Native American Reference Websites
Have you ever questioned why Native Americans were first called Indians? As a result of explorer Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas, he began to refer to the indigenous people as Indians, believing he had landed in East Asia. The websites below provide more information on how these native tribes came to makeup now only 2.4% of the country’s population.
This Britannica entry emphasizes “Native Americans and colonization: the 16th and 17th centuries.”
History.com explains the history behind the “Trail of Tears.”
“Cultural Genocide” and Native American Children” presented by the Equal Justice Initiative.
Los Angeles Times presents “Native women are vanishing across the U.S. Inside an aunt’s desperate search for her niece.”
“The U.S. has spent more money erasing Native languages than saving them” from HighCountryNews.
An overview of the Great Migration that took place after the Civil War.
This video provides more information on the disappearance of indigenous women in Montana.
In this video, Native Americans respond to what the word language means to them.
After the United States did away with the boarding schools, Native American children were often given up for adoption and placed into the hands of white families to further promote assimilation. Watch the video above to learn more.
This video follows the story of the last fluent speaker in the Wukchumni language and how she is trying to preserve it.
This video focuses on how Native Americans feel society views their presence in the United States.