Native Hawaiians and Alaskan Natives, such as Aleut, Yup'ik, and Inuit, are not commonly referred to as “Native Americans”.1)
The term “American Indian” is used by the majority of indigenous people in the United States, while “First Nations” is used by the majority of indigenous people in Canada. People in both countries are frequently referred to as “Native Americans” or “indigenous Americans”.2)
Ishi (about 1860-1916) is commonly regarded as America's “last wild Indian.” He spent the most of his life outside of contemporary civilization when his tribe, the Yahi (of the Yana group), fell extinct due to the California Gold Rush in the late 1800s. After his family died, he lived alone in the wilderness. He walked out of the wilderness into the town of Oroville in 1911, starving and with nowhere to go, where he would later be studied by anthropologists.3)
The Sequoia tree was named after Cherokee leader Sequoyah, who assisted his people in developing an alphabet.4)
The term “Indian” was coined by Christopher Columbus, who thought he had discovered the East Indies. He referred to the indigenous people as “Indians”.5)
Native Americans and First Nations people who spoke an Algonquian language were the first to meet English explorers, and as a result, many words from these languages entered English.6)
The Algonquian people were the first to encounter English explorers, which resulted in the incorporation of their terms into our own language: caribou (“snow-shoveler”), chipmunk (“red squirrel”), moccasin, moose, muskrat, opossum (“white dog”), papoose (“baby”), pecan (“nut”), powwow (“to dream, to have a vision”), raccoon, skunk (“to urinate” + “fox”), squaw, toboggan, totem, wigwam, and woodchuck.7)
The term “avocado” is Nahuatl meaning “testicle” in the Central Mexican/Aztec Indian language.8)
Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, and Missouri are among the states whose names are derived from Amerindian terms.9)
Many Native American words, such as chia, chili, chocolate, coyote, guacamole, mesquite, peyote, shack, tamale, tomato, abalone, bayou, cannibal, Chinook, manatee, poncho, and potato, have entered the English language.10)
The word “barbecue” comes from the Arawakan Indian language and means “stick framework”.11)
Native Americans, according to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are descended from the Middle East and were Jewish in origin. In their book, The Book of Mormon, Native Americans are referred to as “Laminates”.12)
The Indian Citizenship Act (Snyder Act) of 1924 awarded indigenous peoples full U.S. citizenship. It was passed in part to honor the hundreds of Native Americans who served in WWI.13)
Native Americans have lived on the American continent since around 12,000 B.C. They were not a single nation, but rather a diverse collection of civilizations, peoples, and languages. Some historians estimate that humanity have lived in South America for about 30,000 years.14)
The Iroquois Confederacy was formed in the early 1600s by five former enemies. An all-male council made decisions; however, women had the authority to fire any councilor.15)
The idea of a government like the Iroquois Confederacy, according to Benjamin Franklin, coauthor of the Constitution, could be used by the English colonies. The eagle on the United States shield is the Iroquois bald eagle, which is also a symbol of the Iroquois.16)
The term “Sioux” was coined by French explorers after they learned it from the Chippewa tribe. The Chippewa term for “enemy” was “sioux,” which referred to the Lakota people.17)
Early European immigrants referred to the Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole nations as the “Five Civilized Tribes.” They were deemed more civilized because of cultural parallels with Europeans, such as planned cities and farms—and some Native Americans were affluent enough to own slaves.18)
The state of Utah was named after the Utes, a people who lived on the outskirts of the Plains and the Great Basin.19)
Oklahoma is derived from the Choctaw okla homma, which means “red people” in Choctaw.20)
Governments in both the United States and Canada wanted to obliterate Native traditions and identities, both militarily and via coercive boarding school assimilation regimes.21)
The Nez Perce people assisted Lewis and Clark in their exploration of the Northwest Territory. They built canoes for them, drew river maps, and assisted them in reaching the Pacific.22)
Sacagawea (1788-1812) was a Lemhi Shoshone woman who served as an interpreter and guide for the Lewis and Clark expedition. Between 1804 and 1806 she journeyed hundreds of miles with them from North Dakota to the Pacific Ocean.23)
Some Plains tribes constructed scaffolding or utilized trees to elevate a dead body above ground, protecting it from wild predators as it rotted. 24)
The Huron tribe held the deceased body in a casket above ground on poles for up to 12 years before burying the bones.25)
Native Americans made hairbrushes out of porcupine hair. To produce a toothbrush, a stick was sometimes chopped into the appropriate form and frayed at the edges.26)
Maize, beans, and squash were known as the “three sisters” by the Iroquois. They were considered female sprits since they were so essential as food sources.27)
The Mohawk hairstyle is named after the Mohawks, one of the Iroquois nation's tribes. The Mohawks also preferred to have one side of their head shaved while the other was painted a brilliant color.28)
The ornate Lakota (Sioux) eagle-feather headdress, which went from head to toe, could only be worn by a warrior who had shown his bravery in combat. Eagle feathers were highly valued because they were supposed to contain mystical power.29)
Some papooses (originally an Algonquian word) were built with sharp, projecting points so that if a papoose fell off while the mother was riding a horse, the points would stick in the ground and protect the baby.30)
A pregnant Iroquois woman would refrain from eating turtles so that her child would not be as clumsy on land as a turtle.31)
In Navajo communities, pregnant women would untie their braided hair and free animals like horses in hopes of creating free passage and safe birth for the baby.32)
When a Plains man killed his first buffalo, he would be given the tastiest part, the tongue. He was expected to decline the offer, however, and instead share it with his friends as a mark of generosity.33)
Some Native Americans erected an earthen “Cry Shed”, which reflected the community's problems and desires. It was set on fire, and it was thought that as it burnt, misfortunes were taken away on the wind and hopes were conveyed to the spirit realm.34)
The Sun Dance of the Plains people was probably the most agonizing Native American ceremonial. Dancers were implanted with skewers in their pectoral muscles and were roped to the holy cottonwood tree. They hoped for a great supply of buffalo in exchange for their suffering.35)
The Green Corn ceremony was and still is a harvest thanksgiving ceremony practiced by Native Americans in the Southeast and Northeast. Thirty or more people dance in pairs, express gratitude to the spirits, and then feast.36)
To show their families' status, Northwest Native Americans such as the Haida constructed totem poles as tall as 40 feet outside their dwellings. Typically, the pole would feature animals or birds dear to the family. Totem poles were also constructed as a monument to ancestors. Totem poles were incorrectly assumed to be deity sculptures by Christians.37)
Sand paintings are composed of colored sand grains that have been meticulously placed to make a complex design of geometric shapes and symbols. The most well-known artworks are the Navajo sand paintings, which were created by Southwestern Native Americans. They regard the paintings as spiritual, living beings that must be treated with care.38)
Most Plains tribes considered it a great honor to be able to touch an enemy during a raid without being touched in return. This was known as a “coup,” and it was considered more important than actually injuring the enemy or stealing his horse.39)
Tribal territories are home to approximately 22% of America's 5.2 million Native Americans.40)
Around 28.2% of American Indians live below the federal poverty level.41)
Native Americans have a five-year life expectancy advantage over other Americans.42)
In comparison to Caucasians, around 36% of Native Americans with heart disease will die before the age of 65, compared to 15% of Caucasians.43)
Americans Indians are 177% more likely than non-Natives to die from diabetes. 44)
Approximately 500% are more likely to die from TB, and 82% are more likely to commit suicide.45)