American Indians: Where Did They Live?

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American Indians The term American Indians is defined by the indigenous peoples of the area that is now known as the United States. This means the people were living here for thousands, even millions of years, long before it was conquered and settled. Over the last many hundred years, the American Indians have formed tribes, hunted, lived, and prospered on this great land. They were overall a peaceful people who enjoyed family, prayer, and creativity. An appreciation and respect for nature was of the utmost importance. American Indians viewed nature as a gift from the Gods which should be revered and treated properly at all times. Although most American Indians claim to have lived on their territory since the beginning of time, some would…show more content…
Native Americans lived throughout North and South America. In the United States there were Native Americans in Alaska, Hawaii, and the mainland of the United States. Different tribes and cultures lived in different areas. In the middle of the country lived the Plains Indians, including tribes such as the Comanche and Arapaho. In the Southeast area of the country lived tribes such as the Cherokee and the Seminole. Tribes The Native Americans were grouped into tribes or nations usually based on the area they lived in and their culture such as their religion, customs, and language. Sometimes smaller tribes were part of a bigger tribe or nation. As best as historians can tell, these tribes were fairly peaceful prior to the arrival of Columbus and the Europeans. There were hundreds of tribes throughout the United States when Columbus first arrived. Many of them are well known such as the Cherokee, Apache, and the Navajo. Native Americans Today Today, some of the descendents of the original American Indians live on reservations. These are areas of land set aside specifically for Native Americans. This helps to protect their heritage and culture. However, only around 30% live on reservations. The rest live outside the reservations just like anyone…show more content…
A: There are about 150 Native American languages in Canada and the United States, and another 600-700 languages in Central and South America. We don't know exactly how many languages there are because not everyone agrees on which languages are unique. If two languages are similar enough that speakers can usually understand each other, they are called dialects of the same language. For example, American English and British English are dialects. On the other hand, English and German are different languages, because even though they are related, an English speaker can't necessarily understand a German speaker. However, sometimes there are borderline cases. For example, Spanish and Italian speakers can often understand each other. And sometimes speakers of two dialects of English can hardly understand each other at all (especially when they're talking quickly!) So although most linguists consider East Cree and Plains Cree to be dialects of the same Cree language, some people believe they should count as two languages because Cree speakers can't always understand each other. So depending on how you count them, there are between 750-850 indigenous languages spoken in North, Central, and South America. There are about half a million speakers of indigenous languages in Canada and the US, and as many as 25 million speakers in Central and South

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