Native Americans and Alaska Natives
Collection of Native American Images Joseph Brant · Tecumseh · Pushmataha · Sequoyah Touch the Clouds · Chief Joseph · Charles Eastman Holmes Colbert · Jim Thorpe · John Herrington
Total population
American Indian and Alaska Native One race: 2.5 million are registered 1 In combination with one or more other races: 1.6 million are registered 2
Regions with significant populations
United States (predominantly the West and South)
Languages
English language Spanish language Native American languages
Religion
Native American Church Protestant Sacred Pipe Kiva Religion Long House Roman Catholic Russian Orthodox
Related ethnic groups
Indigenous peoples of the Americas

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawai'i. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as intact political communities. There has been a wide range of terms used to describe them and no consensus has been reached among indigenous members as to what they prefer to be called collectively. They have been known as American Indians, Amerindians, Amerinds, Aboriginal, Indians, Indigenous, Original Americans, Red Indians, or Red Men.

European colonization of the Americas was a period of conflict between Old and New World cultures. Most of the written historical record about Native Americans began with European contact. Ideologies clashed, old world diseases decimated, religious institutions challenged, and technologies were exchanged in what would be one of the greatest meetings of cultures in the history of the world. Native Americans lived in hunter/farmer subsistence societies with comparatively fewer societal constraints and institutional structures--as well as less focus on the acquisition of material goods and market transactions--than the more unyielding, institutional, market-based societies of Western Europe. The differences between these two cultures were vast enough to make for great misunderstandings and create long-lasting cultural conflicts in the future.

As the colonies revolted against England and established the United States of America, the ideology of Manifest destiny became integral to the American nationalist movement. This ideology accommodated the American policy of attempting to "civilize" native tribes with Western ideals, (as conceived by men such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Knox)³⁴⁵⁶ and assimilation, (whether voluntary as with the Choctaw,⁷⁸ or forced) became a consistent policy through American administrations. Major resistance to American expansion, or "Indian Wars", were nearly a constant issue up until the 1890s.

Native Americans today have a special relationship with the United States of America. They can be found as nations, tribes, or bands of Native Americans who have sovereignty or independence from the government of the United States, and whose society and culture still flourish amidst a larger immigrated American (such as European, African, Asian, Middle Eastern) populace. Native Americans who were not already U.S. citizens as granted by other provisions such as with a treaty term were granted citizenship in 1924 by the Congress of the United States.

History

Pre-Columbian

According to the still-debated New World migration model, a migration of humans from Eurasia to the Americas took place via Beringia, a land bridge which formerly connected the two continents across what is now the Bering Strait. The minimum time depth by which this migration had taken place is confirmed at c. 12,000 years ago, with the upper bound (or earliest period) remaining a matter of some unresolved contention.⁹ These early Paleoamericans soon spread throughout the Americas, diversifying into many hundreds of culturally distinct nations and tribes.¹⁰ According to the oral histories of many of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, they have been living there since their genesis, described by a wide range of traditional creation accounts.

European explorations

After 1492, European exploration of the Americas revolutionized how the Old and New Worlds perceived themselves. One of the first major contacts, in what would be called the American Deep South, occurred when conquistador Juan Ponce de León landed in La Florida in April of 1513. Ponce de León was later followed by other Spanish explorers like Pánfilo de Narváez in 1528 and Hernando de Soto in 1539.

Discovery of the Mississippi by William H. Powell (1823–1879) is a Romantic depiction of de Soto seeing the Mississippi River for the first time. It hangs in the United States Capitol rotunda.

The European exploration and subsequent colonization obliterated some Native Americans populations and cultures. Others re-organized to form new cultural groups. From the 16th through the 19th centuries, the population of Native Americans declined in the following ways: epidemic diseases brought from Europe along with violence¹¹ at the hands of European explorers and colonists; displacement from their lands; internal warfare,¹² enslavement; and a high rate of intermarriage.¹³¹⁴ Most mainstream scholars believe that, among the various contributing factors, epidemic disease was the overwhelming cause of the population decline of the American natives because of their lack of immunity to new diseases brought from Europe.¹⁵¹⁶¹⁷

European explorers and settlers brought infectious diseases to North America against which the Native Americans had no natural immunity. Chicken pox and measles, though common and rarely fatal among Europeans, often proved deadly to Native Americans. Smallpox proved particularly deadly to Native American populations.¹⁸ Epidemics often immediately followed European exploration and sometimes destroyed entire village populations. While precise figures are difficult to determine, some historians estimate that up to 80% of some Native populations died due to European diseases after first contact. ¹⁹

In 1618–1619, smallpox wiped out 90% of the Massachusetts Bay Native Americans.²⁰ Historians believe Mohawk Native Americans were infected after contact with children of Dutch traders in Albany in 1634. The disease swept through Mohawk villages, reaching Native Americans at Lake Ontario in 1636, and the lands of the Iroquois by 1679, as it was carried by Mohawks and other Native Americans who traveled the trading routes.²¹ The high rate of fatalities caused breakdowns in Native American societies and disrupted generational exchanges of culture.

Similarly, after initial direct contact with European explorers in the 1770s, smallpox rapidly killed at least 30% of Northwest Coast Native Americans. For the next 80 to 100 years, smallpox and other diseases devastated native populations in the region. Puget Sound area populations once as high as 37,000 were reduced to only 9,000 survivors by the time settlers arrived en masse in the mid-19th century.²²

Smallpox epidemics in 1780–1782 and 1837–1838 brought devastation and drastic depopulation among the Plains Indians.²³²⁴ By 1832, the federal government established a smallpox vaccination program for Native Americans (The Indian Vaccination Act of 1832). It was the first program created to address a health problem of American Indians.²⁵²⁶

In the sixteenth century Spaniards and other Europeans brought horses to the Americas. The reintroduction of horses resulted in benefits to Native Americans. As they adopted the animals, they began to change their cultures in substantial ways, especially by extending their ranges. Some of the horses escaped and began to breed and increase their numbers in the wild. Horses had originated naturally in North America and migrated westward via the Bering Land Bridge to Asia. The early American horse was game for the earliest humans and was hunted to extinction about 7,000 BC, just after the end of the last glacial period.

The re-introduction of the horse to North America had a profound impact on Native American culture of the Great Plains. The tribes trained and used the horses to ride and to carry packs or pull travois, to expand their territories markedly, more easily exchange goods with neighboring tribes, and more easily hunt game. They fully incorporated the use of horses into their societies, including using the horses to conduct warring raids.

Foundations for freedom

Treaty of Penn with Indians by Benjamin West painted in 1827.

Native American societies reminded Europeans of a golden age only known to them in folk history.²⁷ The idea of freedom and democratic ideals was born in the Americas^{citation needed} because "it was only in America" that Europeans from 1500 to 1776 knew of societies that were "truly free."²⁷

The Iroquois nations' political confederacy and democratic government has been credited as one of the influences on the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution.²⁸²⁹ However, there is heated debate among historians about the importance of their contribution. Although Native American governmental influence is debated, it is a historical fact that several founding fathers had contact with the Iroquois, and prominent figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were involved with their stronger and larger native neighbor-- the Iroquois.

Colonials revolt

Yamacraw Creek Native Americans meet with the Trustee of the colony of Georgia in England, July 1734, Notice the Native American boy (in a blue coat) and woman (in a red dress) in European clothing.

During the American Revolution, the newly proclaimed United States competed with the British for the allegiance of Native American nations east of the Mississippi River. Most Native Americans who joined the struggle sided with the British, hoping to use the American Revolutionary War to halt further colonial expansion onto Native American land. Many native communities were divided over which side to support in the war. The first native community to sign a treaty with the new United States Government was the Lenape. For the Iroquois Confederacy, the American Revolution resulted in civil war. Cherokees split into a neutral (or pro-American) faction and the anti-American Chickamaugas, led by Dragging Canoe.

Frontier warfare during the American Revolution was particularly brutal, and numerous atrocities were committed by settlers and native tribes alike. Noncombatants suffered greatly during the war. Military expeditions on each side destroyed villages and food supplies to reduce the ability of people to fight, as in frequent raids in the Mohawk Valley and western New York.³¹ The largest of these expeditions was the Sullivan Expedition of 1779, in which American troops destroyed more than 40 Iroquois villages to neutralize Iroquois raids in upstate New York. The expedition failed to have the desired effect: Native American activity became even more determined.

The British made peace with the Americans in the Treaty of Paris (1783), through which they ceded vast Native American territories to the United States without informing the Native Americans. The United States initially treated the Native Americans who had fought with the British as a conquered people who had lost their lands. Although many of the Iroquois tribes went to Canada with the Loyalists, others tried to stay in New York and western territories and tried to maintain their lands. Nonetheless, the state of New York made a separate treaty with Iroquois and put up for sale 5,000,000 acres (20,000 km²) of land that had previously been their territory. The state established a reservation near Syracuse for the Onondagas who had been allies of the colonists.

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 treaties. The states and settlers were frequently at odds with this policy.³³

Transmuted Native America

Benjamin Hawkins, seen here on his plantation, teaches Creek Native Americans how to use European technology. Painted in 1805.

European nations often sent Native Americans, often against their will and others went willingly, to the Old World as objects of curiosity. They often entertained royalty and were sometimes prey to commercial purposes. Christianization of Native Americans was a charted purpose for some European colonies.

American policy toward Native Americans had continued to evolve after the American Revolution. George Washington and Henry Knox believed that Native Americans were equals but that their society was inferior. He formulated a policy to encourage the "civilizing" process.⁴ Washington had a six-point plan for civilization which included,

1. impartial justice toward Native Americans
2. regulated buying of Native American lands
3. promotion of commerce
4. promotion of experiments to civilize or improve Native American society
5. presidential authority to give presents
6. punishing those who violated Native American rights.⁶

Robert Remini, a historian, wrote that "once the Indians adopted the practice of private property, built homes, farmed, educated their children, and embraced Christianity, these Native Americans would win acceptance from white Americans."⁵ The United States appointed agents, like Benjamin Hawkins, to live among the Native Americans and to teach them how to live like whites.³

Assimilation

Pupils at Carlisle Native American school, Pennsylvania (c. 1900)

For more details on this topic, see Native American boarding schools .

In the late eighteenth century, reformers starting with Washington and Knox,³⁵ in efforts to "civilize" or otherwise assimilate Native Americans (as opposed to relegating them to reservations), adopted the practice of educating native children. The Civilization Fund Act of 1819 promoted this civilization policy by providing funding to societies (mostly religious) who worked on Native American improvement. Native American boarding schools, which were run primarily by Christian missionaries,³⁶ often proved traumatic to Native American children, who were forbidden to speak their native languages, taught Christianity and denied the right to practice their native religions, and in numerous other ways forced to abandon their Native American identities³⁷ and adopt European-American culture. There were many documented cases of sexual, physical and mental abuse occurring at these schools.³⁸³⁹

American citizens

The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granted U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans. Prior to the passage of the act, nearly two-thirds of Native Americans were already U.S. citizens.⁴⁰ The earliest recorded date of Native Americans becoming U.S. citizens was in 1831 when the Mississippi Choctaw became citizens after the United States Legislature ratified the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. Under article XIV of that treaty, any Choctaw, who elected not to move to Native American Territory, could become an American citizen when he registers and if he stays on designated lands for five years after treaty ratification. Citizenship could also be obtained by:

Ely S. Parker was a Union Civil War General who wrote the terms of surrender between the United States and the Confederate States of America.⁴¹

1. Treaty Provision (as with the Mississippi Choctaw)
2. Allotment under the Act of February 8, 1887
3. Issuance of Patent in Fee Simple
4. Adopting Habits of Civilized Life
5. Minor Children
6. Citizenship by Birth
7. Becoming Soldiers and Sailors in the U.S. Armed Forces
8. Marriage
9. Special Act of Congress.

American expansion justification

Native Americans flee from the allegorical representation of Manifest Destiny, Columbia, painted in 1872 by John Gast

In July 1845, the New York newspaper editor John L. O’Sullivan coined the phrase “Manifest Destiny,” to explain how the "design of Providence" supported the territorial expansion of the United States.⁴² Manifest Destiny had serious consequences for Native Americans since continental expansion implicitly meant the occupation of Native American land. Manifest Destiny was an explanation or justification for expansion and westward movement, or, in some interpretations, an ideology or doctrine which helped to promote the process of civilization. Advocates of Manifest Destiny believed that expansion was not only good, but that it was obvious and certain. The term was first used primarily by Jacksonian Democrats in the 1840s to promote the annexation of much of what is now the Western United States (the Oregon Territory, the Texas Annexation, and the Mexican Cession).

The age of Manifest Destiny, which came to be known as "Indian Removal", gained ground. Although some humanitarian advocates of removal believed that Native Americans would be better off moving away from whites, an increasing number of Americans regarded the natives as nothing more than "savages" who stood in the way of American expansion. Thomas Jefferson believed that while Native Americans were the intellectual equals of whites, they had to live like the whites or inevitably be pushed aside by them. Jefferson's belief, rooted in Enlightenment thinking, that whites and Native Americans would merge to create a single nation did not last, and he began to believe that the natives should emigrate across the Mississippi River and maintain a separate society.

Resistance

Tecumseh was the Shawnee leader of Tecumseh's War who attempted to organize an alliance of Native American tribes throughout North America.⁴⁴

Conflicts generally known as "Great Plains Wars" broke out between colonial/American government and Native American societies. U.S. government authorities entered into numerous treaties during this period but later abrogated many for various reasons; however, many treaties are considered "living" documents. Major conflicts east of the Mississippi River include the Pequot War, Creek War, and Seminole Wars. Native American Nations west of the Mississippi were numerous and were the last to submit to U.S. authority. Notably, a multi-tribal army led by Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief, fought a number of engagements during the period 1811-12, known as Tecumseh's War. In the latter stages, Tecumseh's group allied with the British forces in the War of 1812 and was instrumental in the conquest of Detroit. Other military engagements included Native American victories at the Battle of the Wabash in 1791, the Seminole Wars, and the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. Defeats included the Creek War of 1813-14, the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 and the Wounded Knee in 1890.⁴⁵ These conflicts were catalysts to the decline of dominant Native American culture.

Removals and reservations

Further information: List of Native American reservations in the United States

The Trail of Tears, painted by Robert Lindneux in 1942

In the nineteenth century, the incessant westward expansion of the United States incrementally compelled large numbers of Native Americans to resettle further west, often by force, almost always reluctantly, long held to be an illegal practice, given the status of the Hopewell Treaty of 1785. Under President Andrew Jackson, United States Congress passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which authorized the President to conduct treaties to exchange Native American land east of the Mississippi River for lands west of the river. As many as 100,000 Native Americans eventually relocated in the West as a result of this Indian Removal 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 of the stated intention of the removal policy took place under the Treaty of New Echota, which was signed by a dissident faction of Cherokees but not the elected leadership. President Jackson rigidly enforced the treaty, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 4,000 Cherokees on the Trail of Tears. About 17,000 Cherokees – along with approximately 2,000 black slaves held by Cherokees – were removed from their homes.⁴⁷

Native American Removal forced or coerced the relocation of major Native American groups in the Eastern United States, resulting directly and indirectly in the deaths of tens of thousands. Tribes were generally located to reservations on which they could more easily be separated from traditional life and pushed into European-American society. Some southern states additionally enacted laws in the 19th century forbidding non-Native American settlement on Native American lands, with the intention to prevent sympathetic white missionaries from aiding the scattered Native American resistance.⁴⁸

World War II

Some 44,000 Native Americans served in the United States military during World War II.⁴⁹ Described as the first large-scale exodus of indigenous peoples from the reservations since the removals of the 1800s, the international conflict was a turning point in American Indian history. Men of native descent were drafted into the military like other American males. Their fellow soldiers often held them in high esteem, in part since the legend of the tough Indian warrior had become a part of the fabric of American historical legend. White servicemen sometimes showed a lighthearted respect toward American Indian comrades by calling them "chief."

The resulting increase in contact with the world outside of the reservation system brought profound changes to American Indian culture. "The war," said the U.S. Indian commissioner in 1945, "caused the greatest disruption of Indian life since the beginning of the reservation era", affecting the habits, views, and economic well-being of tribal members.⁵⁰ The most significant of these changes was the opportunity—as a result of wartime labor shortages—to find well-paying work. Yet there were losses to contend with as well. Altogether, 1,200 Pueblo Indians served in World War II; only about half came home alive. In addition many more Navajo served as code talkers for the military in the Pacific. The code they made was never cracked by the Japanese.

Current status

Harvey Pratt, a forensic artist. He is accepted as a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho kindred tribes.

There are 561 federally recognized tribal governments in the United States. These tribes possess the right to form their own government, to enforce laws (both civil and criminal), 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).⁵¹

Many Native Americans and advocates of Native American rights point out that the US Federal government's claim to recognize the "sovereignty" of Native American peoples falls short, given that the US still wishes to govern Native American peoples and treat them as subject to US law. True respect for Native American sovereignty, according to such advocates, would require the United States federal 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 km²) of land held in trust by the United States for American Indians, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives."⁵² 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 a foreign power, whether the US Federal Government, Canada, or any other non-Native American authority.

According to 2003 United States Census Bureau estimates, a little over one third of the 2,786,652 Native Americans in the United States live in three states: California at 413,382, Arizona at 294,137 and Oklahoma at 279,559.⁵³

As of 2000, the largest tribes in the U.S. 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 blood. It is estimated that by 2100 that figure will rise to nine out of ten.⁵⁴ 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.

Some tribal nations have been unable to establish their heritage and obtain federal recognition. The Muwekma Ohlone of the San Francisco bay area are pursuing litigation in the federal court system to establish recognition.⁵⁵ Many of the smaller eastern tribes have been trying to gain official recognition of their tribal status. The 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 recognition as a tribe is extremely difficult; to be established as a tribal group, members have to submit extensive genealogical proof of tribal descent.

Jessica Biel at the Palm Springs Film Festival in January 2007. Biel claims Choctaw heritage along with English, French and German descent.⁵⁶⁵⁷

Military defeat, cultural pressure, confinement on reservations, forced cultural assimilation, outlawing of native languages and culture, termination policies of the 1950s and 1960s and earlier, slavery and poverty, have had deleterious effects on Native Americans' mental and physical health. Contemporary health problems suffered disproportionately include alcoholism,⁵⁸ heart disease, diabetes, and suicide.

As recently as the 1970s, the Bureau of Indian Affairs was still actively pursuing a policy of "assimilation",⁵⁹ dating at least to the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. The goal of assimilation—plainly stated early on—was to eliminate the reservations and steer Native Americans into mainstream U.S. culture. In July 2000 the Washington state Republican Party⁶⁰ adopted a resolution of termination for tribal governments. As of 2004, there are still claims of theft of Native American land for the coal and uranium it contains.⁶¹⁶²⁶³

In the state of Virginia, Native Americans face a unique problem. Virginia has no federally recognized tribes, largely due to Walter Ashby Plecker. In 1912, Plecker became the first registrar of the state's Bureau of Vital Statistics, serving until 1946. Plecker believed that the state's Native Americans had been "mongrelized" with its African American population. A law passed by the state's General Assembly recognized only two races, "white" and "colored". Plecker pressured local governments into reclassifying all Native Americans in the state as "colored", leading to the destruction of records on the state's Native American community.

This Census Bureau map depicts the locations of Native Americans in the United States as of 2000.

In order to receive federal recognition and the benefits it confers, tribes must prove their continuous existence since 1900. The federal government has so far refused to bend on this bureaucratic requirement.⁶⁴ A bill currently before U.S. Congress to ease this requirement has been favorably reported out of a key Senate committee, being supported by both of Virginia's senators, George Allen and John Warner, but faces opposition in the House from Representative Virgil Goode, who has expressed concerns that federal recognition could open the door to gambling in the state.⁶⁵

In the early 21st century, Native American communities remain an enduring fixture on the United States landscape, in the American economy, and in the lives of Native Americans. Communities have consistently formed governments that administer services like firefighting, natural resource management, and law enforcement. Most Native American communities have established court systems to adjudicate matters related to local ordinances, and most also look to various forms of moral and social authority vested in traditional affiliations within the community. To address the housing needs of Native Americans, Congress passed the Native American Housing and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA) in 1996. This legislation replaced public housing, and other 1937 Housing Act programs directed towards Indian Housing Authorities, with a block grant program directed towards Tribes.

On May 19, 2005, the Massachusetts legislature finally repealed a disused 330 year-old law that barred Native Americans from entering Boston.

Societal discrimination, racism and conflicts

A discriminatory sign posted above a bar. Mid-20th century.

Despite the ongoing political and social issues surrounding Native Americans' position in the United States, there has been relatively little public opinion research on attitudes toward them among the general public. In a 2007 focus group study by the nonpartisan Public Agenda organization, most non-Indians admitted they rarely encounter 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 and mistreatment in the broader society.⁶⁶

Conflicts between the federal government and native Americans occasionally erupt into violence. Perhaps one of the more noteworthy incidents in recent history is the Wounded Knee incident in small town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota. On February 27, 1973, the town was surrounded by federal law enforcement officials and the United States military. The town itself was under the control of members of the American Indian Movement which was protesting a variety of issues important to the organization. Two members of AIM were killed and one United States Marshal was paralyzed as a result of gunshot wounds. In the aftermath of the conflict, one man, Leonard Peltier was arrested and sentenced to life in prison while another, John Graham, as late as 2007, was extradited to the U.S. to stand trial for killing a Native American woman, months after the standoff, that he believed to be an FBI informant.⁶⁸⁶⁹

Native American mascots in sports

A student acting as Chief Osceola, the Florida State University mascot

Main article: Native American mascot controversy

The use of Native American mascots in sports has become a contentious issue in the United States and Canada. Americans have had a history of "playing Indian" that dates back to at least the 1700s.⁷¹ Many individuals admire the heroism and romanticism evoked by the classic Native American image, but many too view the use of mascots as both offensive and demeaning (especially amongst Native Americans). Despite the concerns that have been raised, many Native American mascots are still used in American sports from the elementary to the professional level.

In August 2005, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) banned the use of "hostile and abusive" Native American mascots from postseason tournaments.⁷³ An exception was made to allow the use of tribal names as long as approved by that tribe (such as the Seminole Tribe of Florida approving the use of their name as the mascot for Florida State University.)⁷⁴⁷⁵ The use of Native American themed team names in U.S. professional sports is widespread and often controversial, with examples such as Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians and the Washington Redskins.

Blood Quantum

Further information: Blood quantum laws

Five Indians and a Captive, painted by Carl Wimar, 1855

Intertribal and interracial mixing was common among Native American tribes making it difficult to clearly identify which tribe an individual belonged to.¹³¹⁴ Bands or entire tribes occasionally split or merged to form more viable groups in reaction to the pressures of climate, disease and warfare.⁷⁷ A number of tribes practiced the adoption of captives into their group to replace their members who had been captured or killed in battle. These captives came from rival tribes and later from European settlers. Some tribes also sheltered or adopted white traders and runaway slaves and Native American-owned slaves. So a number of paths to genetic mixing existed.

In later years, such mixing, however, proved an obstacle to qualifying for recognition and assistance from the U.S. federal government or for tribal money and services. To receive such support, Native Americans must belong to and be certified by a recognized tribal entity. This has taken a number of different forms as each tribal government makes its own rules while the federal government has its own set of standards. In many cases, qualification is based upon the percentage of Native American blood, or the "blood quantum" of an individual seeking recognition. To attain such certainty, some tribes have begun requiring genetic genealogy (DNA testing).⁷⁸ Requirements for tribal certification vary widely by tribe. The Cherokee require only a descent from a Native American listed on the early 20th century Dawes Rolls while federal scholarships require enrollment in a federally recognized tribe as well as a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood card showing at least a one-quarter Native American descent. Tribal rules regarding recognition of members with Native American blood from multiple tribes are equally diverse and complex.

The Captive, painted by Eanger Irving Couse, 1891.

Tribal membership conflicts have led to a number of activist groups, legal disputes and court cases. One example are the Cherokee freedmen, who were descendants of slaves once owned by the Cherokees. The Cherokees had allied with the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War and, after the war, were forced by the federal government, in an 1866 treaty, to free their slaves and make them citizens. They were later disallowed as tribe members due to their not having "Indian blood". However, in March 2006, the Judicial Appeals Tribunal—the Cherokee Nation's highest court—ruled that Cherokee freedmen are full citizens of the Cherokee Nation. The court declared that the Cherokee freedmen retain citizenship, voting rights and other privileges despite attempts to keep them off the tribal rolls for not having identifiable "Indian" blood. In March 2007, however, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma passed a referendum requiring members to have descent from at least one Native American ancestor on the Dawes Rolls. More than 1200 Freedmen lost their tribal membership after more than 100 years of participation.

In the 20th century, people among white ethnic groups began to claim descent from an "American Indian princess", often a Cherokee. The prototypical "American Indian princess" was Pocahontas, and, in fact, descent from her is a frequent claim.^{citation needed} However, the American Indian "princess" is a false concept, derived from the application of European concepts to Native Americans, as also seen in the naming of war chiefs as "kings".⁷⁹ Descent from "Indian braves" is also sometimes claimed.

Descent from Native Americans became fashionable not only among whites claiming prestigious colonial descent but also among whites seeking to claim connection to groups with distinct folkways that would differentiate them from the mass culture. Large influxes of recent immigrants with unique social customs may have been partially an object of envy. Among African Americans, the desire to be more than black was sometimes expressed in claims of Native American descent.^{citation neededdubious – discuss} Those passing as white might use the slightly more acceptable Native American ancestry to explain inconvenient details of their heritage.

Depictions by Europeans and Americans

Dances with Wolves featuring Kevin Costner

Native Americans have been depicted by American artists in various ways at different historical periods. During the period when America was first being colonized, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the artist John White made watercolors and engravings of the people native to the southeastern states. John White’s images were, for the most part, faithful likenesses of the people he observed. Later the artist Theodore de Bry used White’s original watercolors to make a book of engravings entitled, A briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia. In his book, de Bry often altered the poses and features of White’s figures to make them appear more European, probably in order to make his book more marketable to a European audience. During the period that White and de Bry were working, when Europeans were first coming into contact with native Americans, there was a large interest and curiosity in native American cultures by Europeans, which would have created the demand for a book like de Bry’s.

Several centuries later, during the construction of the Capitol building in the early nineteenth century, the U.S. government commissioned a series of four relief panels to crown the doorway of the Rotunda. The reliefs encapsulate a vision of European—Native American relations that had assumed mythicohistorical proportions by the nineteenth century. The four panels depict: The Preservation of Captain Smith by Pocahontas (1825) by Antonio Capellano, The Landing of the Pilgrims (1825) and The Conflict of Daniel Boone and the Indians (1826–27) by Enrico Causici, and William Penn’s Treaty with the Indians (1827) by Nicholas Gevelot. The reliefs present idealized versions of the Europeans and the native Americans, in which the Europeans appear refined and gentile, and the natives appear ferocious and savage. The Whig representative of Virginia, Henry A. Wise, voiced a particularly astute summary of how Native Americans would read the messages contained in all four reliefs: “We give you corn, you cheat us of our lands: we save your life, you take ours.” While many nineteenth century images of native Americans conveyed similarly negative messages, there were artists, such as Charles Bird King, who sought to express a more realistic image of the native Americans.

Native Americans in television and movies roles were first depicted by European-Americans dressed in mock traditional attire. Such instances include the The Last of the Mohicans (1920), Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans (1957), and F Troop (1965-67). In later decades Native American actors such as Jay Silverheels in The Lone Ranger television series (1949-57) and Iron Eyes Cody came to prominence; however, roles were still diminutive and not reflective of Native American culture. In the 1970s some Native Americans roles in movies had become reality based. Little Big Man (1970), Billy Jack (1971), and The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) depicted Native Americans in minor supporting roles. Dances with Wolves (1990), The Last of the Mohicans (1992), and Smoke Signals (1998) employed Native American actors, culture, and languages so that those features could portray a better sense of authenticity.

According to the website for the film Mystic Voices: The Story of the Pequot War (2004) (www.pequotwar.com), a television documentary on the first major war between colonists and Native peoples in the Americas, Co-Producer Guy Perrotta has regarded the Pequot War as having previously been considered an obscure event in the historical perspective of the general public. Perrotta and Charles Clemmons intended for the documentary to increase public understanding of the significance of this event, not only for northeastern Native Peoples and descendants of the English and Dutch colonists who settled the region, but also for Native Peoples across America and for all Americans today.

The producers' intent was to make the documentary as historically accurate and as unbiased as possible. According to Co-Producer Guy Perrotta a responsibly balanced representation of viewpoints was essential. Not only had the production relied on a broadly-based Advisory Board, but it also utilized scholars, Native Americans, and descendants of the colonists to help tell the story and to provide their own personal and often passionate viewpoints. The production did not seek to characterize the War solely as a conflict between the Pequots and the colonists for control of territory, but rather as a struggle between different value systems that included not only the Pequots, but a number of Native American tribes, most of which allied with the English. It not only presents facts, but also seeks to help the viewer better understand on a human level the people who fought the War. Charles Clemmons stated that the film does not seek to sympathize with or condemn any particular group. The documentary rather sought to increase the public’s understanding of the groups involved and the forces that precipitated the War.

The documentary examines the underlying human motivations and cultural/religious differences that led to war and explores how the legacy of the Massacre at Mystic and the Pequot War still affects the lives of Native American and Puritan descendants in the region today.

Terminology differences

Further information: Native American name controversy

Common usage in the United States

The term Native American was originally introduced in the United States by anthropologists as a more accurate term for the indigenous people of the Americas, as distinguished from the people of India. Because of the widespread acceptance of this newer term in and outside of academic circles, some people believe that Indians is outdated or offensive. People from India (and their descendants) who are citizens of the United States are known as Indian Americans or Asian Indians.

Criticism of the neologism Native American, however, comes from diverse sources. Some American Indians have misgivings about the term Native American. Russell Means, a famous American Indian activist, opposes the term Native American because he believes it was imposed by the government without the consent of American Indians. He has also argued that this use of the word Indian derives not from a confusion with India but from a Spanish expression En Dio, meaning "in God".⁸⁰ Furthermore, some American Indians question the term Native American because, they argue, it serves to ease the conscience of "white America" with regard to past injustices done to American Indians by effectively eliminating "Indians" from the present.⁸¹ Still others (both Indians and non-Indians) argue that Native American is problematic because "native of" literally means "born in," so any person born in the Americas could be considered "native". However, very often the compound "Native American" will be capitalized in order to differentiate this intended meaning from others. Likewise, "native" (small 'n') can be further qualified by formulations such as "native-born" when the intended meaning is only to indicate place of birth or origin.

A 1995 US Census Bureau survey found that more American Indians in the United States preferred American Indian to Native American.⁸² Nonetheless, most American Indians are comfortable with Indian, American Indian, and Native American, and the terms are often used interchangeably.⁸³ The traditional 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..

Recently, the U.S. Census Bureau has introduced the "Asian-Indian" category to avoid ambiguity when sampling the Indian-American population.

Gambling industry

Gambling has become a leading industry. Casinos 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. Native American communities have waged and prevailed in legal battles to assure recognition of rights to self-determination and to use of natural resources. Some of those rights, known as treaty rights, are enumerated in early treaties signed with the young United States government. Tribal sovereignty has become a cornerstone of American jurisprudence, and at least on the surface, in national legislative policies. Although many Native American tribes have casinos, they are a source of conflict. Most tribes, especially small ones such as the Winnemem Wintu of Redding, California, feel that casinos and their proceeds destroy culture from the inside out. These tribes refuse to participate in the gambling industry.

Society, language, and culture

Ethno-linguistic classification

Main articles: Classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas and Indigenous languages of the Americas

Cultural regions of North American people at the time of European contact.

Far from forming a single ethnic group, Native Americans were divided into several hundred ethno-linguistic groups, most of them grouped into the Na-Dené (Athabaskan), Algic (including Algonquian), Uto-Aztecan, Iroquoian, Siouan-Catawban, Yok-Utian, Salishan and Yuman-Cochimí phyla, besides many smaller groups and several language isolates. Demonstrating genetic relationships has proved difficult due to the great linguistic diversity present in North America.

The indigenous peoples of North America can be classified as belonging to a number of large cultural areas:

• Alaska Natives
  • Arctic: Eskimo-Aleut
  • Subarctic: Northern Athabaskan
• Western United States
  • Californian tribes: Yok-Utian, Pacific Coast Athabaskan, Coast Miwok, Yurok, Palaihnihan
  • Plateau tribes: Interior Salish, Plateau Penutian
  • Great Basin tribes: Uto-Aztecan
  • Pacific Northwest Coast: Pacific Coast Athabaskan, Coast Salish
  • Southwestern tribes: Uto-Aztecan, Yuman, Southern Athabaskan
• Central United States
  • Plains Indians: Siouan, Plains Algonquian, Southern Athabaskan
• Eastern United States
  • Northeastern Woodlands tribes: Iroquoian, Central Algonquian, Eastern Algonquian
  • Southeastern tribes: Siouan, Catawban, Iroquoian

Of the surviving 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); Nadene comes in second with approximately 180,200 speakers (148,500 of these are speakers of Navajo). 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). Another area of considerable diversity appears to have been the Southeast; however, many of these languages became extinct from European contact and as a result they are, for the most part, absent from the historical record.

Cultural aspects