American Indians
First Nations members
American Indians are the indigenous peoples of the Americas, particularly those of the continental United States.
The term dates from Columbus's mistaken belief that he had reached India. *Native Americans* is now preferred by many, though *American Indians* remains in official use and is preferred by some indigenous people themselves.
The singular *American Indian* describes an individual: Her grandmother was an American Indian from the Navajo Nation.
Ceremonial tribal gathering
- totemSpiritual clan symbol
- frybreadFried flatbread, Indigenous origins
- beadworkStrung ornament craft
- quillworkEmbroidery with porcupine spines
moccasins · dreamcatcher · kachina · potlatch · tipi · wigwam · canoe · wampum
Formal event marking occasions
- sweat lodgeHeated structure for ritual purification
- vision questRite seeking supernatural guidance
- sun dancePlains tribes' sacred rite
- smudgingMaking blurry marks
medicine man · sacred · shamanism · animism · great spirit · ancestors · rituals · eagle feathers
Indigenous Southeastern nation
- NavajoSouthwestern indigenous people
- SiouxPlains Indigenous nation
- ApacheSouthwestern indigenous nation
- IroquoisNative American confederacy
Chippewa · Seminole · Comanche · Hopi · Lakota · Ojibwe · Choctaw · Blackfoot
Foreign territorial takeover
- displacementRemoval from usual location
- assimilationAbsorbing into a whole
- Trail of Tears1830s forced indigenous relocation
- boarding schoolsResidential institutions for pupils
Wounded Knee · Little Bighorn · historical trauma · broken treaties · forced relocation · Carlisle · allotment · resistance
Advance arrangement to hold
- treatyBinding pact between nations
- federal recognitionGovernment's formal tribal acknowledgment
- tribal councilIndigenous community's ruling body
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
land rights · sovereignty · tribal courts · water rights · fishing rights · blood quantum
Family line of descent
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- descendantsThose who come after
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
- eldersSenior community members
clan · kinship · genealogy · oral history · legacy · matrilineal · patrilineal · bloodline
Lakota spiritual leader
- Crazy HorseLakota war leader
- TecumsehShawnee military leader
- SacagaweaShoshone interpreter for westward expedition
- Red CloudNineteenth-century Oglala chief
Pocahontas · Cochise · Black Hawk · Osceola · Pontiac · Hiawatha · Chief Joseph · Sequoyah
powwow
Ceremonial tribal gathering
quillwork · moccasins · dreamcatcher · kachina · potlatch · tipi · wigwam · canoe · wampum · turquoise
ceremony
Formal event marking occasions
- sweat lodgeHeated structure for ritual purification
- vision questRite seeking supernatural guidance
- sun dancePlains tribes' sacred rite
smudging · medicine man · sacred · shamanism · animism · great spirit · ancestors · rituals · eagle feathers · pipe ceremony
Cherokee
Indigenous Southeastern nation
- NavajoSouthwestern indigenous people
- SiouxPlains Indigenous nation
- ApacheSouthwestern indigenous nation
Iroquois · Chippewa · Seminole · Comanche · Hopi · Lakota · Ojibwe · Choctaw · Blackfoot · Shoshone
colonization
Foreign territorial takeover
- displacementRemoval from usual location
- assimilationAbsorbing into a whole
- Trail of Tears1830s forced indigenous relocation
boarding schools · Wounded Knee · Little Bighorn · historical trauma · broken treaties · forced relocation · Carlisle · allotment · resistance · survival
reservation
Advance arrangement to hold
- treatyBinding pact between nations
- federal recognitionGovernment's formal tribal acknowledgment
- tribal councilIndigenous community's ruling body
self-determination · land rights · sovereignty · tribal courts · water rights · fishing rights · blood quantum
ancestry
Family line of descent
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- descendantsThose who come after
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
elders · clan · kinship · genealogy · oral history · legacy · matrilineal · patrilineal · bloodline · family
Sitting Bull
Lakota spiritual leader
- Crazy HorseLakota war leader
- TecumsehShawnee military leader
- SacagaweaShoshone interpreter for westward expedition
Pocahontas · Red Cloud · Cochise · Black Hawk · Osceola · Pontiac · Hiawatha · Chief Joseph · Sequoyah · Jim Thorpe
American Indianscolonizers
Those who establish foreign control
European settlers · settlers · conquistadors · colonists · pilgrims
American IndiansEuropeans
People from that continent
European Americans · immigrants · newcomers · non-natives · foreigners
American, Indians, America, Indian, Americas, Americanism, Americanize, Americanization, India