LearningHaven

Why learn about Native nations as distinct peoples?

Each Native nation has its own government, language and history, so treating “Native American” as one culture hides real differences.

What should you call Native peoples?

You can use any of the common terms, but the best choice is usually the name of the person’s own nation. The Smithsonian’s museum says of the common terms, “All of these terms are acceptable” (Smithsonian NMAI). It adds that “whenever possible, Native people prefer to be called by their specific tribal name” (Smithsonian NMAI). American Indian appears in U.S.

What happened when Europeans and the United States took Native lands?

After Europeans began arriving in the late 1400s, Native nations faced new diseases, wars and the loss of their lands. Britannica dates the first European arrivals to the late 1400s (Britannica). When European diseases reached Native communities, “the people suffered terribly,” North Dakota’s state history program explains (North Dakota Studies). Later, the U.S.

How do you use this section?

Start with the two overview pages above, on major groups and on colonization, then pick a topic or a nation below. Every page in this section treats Native Americans as many distinct, living nations, and each one uses the nation’s own name where a source gives it. Each page also links back here, so you can always find the rest of the section. This section does not cover every nation.

Which topics cross many nations?

Four pages look at topics that matter to many nations. Each one explains that meanings belong to specific nations, not to Native peoples as a whole. Native American symbols looks at the meanings carried by design and imagery in different traditions, and why one chart cannot explain them all.