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Indigenous peoples of the Americas
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References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images & Videos
Native American dance
A dancer in a bright pink shawl with fringe, wearing traditional regalia adorned with blue and black accents, performs at an outdoor cultural event.
Proboscidean size comparison Clovis points Animal figurines Ceremonial center
The intricate cliff dwellings of Ancestral Puebloans
Indian boarding school
How did colonists refer to Indigenous peoples of the Americas?
Big Cypress Seminole Reservation
For Students
Native American dance
American Indian summary
Quizzes
Tecumseh. Battle of the Thames, Ontario, Canada, and the death of Tecumseh. Col. Richard M. Johnson with the Kentucky volunteers on left battle with Tecumseh and his Native troops. Native American Shawnee chief. North American indian. (See Notes)
Native American History Quiz
Pages of a dictionary from England (English dictionary, British dictionary, United Kingdom, words, opened book.
Which English Words Have Native American Origins?
Read Next
We'wha demonstrates blanket loom weaving on the grounds of the United States National Museum while on a visit to Washington, DC. Zuni hand weaving technique loom
5 Incredible Native American Artists
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Dancers at a Cinco de Mayo festival at the Mission District, San Francisco, California. (Photo dated 2019.) holidays
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Indigenous peoples of the Americas: Facts & Related Content

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News •

NY governor apologizes for ‘atrocities’ at state boarding school for Native Americans • May 20, 2025, 2:26 PM ET (AP)
Ruling in North Dakota case erases path for people in 7 states to sue under the Voting Rights Act • May 14, 2025, 6:28 PM ET (AP)
Arizona governor signs ‘Emily’s Law’ to alert when Native Americans go missing • May 13, 2025, 8:51 PM ET (AP)
Minneapolis shooting suspect is charged in 4 homicides. The Native American community is shaken • May 2, 2025, 6:55 PM ET (AP)
A town refuses to give up the school's Native American mascot — and gets Trump's support • Apr. 30, 2025, 10:38 AM ET (AP)

Facts

Also Known As aboriginal American • American Indian • Indian • Native American • Amerindian • Amerind • Indigenous American

Photos and Videos

Native American dance
Proboscidean size comparison
Clovis points
Animal figurines
Ceremonial center
Indian boarding school
Big Cypress Seminole Reservation
Far larger than life
Jaguar temple
Reconstructed artwork
A dancer in a bright pink shawl with fringe, wearing traditional regalia adorned with blue and black accents, performs at an outdoor cultural event.
The intricate cliff dwellings of Ancestral Puebloans
How did colonists refer to Indigenous peoples of the Americas?
A bronze bust of an Indigenous American figure sits in a kitchen, overlaid with sacks of rice marked with a green check and milk with sugar cubes crossed out.
Explore Utah's Bryce Canyon on horseback
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Francisco Garcés
Spanish missionary
Dennis Banks
Dennis Banks
American activist
Russell Means
Russell Means
Oglala Sioux activist
Zitkala-Sa
Zitkala-Sa
American writer
Mary Lucinda Bonney
American educator and reformer
Susette La Flesche
Susette La Flesche
American author and activist
Alice Mary Robertson.
Alice Mary Robertson
American educator and public official
Joseph Campbell.
Joseph Campbell
American author
Franz Boas
Franz Boas
German-American anthropologist
Powell, John Wesley
John Wesley Powell
American explorer, geologist, and ethnologist
Paula Gunn Allen
Paula Gunn Allen
American author and scholar
Ruth Benedict
Ruth Benedict
American anthropologist and author
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
American explorer and ethnologist
Aleš Hrdlička
American anthropologist
Earnest A. Hooton
American anthropologist
Adolph Bandelier
American anthropologist
Cadman, Charles Wakefield
Charles Wakefield Cadman
American composer
The Grand Canyon at the foot of the Toroweap, illustration by William Henry Holmes from Clarence E. Dutton's Atlas to Accompany the Monograph on the Tertiary History of the Grand Canyon District, 1882.
William Henry Holmes
American archaeologist
Anthony F.C. Wallace
Canadian-American anthropologist
Frances Densmore, c. 1910s.
Frances Densmore
American ethnologist

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Pages of a dictionary from England (English dictionary, British dictionary, United Kingdom, words, opened book.
Which English Words Have Native American Origins?
Tecumseh. Battle of the Thames, Ontario, Canada, and the death of Tecumseh. Col. Richard M. Johnson with the Kentucky volunteers on left battle with Tecumseh and his Native troops. Native American Shawnee chief. North American indian. (See Notes)
Native American History Quiz
List
We'wha demonstrates blanket loom weaving on the grounds of the United States National Museum while on a visit to Washington, DC. Zuni hand weaving technique loom
5 Incredible Native American Artists