The first nations of the United States
Native Americans are the Indigenous peoples of the land that is now the United States. They have lived here for many thousands of years. Before Europeans arrived, there were hundreds of distinct nations, each with its own language, government, beliefs and way of life.
Today there are more than 570 federally recognized tribes in the United States. A tribe (or nation) is a community that shares ancestry, language and culture. Tribes are sovereign nations. Sovereignty means they have the right to govern themselves, make laws and run their own courts, schools and services.
Culture regions
Native nations adapted to very different environments. Historians often group them into culture regions.
| Culture region | Example nations | Environment | Food | Homes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast (Eastern Woodlands) | Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), Lenape, Wampanoag | forests, rivers, lakes | corn, beans, squash, deer, fish | longhouses, wigwams |
| Southeast | Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Choctaw, Seminole | warm, fertile land, swamps | corn, beans, squash, deer, fish | wattle-and-daub houses, chickees (raised homes) |
| Plains | Lakota, Cheyenne, Comanche, Crow | wide grasslands | bison | tipis, earth lodges |
| Southwest | Diné (Navajo), Hopi, Pueblo peoples, Apache | deserts, mesas, canyons | corn, beans, squash, sheep (later) | adobe pueblos, hogans |
| Great Basin | Shoshone, Paiute, Ute | dry desert basins | seeds, nuts, small animals | brush shelters |
| California | Chumash, Pomo, Miwok | mild coast and valleys | acorns, fish, seafood | plank and brush houses |
| Plateau | Nez Perce, Yakama | high plateaus and rivers | salmon, roots | pit houses, mat lodges |
| Northwest Coast | Tlingit, Makah, Chinook | rainy coast and forests | salmon, whales, shellfish | cedar plank houses |
| Arctic and Subarctic | Iñupiat, Yup’ik, Athabascan peoples (Alaska) | tundra, forests, ice | seals, whales, caribou, fish | sod houses, snow houses for travel |
Ways of life
Farming
Many nations were skilled farmers. The "Three Sisters" (corn, beans and squash) were grown together across much of North America. Native farmers developed corn from a wild grass over thousands of years. Potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, peanuts and pumpkins all came from Indigenous farmers in the Americas.
Hunting and gathering
Plains nations followed bison herds, using nearly every part of the animal for food, clothing, tools and shelter. Coastal nations fished and hunted sea mammals. Others gathered acorns, wild rice, berries and roots.
Government
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, a confederacy of five (later six) nations in the Northeast, was united under the Great Law of Peace. Some historians believe ideas from the Confederacy influenced American thinkers.
Art, stories and ceremonies
Pottery, weaving, beadwork, basketry, carving and storytelling were and are important. Ceremonies mark seasons, harvests and life events.
Contact and change
After Europeans arrived in the 1500s, life changed dramatically.
- Diseases such as smallpox killed huge numbers of Native people.
- Settlers took land, often breaking treaties.
- In the 1830s, the U.S. government forced many nations in the Southeast to leave their homelands. This removal included the Trail of Tears, when thousands of Cherokee and other people died on the journey west.
- Many nations were moved onto reservations: land set aside for them, often much smaller than their homelands.
- Later, many children were sent to boarding schools that tried to erase their cultures and languages.
Native nations today
Native Americans live across the United States, on reservations, in cities and in rural areas. Tribes run governments, businesses, schools and colleges and work to protect their lands, languages and cultures. Native leaders, artists, scientists and athletes contribute to American life.
Native American Heritage Month is celebrated in November, and many places honour Indigenous Peoples’ Day in October.
Try it yourself
- Choose a culture region and draw a picture of a home and a food from that region.
- Find out which Native nations lived, or live, where your town is.
- List five foods that came from Indigenous farmers in the Americas.
- Compare two culture regions: how did environment shape their ways of life?
Quick recap
- Native Americans are the Indigenous peoples of the United States.
- There are more than 570 federally recognized tribes, which are sovereign nations.
- Nations adapted to different environments, grouped into culture regions.
- Native farmers gave the world corn, potatoes, tomatoes and more.
- Removal, disease and broken treaties caused great harm, but Native nations remain strong today.