Native Americans

Christopher Columbus did not find a sparsely populated Hispaniola (the Caribbean island that is today home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic) when he landed there in 1492. Instead, he found an estimated 250,000 Tainos, a group of indigenous Arawaks. Massacres and diseases rapidly decimated the population, and by 1517, only approximately 14,000 Arawaks remained. Estimates vary tremendously as to how many indigenous peoples resided in what is now the United States in the pre-Columbus era, with some as low as 1 million and others as high as 18 million. These numbers include American Indians as well as Alaska Natives.

Centuries of war, oppression, and disease have resulted in far fewer native peoples today. Mainstream history is filled with many myths about indigenous peoples, often depicting them as spiritual and stoic, while also describing them as horrific savages. These images remain today, in history books and in popular culture. Yet, native peoples are tremendously diverse, and their ethnic identity today is tied to their cultural heritage, the history of their interactions with non-native peoples, and the social, economic, and political conditions in which they live.

According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), there are 566 federally recognized American [Page 1588]Indian tribes. It is challenging, however, to find an accurate estimate of how many people are members of a particular tribe or nation. Governmental agencies use different methods of determining membership than the Indian nations. The BIA, which is an entity of the federal government, defines anyone with one-fourth or more blood quantum, or anyone who is an enrolled or registered member, as an American Indian. Some tribes set blood quantum requirements lower, while some set them slightly higher than one-fourth.

The U.S. Census Bureau uses a different method of counting Native Americans. It uses self-identification, which typically leads to higher numbers. The American Community Survey of 2011 identified 5.1 million persons that are either American Indian or Alaskan Native only, or are mixed with other races. It is estimated that Native Americans constitute 1.6 percent of the U.S. population today, and that proportion is projected to be 2 percent, or 8.6 million people, in 2050.

There are 324 Indian reservations on U.S. land, what is collectively known as Indian Country. The 46 million acres is a dramatic decrease from the 1.9 billion acres that Native Americans held before Columbus, yet more than 70 percent of Native Americans live in urban areas today.

Far from primitive, as they are often described, native peoples developed rich cultures with extensive agricultural and technological developments. They built cities, had sophisticated trade patterns, domesticated animals, established religious traditions, and developed political systems. At least 2,000 distinct languages were spoken in the Americas in 1492. Cultural differences were marked. Some Indian peoples belonged to small bands of hunters and gatherers, and some practiced sophisticated irrigated agriculture.

In addition to forcing natives to serve as slaves and introducing deadly diseases, Spanish and then American conquistadors destroyed many traditional native rituals. Slave masters beat and abused the natives. Some have called this genocide, if not in actual murder of the population, then in terms of destruction of native cultures.

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