who are 100% Native American but, if all of their recent ancestors are from different tribes, blood quantum laws could result in them not meeting the citizenship criteria for any one of those individual tribes. Pember concludes:

The subjects of genuine American Indian blood, cultural connection and recognition by the community are extremely contentious issues, hotly debated throughout Indian country and beyond. The whole situation, some say, is ripe for misinterpretation, confusion and, ultimately, exploitation.

Admixture and genetics

Intertribal marriage is historically common among many Native American tribes, both prior to European contact and in the present. Historically, tribal conflicts might result in the eventual adoption of, or marriages with, captives taken in warfare, with former foes becoming full members of the community. Individuals often have ancestry from more than one tribe, and this became increasingly common after so many tribes lost family members to colonial invasions bringing disease, war and massacres. Bands or entire tribes were often reduced to very small numbers, and at times split or merged to form stronger communities in reaction to these pressures.

Tribes with long trading histories with Europeans show a higher rate of European admixture, reflecting admixture events between Native American women and European men.

The Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism has also said that haplogroup testing is not a valid means of determining Native American ancestry, and that the concept of using genetic testing to determine who is or is not Native American threatens tribal sovereignty. Author of Native American DNA: Tribal Belonging and the False Promise of Genetic Science, Kim TallBear (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), agrees, stating that not only is there no DNA test that can indicate a tribe, but "there is no DNA-test to prove you're Native American." Tallbear writes in Native American DNA that while a DNA test may bring up some markers associated with some Indigenous or Asian populations, the science in these cases is problematic, as Indigenous identity is not about one distant (and possibly nonexistent) ancestor, but rather political citizenship, culture, kinship, and daily, lived experience as part of an Indigenous community. She adds that a person, "… could have up to two Native American grandparents and show no sign of Native American ancestry. For example, a genetic male could have a maternal grandfather (from whom he did not inherit his Y chromosome) and a paternal grandmother (from whom he did not inherit his mtDNA) who were descended from Native American founders, but mtDNA and Y-chromosome analyses would not detect them."

Given all these factors, DNA testing is not sufficient to qualify a person for specific tribal membership, as the ethnicity admixture tests cannot distinguish among Native American tribes. They cannot even reliably indicate Native American ancestry:

"Native American markers" are not found solely among Native Americans. While they occur more frequently among Native Americans, they are also found in people in other parts of the world.

The only use of DNA testing by legitimate tribes is that some, such as the Meskwaki, may use DNA for paternity tests, or similar confirmation that an applicant who was not enrolled at birth is the biological child of an enrolled tribal member. It is solely about confirming or ruling out biological paternity, and has no relationship to race or ethnicity.

African American admixtures

Main article: Black Indians in the United States § Genealogy and genetics

DNA testing and research has provided some data about the extent of Native American ancestry among African Americans, which varies in the general population. Based on the work of geneticists, Harvard University historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr. hosted a popular, and at times controversial, PBS series, African American Lives, in which geneticists said DNA evidence shows that Native American ancestry is far less common among African Americans than previously believed. Their conclusions were that while almost all African Americans are racially mixed, and many have family stories of Native heritage, usually these stories turn out to be inaccurate, with only 5 percent of African American people showing more than 2 percent Native American ancestry.

Gates summarized these statistics to mean that, "If you have 2 percent Native American ancestry, you had one such ancestor on your family tree five to nine generations back (150 to 270 years ago)." Their findings also concluded that the most common "non-Black" mix among African Americans is English and Scots-Irish. Some critics thought the PBS series did not sufficiently explain the limitations of DNA testing for assessment of heritage. Another study, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, also indicated that, despite how common these family stories are, relatively few African Americans who have these stories actually turned out to have detectable Native American ancestry. A study reported in the American Journal of Human Genetics stated, "We analyzed the European genetic contribution to 10 populations of African descent in the United States (Maywood, Illinois; Detroit; New York; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Baltimore; Charleston, South Carolina; New Orleans; and Houston) ... mtDNA haplogroups analysis shows no evidence of a significant maternal Amerindian contribution to any of the 10 populations." Despite this, some still insist that most African Americans have at least some Native American heritage.

An autosomal study from 2019 found small but detectable amounts of Native American ancestry among African-Americans, ranging from an average of 1.2% in the West South Central region, to 1.9% on the West Coast. The median amount of Native ancestry in African-Americans was found to be 1% nationwide.

White and Hispanic admixtures

An autosomal DNA study published in 2019 found evidence of minimal Native American ancestry among non-Hispanic White Americans, ranging from an average of 0.18% in the Mid-Atlantic region to 0.93% in the Pacific region. However, the majority of White Americans were found to have no detectable Native American ancestry, with the median amount of European ancestry being 99.8% in White participants.

Hispanic Americans, on the other hand, were found to have a large and varying amount of Native American ancestry, with a median of 38% nationwide. This ancestry was the highest among Hispanics from the West South Central Region (Texas and Oklahoma) at 43.2%, and the West Coast, at 42.6%, reflecting the predominant Mexican-American population in these regions. Hispanics from the Mid-Atlantic, on the other hand, averaged only 11.1% Native American ancestry, reflecting the predominant Puerto Rican and Dominican-American populations among Hispanics from that region.

DNA

Main article: Genetic history of indigenous peoples of the Americas See also: Y-DNA haplogroups in Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The genetic history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas primarily focuses on human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups and human mitochondrial DNA haplogroups. "Y-DNA" is passed solely along the patrilineal line, from father to son, while "mtDNA" is passed down the matrilineal line, from mother to offspring of both sexes. Neither recombines, and thus Y-DNA and mtDNA change only by chance mutation at each generation with no intermixture between parents' genetic material. Autosomal "atDNA" markers are also used, but differ from mtDNA or Y-DNA in that they overlap significantly. Autosomal DNA is generally used to measure the average continent-of-ancestry genetic admixture in the entire human genome and related isolated populations. Within mtDNA, genetic scientists have found specific nucleotide sequences that they have classified as "Native American markers" because the sequences are understood to have been inherited through the generations of genetic females within populations first found in the "New World". There are five primary Native American mtDNA haplogroups in which there are clusters of closely linked markers inherited together. All five haplogroups have been identified by researchers as "prehistoric Native North American samples", and it is commonly asserted that the majority of living Native Americans possess one of the common five mtDNA haplogroup markers.

The genetic pattern indicates Indigenous Americans experienced two very distinctive genetic episodes; first with the initial-peopling of the Americas, and secondly with European colonization of the Americas. The former is the determinant factor for the number of gene lineages, zygosity mutations and founding haplotypes present in today's Indigenous American populations.

The most popular theory is that human settlement of the Americas occurred in stages from the Bering sea coast line, with an initial 15,000 to 20,000-year layover on Beringia for the small founding population. The micro-satellite diversity and distributions of the Y lineage specific to South America indicates that certain Amerindian populations have been isolated since the initial colonization of the region. The Na-Dené, Inuit and Indigenous Alaskan populations exhibit haplogroup Q-M242 (Y-DNA) mutations, however, that are distinct from other Indigenous Amerindians, and that have various mtDNA and atDNA mutations. This suggests that the paleo-Indian migrants into the northern extremes of North America and Greenland were descended from a later, independent migrant population.

Genetic analyses of HLA I and HLA II genes as well as HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 gene frequencies links the Ainu people of northern Japan and southeastern Russia to some Indigenous peoples of the Americas, especially to populations on the Pacific Northwest Coast such as Tlingit. Scientists suggest that the main ancestor of the Ainu and of some Native American groups can be traced back to Paleolithic groups in Southern Siberia.

See also

Portals:

• Indigenous peoples of the Americas
• United States

• List of historical Indian reservations in the United States
• List of Indian massacres in North America
• List of Indian reservations in the United States
• List of Native American firsts
• List of Native Americans of the United States (notable Native Americans)
• Racism against Native Americans in the United States
• List of U.S. communities with Native-American majority populations

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• National Indian Law Library of the Native American Rights Fund – a law library of federal Indian and tribal law

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Micronesian Americans Native Hawaiians Palauan Americans Samoan Americans Tongan Americans Americans of Euro Oceanic origin Australian Americans New Zealand Americans South America Argentine Americans Bolivian Americans Brazilian Americans Chilean Americans Colombian Americans Ecuadorian Americans Guyanese Americans Paraguayan Americans Peruvian Americans Surinamese Americans Uruguayan Americans Venezuelan Americans Multiethnic Afro-Asian Amerasian Blaxican Cajuns Hapa Louisiana Creole people Melungeon Mulatto Punjabi Mexican Americans People of the United States / Americans American ancestry Native American ancestry Maps of American ancestries 2010 census Race and ethnicity in the census Race and ethnicity in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Racism v t e Indigenous peoples of the Americas Pre-history Paleo-Indians Pre-Columbian era Classification Archaeology Genetics Solutrean hypothesis Mythology/Religion Mythologies‎ List of deities Religions Human sacrifice North America Arborglyph Fifth World Great Spirit Medicine man Medicine wheel The red road Totem pole Turtle Island Mesoamerica Common Cosmovision Creation Religion World tree Variations Aztec Maya Olmec South America Inca Mapuche Muisca Culture Andes Colombia Ecuador Peru Art Music Visual arts Painting Artists Writers European colonization European colonization Population history Columbian exchange Modern groups by country North America Belize Canada Costa Rica Dominica El Salvador Greenland Guatemala Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Trinidad and Tobago United States South America (list) Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela Related topics Ethnobotany Cherokee Iroquois Navajo Zuni Identity Languages Movements Philosophy Studies Trade Deerskin In popular culture Category Portal v t e Rights of Native Americans in the United States Case law Johnson v. McIntosh (1823) Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) Worcester v. Georgia (1832) Fellows v. Blacksmith (1857) New York ex rel. Cutler v. Dibble (1858) Standing Bear v. Crook (D. Neb. 1879) Ex parte Crow Dog (1883) Elk v. Wilkins (1884) Seneca Nation of Indians v. Christy (1896) Talton v. Mayes (1896) Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock (1903) United States v. Santa Fe Pacific Railroad Co. (1941) Tee-Hit-Ton Indians v. United States (1955) Williams v. Lee (1959) Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation (1960) Menominee Tribe v. United States (1968) McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Commission (1973) Oneida Indian Nation of New York v. County of Oneida (1974) Bryan v. Itasca County (1976) United States v. Antelope (1977) Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez (1978) Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe (1982) Solem v. Bartlett (1984) County of Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York State (1985) South Carolina v. Catawba Indian Tribe, Inc. (1986) Hodel v. Irving (1987) Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield (1989) Duro v. Reina (1990) South Dakota v. Bourland (1993) Idaho v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho (1997) Idaho v. United States (2001) United States v. Lara (2004) City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York (2005) Cobell v. Salazar (D.C. Cir. 2009) Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl (2013) Sharp v. Murphy and McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020) Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta (2022) List of United States Supreme Court cases involving Indian tribes Legislation Blood quantum laws (1705 onwards) Nonintercourse Act (1790,1793,1796,1799,1802,1834) Civilization Act (1819) Indian Removal Act (1830) Dawes Act (1887) Curtis Act (1898) Burke Act (1906) Indian Citizenship Act (1924) Indian Reorganization Act (1934) Indian arts and crafts laws (1935–2019) Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act (1936) Nationality Act (1940) Public Law 280 (1953) Indian Relocation Act (1956) Indian Civil Rights Act (1968) Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (1971) Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (1975) American Indian Religious Freedom Act (1978) Indian Child Welfare Act (1978) Diminishment (1984) Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (1988) Native American Languages Act (1990) Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (1990) Indian Arts and Crafts Act (1990) Cherokee Nation Truth in Advertising for Native Art (2008) Federal and State recognition Federal recognition of Native Hawaiians Legal status of Hawaii Federally recognized tribes State recognized tribes Related Aboriginal title Bureau of Indian Affairs Cherokee Commission Dawes Rolls Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Eagle feather law Eagle-bone whistle Hunting license In the Courts of the Conqueror Indian reservations Long Walk of the Navajo National Indian Gaming Commission Native American civil rights Native American gaming Native American Rights Fund Recognition of sacred sites Seminole Wars Survivance Trail of Tears Treaty rights Tribal sovereignty Self-determination United States Congressional Joint Special Committee on Conditions of Indian Tribes v t e Cultural areas of Indigenous North Americans Arctic Subarctic Northwest Coast Plateau California Great Basin Plains Eastern Woodlands Northeastern Southeastern Southwest Caribbean Mexico Aridoamerica Mesoamerica v t e Indigenous peoples of the world by continent Africa Eurasia North America Oceania South America Indigenous peoples by geographic regions v t e American Indian Movement Background Native Americans in the United States Indian termination policy Rainbow Coalition Red Power movement Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) Events The Longest Walk Mount Rushmore Occupation Occupation of Alcatraz Trail of Broken Treaties Bureau of Indian Affairs building takeover Wounded Knee Occupation Incident at Oglala Statue of Christopher Columbus toppling Related Bringing the Circle Together Little Earth National Council on Indian Opportunity Native American Day Red Power movement Republic of Lakotah Activist groups American Indian Movement of Colorado International Indian Treaty Council Mohawk Warrior Society National Amerindianist American Redman's Party Activists Aaron Carapella Anna Mae Aquash Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Dance Carter Camp Clyde Bellecourt Dennis Banks Dick Wilson Edgar Bear Runner Floyd Westerman Janet McCloud Jimmie Durham John Trudell Leonard Peltier Lorelei DeCora Means Mary Brave Bird Minnie Two Shoes Pura Fé Russell Means Philip Yenyo Robert Robideau Ray Robinson Robert Roche Richard Two Elk Rita Long Visitor Holy Dance Sacheen Littlefeather Sundance Raymond Yellow Thunder Tom B.K. Goldtooth Vernon Bellecourt Ward Churchill Wesley Bad Heart Bull

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