Earliest+Americans

= The Native American Tribes  =


 * [[image:tmi00911.jpeg width="222" height="159" caption="Apache Tribe" link="Apache Tribe"]] || [[image:18th-Century-Mission,-Pries.jpg width="264" height="156" caption="Pueblo Tribe" link="Pueblo"]] || [[image:https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/98/29/4b/98294bbff60338bf9a1e6862eb752398.jpg width="221" height="158" caption="Lenni Lenape" link="Lenni Lenapi"]] ||

The Earliest Americans



People did not always live in the Americas. In fact if you look at the history of humans, people didn't travel to America until recently. Christopher Columbus didn't actually discover America. People had been living in America for over 11,500 years before Columbus decided to make his journey across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492.

12,000 years ago when the Earth was much colder the sea between Siberia and Alaska was much more shallow. This allowed a bridge of ice to form where people could cross called the Bering Strait.



Why travel to the Americas?
12,500 years ago people did not yet grow their own plants or raise animals for food. At this time we were still hunter gatherers. Which means we hunted for food and searched for food in the environment instead of growing it. Most evidence points to the fact that Mammoths, a main food source for people in Siberia, had begun to travel across the bridge in search of food. The Siberian people followed the animals across the bridge and eventually moved all throughout America.


 * Indigenous Peoples **

The first people to live in a land are called indigenous peoples. This means they were the original settlers. The Native Americans are the indigenous peoples and cultures of the United States.


 * American Indians **

Sometimes these peoples are referred to as Indians or American Indians. This is because when Columbus had first landed in America, he thought he had sailed all the way to to the [|country of India]. He called the locals Indians and the name stuck for some time.


 * Where did they live? **

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. To learn more about these tribes, check out the links at the bottom of this page.


 * How do we know about their history? **

The Native Americans did not write down or record their history, so we have to find out about their history in other ways. Today archeologists are able to learn a lot about past cultures by digging up artifacts such as tools and weapons. Much of what we know comes from the recordings of the first Europeans to arrive. We can also learn from traditions and stories that have been passed down within the tribes from generation to generation.


 * Native Americans Today **

Today, some of the descendants 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 else.

Information and pictures gathered from: http://www.ducksters.com/history/native_americans.php