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Native American fun facts
Here is a list of native American fun facts you will love and learn!
1. The migration of Europeans to the Americas, which began at the end of the 15th century, has resulted in centuries of demographic, cultural, and agricultural interchange and adjustment between Old and New World cultures, a process known as the Columbian trade.
2. From 1675 to 1676, King Philip’s War, also known as Metacom’s War or Metacom’s Rebellion, was the last major armed conflict between Native Americans in modern-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies.
3. The Mohawk hairstyle was called after the Mohawks, one of the Iroquois nation’s tribes. The Mohawks also preferred to have one side of their head shaved and the other painted in a vivid hue.
4. Native American cultures were believed by some European thinkers to be really “natural” and indicative of a golden period only known to them via folklore.
5. Only a warrior who had shown his valor in combat could wear the Lakota (Siouxmagnificent )’s eagle-feather headdress, which extended from head to toe. Eagle feathers were highly treasured because they were believed to contain mystical power.
6. Thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans, early inhabitants in the Americas had hunted horses to extinction. Horses were reintroduced by Europeans, and this had a significant impact on American Indian culture. The horse was utilized for transportation, hunting, and combat.
7. Over 8,000 Native Americans fought in WWI despite the fact that they were not citizens.
8. During WWII, about 24,000 Native Americans served. The Navajo Code Talkers, a special group of volunteers who devised an impenetrable secret code, was one of the most renowned organizations.
9. Some papooses (an Algonquian term) had sharp, projecting points so that if the papoose came off while the mother was riding a horse, the points would stick in the ground and protect the mother.
10. The Plains people’s Sun Dance was probably the most excruciating Native American ceremony. Dancers had skewers implanted in their pectoral muscles and were tethered to the holy cottonwood tree by a rope. They hoped for an abundant supply of buffalo in exchange for their suffering.
11. The Green Corn Ceremony was and still is a harvest thanksgiving ceremony used by Native Americans in the Southeast and Northeast. Thirty or more people dance in couples, thank the spirits, and then feast.
12. People from the Southeast, particularly the Choctaw, were the first to play lacrosse. Because the stick resembled a Bishop’s crosier (hooked staff), when it was transported to Europe, it was given the name La Crosse, which became lacrosse.
13. In 1830, the United States Congress approved the Indian Removal Act, which compelled American Indian tribes to relinquish land east of the Mississippi River. The Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole Indians were compelled to trek from Georgia to Louisiana in 1838, which became known as the “Trail of Tears.” Thousands of people perished as a result of illness, hunger, and exposure to the harsh cold.
14. The Indian Citizenship Act (Snyder Act) of 1924 gave America’s indigenous peoples full citizenship. It was passed in part to honor the thousands of Native Americans who served in World War I.
15. Cher, Anthony Quinn, Ava Gardner, James Earl Jones, Lou Diamond Phillips, Anne Hathaway, Megan Fox, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Billy Bob Thornton, Bob Barker, Burt Reynolds, Johnny Depp, Rosa Parks, Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton, Ludacris, Jimi Hendrix, the Jonas Brothers, Elvis Presley, and Oprah Winfrey are among the celebrities who claim Native American ancestry
16. The word “Alabama” comes from the Muskogean tribe Alibamu, which means “those who clear land for agricultural purposes.”
17. The term “Arizona” comes from the Papago word airzonac, which translates to “small springs.”
18. Since around 12,000 B.C., Native Americans have lived on the American continent. They were a diverse group of civilizations, peoples, and languages, rather than a one nation. According to some historians, humans have lived in South America for about 30,000 years.
19. The Iroquois Confederacy was founded in the early 1600s by five tribes who had previously been adversaries. The choices were decided by an all-male council that was elected for life; nevertheless, women had the power to remove any councilor.
20. To keep a dead body above ground and safe from wild animals as it decomposed, some Plains cultures constructed scaffolding or utilized trees. Before the bones were buried, the Huron people put the deceased corpse in a coffin and held it above ground on poles for up to 12 years.
21. Hairbrushes were made from porcupine hair by Native Americans. To construct a toothbrush, a stick was sometimes chopped into the proper form and frayed at the edges.
22. At the Battle of Little Big Horn (Custer’s Last Stand), a united force of Lakota (Sioux), Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors destroyed the US troops. The government was pressuring Native Americans to relocate to reserves.
23. The Conflict of Wounded Knee, which took place near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota in 1890, was the final significant battle between Native American Indians and the United States government. There were an estimated 300 Sioux Indians slain.
24. The Cherokee, Navajo, Chippewa (Ojibwa), Apache, Choctaw, Iroquois, Lumbee, Pueblo, and Sioux are the biggest tribal tribes in the United States, according to the US Census Bureau (Lakota).
25. Maize, beans, and squash were known as the “three sisters” by the Iroquois. They were regarded as female spirits because of their importance as food sources.
26. Ishi (c. 1860–1916) is often regarded as America’s “last wild Indian.” After his tribe, the Yahi (of the Yana group), became extinct in the late 1800s due to the California Gold Rush, he spent much of his life outside of contemporary civilization. After his family died, he lived alone in the forest. He wandered out of the forest into the town of Oroville in 1911, famished and with nowhere to go, where anthropologists would later study him.
27. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts claimed minority status in law school, claiming to be 1/32 Native American.
28. Over 1,500 American Indian languages were researched by linguist Joseph Greensburg. He stated that everyone could be categorized into one of three categories. According to his research, as well as studies on blood types and teeth, there were three distinct migrations from Asia to the Americas.
29. Native Americans are more likely than their non-Hispanic white peers to be overweight or obese.
30. Sequoyah, the Cherokee chieftain who helped his people establish an alphabet, is commemorated by the Sequoia tree.
31. Native Hawaiians and Alaskan Natives, such as Aleut, Yup’ik, and Inuit peoples, are not typically referred to as “Native Americans.”
32. The term “American Indian” is used by the majority of indigenous people in the United States, whereas “First Nations” is used by the majority of indigenous people in Canada. People in both nations are referred to as “Native Americans” or “indigenous Americans.”
33. Despite the passage of more than 500 years, the native peoples of the Americas are still referred to as “Indians.”
34. Sitting Bull (1831–1890) was a renowned Native American who lived from 1831 to 1890. He was a Hunkpapa Lakota medicine man who became legendary for leading the Hunkpapa Lakota to victory in the Battle of Little Bighorn. He eventually befriended Annie Oakley, referring her as “Little Sure Shot.”
35. Pocahontas (c. 1595–1617), also known as Amonute, was born Matoaka. Pocahontas (which means “naughty one” or “spoiled kid”) was a childhood nickname given to her because of her frolicsome disposition. Rebecca Rolfe was her name in her final days. The first known interracial marriage in American history was between John Rolfe and Pocahontas.
36. The name “Indian” was coined by Christopher Columbus, who mistakenly believed he had arrived in the East Indies. The indigenous people were referred to as “Indians” by him.
37. Native Americans, according to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, originated in the Middle East and were Jewish. In their book, The Book of Mormon, Native Americans is referred to as “Laminates.”
38. Benjamin Franklin, a co-author of the Constitution, believed that the English colonies may benefit from governance similar to the Iroquois Confederacy. The Iroquois bald eagle, which is also a symbol for the Iroquois, is seen on the US shield.
39. The Utes, a tribe that resided on the border of the Plains and the Great Basin, gave the state its name. Oklahoma is named from the Choctaw word okla homma, which means “red people” in Choctaw.
40. The term “avocado” means “testicle” in Nahuatl, a Central Mexican/Aztec Indian language.
41. Many terms from these languages entered English as a result of Native Americans and First Nations people speaking an Algonquian language being the first to meet English explorers- caribou (“snow-shoveler”), chipmunk (“red squirrel”), moccasin, moose, muskrat, opossum (“white dog”), papoose (“baby”), pecan (“nut”), powwow (“to dream, to have a vision”), raccoon, skunk (“to urinate” + “fox”), squaw, toboggan, totem, wigwam, and woodchuck.
42. Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, and Missouri are just a few of the states whose names are taken from Amerindian terms.
43. The term “Kentucky” is said to come from the Native American word kenta, which means “field” or “meadow.”
44. The term “Michigan” is derived from the Native American word michigamea, which means “huge water.”
45. “Kentucky” is one of roughly half of the state names in the United States that are derived from Amerindian terms.
46. The Native language origin of the term “Wisconsin” (the name of a collection of tribes living along the Wisconsin River) is unknown, although one hypothesis claims it derives from the Miami word meskonsing, which means “it lies red,” and another claim it comes from an Ojibwa word that means “red stone site.”
47. The term “New Mexico” comes from the Aztec deity Meritili.
48. Native American settlements became trade stations, then forts or villages, and finally large cities, such as Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Pocatello, and a slew of others.
49. The name Mississippi comes from the Algonquian words misi, which means “great,” and sipi, which means “water.”
50. The Dakota term “Minnesota” means “white or sky-tinted water.”
51. The name “Missouri” comes from a Native American tribe that means “big muddy,” which alludes to the Missouri River.
52. The term “Ohio” is an Iroquois word that means “beautiful river.”
53. The term “Texas” refers to a group of Native American tribes that means “friends” or “allies.”
54. Chia, chili, chocolate, coyote, guacamole, mesquite, peyote, shack, tamale, tomato, abalone, bayou, cannibal, Chinook, manatee, poncho, and potato are just a few of the Native American terms that have made their way into the English language.
55. The word “barbecue” comes from the Arawakan Indian language and means “stick framework.”
56. The Chippewa tribe coined the term “Sioux,” which was taken up by French explorers. The Chippewa term for “enemy” is “Sioux,” which referred to the Lakota people. So the Sioux are truly the Lakota, whose name means “place of peace dwellers.”
57. Early European immigrants dubbed the Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole tribes the “Five Civilized Tribes.” Because of the parallels between their civilizations and those of Europeans, such as planned communities and farms, they were seen to be more civilized, and some Native Americans were rich enough to own slaves.
58. Governments in both the United States and Canada attempted to eliminate Native cultures and identities militarily and via harsh boarding school assimilation regimes.
59. Lewis and Clark were aided in their exploration of the Northwest Territory by the Nez Perce people. They constructed boats for them, created river charts, and assisted them in reaching the Pacific.
60. Sacagawea (1788–1812) was a Lemhi Shoshone woman who served as an interpreter and guides for the Lewis and Clark expedition. Between 1804 and 1806 she walked hundreds of miles with them, from North Dakota to the Pacific Ocean.
61. A pregnant Iroquois woman would avoid eating turtles so that her child wouldn’t be as awkward on land as a turtle. Pregnant women in Navajo tribes would untangle their braided hair and liberate animals such as horses in the hopes of ensuring the baby’s safe birth.
62. Around 1890, the Ghost Dance became a late addition to Native American spiritual systems. The ceremonial dance was thought to aid in the restoration of the traditional way of life before the advent of the Europeans. The dance foretold the return of the buffalo as well as contact with the departed spirits. Despite the fact that the Ghost Dance was nonviolent, army officials made it illegal to conduct it.
63. There are 566 officially recognized Native American tribes, plus an unknown number of non-federally recognized tribes.
64. A young girl born on an Indian reserve has a one-in-three risk of being molested at some point in her life. Native women in the United States have the greatest incidence of assault of any ethnicity. This is partially due to non-Native American jurisdiction rules that punish Native women on tribal territory.
65. The Battle of Kelley Creek, often known as the Last Massacre, was one of the last known massacres between Native Americans and US soldiers, and it marked the end of the era of American Indian warfare. On a ranch in 1911, a small gang of Shoshones and Bannocks killed four investigators.
66. Native Americans were exposed to a number of new and deadly illnesses brought by Europeans. Smallpox was the most well-known illness, which wiped out the Native Americans. Cholera and measles were among the other fatalities.
67. On July 1, 2060, the expected population of American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States will be 11.2 million, accounting for roughly 2.7 percent of the total population.
68. Alaska (14.3 percent), Oklahoma (7.5 percent), New Mexico (9.1 percent), South Dakota (8.5 percent), and Montana were the states with the greatest proportion of American Indian and Alaska Native population in 2013. (6.8 percent ).
69. Native American children live in poverty at a rate of one-quarter, compared to 13% in the United States. Native American teenagers graduate from high school at a 17 percent lower rate than the national average, with greater rates of drug addiction.
70. Non-Indians make up more than 75% of the population on Indian reservations in the United States.
71. California, Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Washington, New York, North Carolina, Florida, Alaska, Michigan, Oregon, Colorado, and Minnesota were among the 14 states having more than 100,000 American Indian and Alaska Native residents in 2013.
72. The word “Arkansas” comes from the Quapaw, also known as the Akansea, a tribe whose name means “those who live downstream.”
73. The Sioux call themselves “Dakota,” which means “allies.”
74. The term iliniwok, which means “great men” or “warriors” in the Illinois and Peoria languages and is the name of the Algonquian tribes’ confederacy, is spelled “Illinois” in French.
75. The name “Iowa” comes from a Native American tribe that means “sleepy ones.”
76. The name “Massachusetts” comes from an Algonquian tribe that means “at or near the huge hill.”
77. To display their families’ status, Native Americans in the Northwest, such as the Haida, constructed totem poles as tall as 40 feet outside their dwellings. Animals or birds that were significant to the family were frequently depicted on the pole. Totem poles were also used to honor the ancestors of a family. Totem poles were wrongly considered to be deity statues by Christians.
78. “Geronimo” (1829–1909) is a Spanish word that means “one who yawns.” For over 25 years, he has assisted the Apache in defending their territory against US encroachment on their tribal grounds.
79. Several Virginia First Families, including Edith Wilson (wife of Woodrow Wilson) and Nancy Reagan, can trace their ancestors back to Pocahontas.
80. 73.2 percent African, 24 percent European, and 0.8 percent Native American make up the typical African-American genome. Native Americans account for 18 percent of Latino heritage, 65.1 percent of European ancestry, and 6.2 percent of African ancestry.
81. In the United States, there are around 4.5 million persons of Native American and Alaska Native ancestry. About 1.5 percent of the population of the United States belongs to this group.
82. The ancestors of today’s Native Americans are thought to have traveled from Asia to North America, according to most experts. They are said to have traveled across a land bridge that existed 20,000 years ago in what is now the Bering Strait.
83. When Norse mariners contacted indigenous people off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, in the 11th century, it was the first time Native Americans and Europeans met. Native Americans were referred to as Skraeling by the Vikings, which means “barbarian” or “foreigner.”
84. 1) cancer, 2) heart disease, 3) unintentional injuries, 4) diabetes, 5) chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, 6) chronic lower respiratory diseases, 7) stroke, 8) suicide, 9) nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis, and 10) influenza and pneumonia) were the top ten leading causes of death for Native Americans and Alaska Natives in 2010.
85. There were between 2 and 18 million Native Americans living in the New World when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. Conflict and illness decreased the population to around 250,000 in the United States and 100,000 in Canada by 1900.
86. Sand paintings are intricate designs made out of colored sand grains that are meticulously placed to form geometric patterns and symbols. Sand drawings of Southwestern Native Americans, such as the Navajo, are the most well-known. They regard the artworks as spiritual, living creatures who must be respected.
87. When a Plains guy slaughtered his first buffalo, the tastiest portion, the tongue, was handed to him. However, he was supposed to turn down the offer and instead share it with his pals as a gesture of charity.
88. Most Plains tribes considered it a great honor to be able to touch an enemy during a raid without being touched in return. This was referred to as a “coup,” and it was prized beyond wounding the adversary or even capturing his horse.
89. Tribal territories are home to around 22% of America’s 5.2 million Native Americans.
90. Around 28.2 percent of American Indians live in poverty, according to the federal poverty threshold.
91. Native Americans have a life expectancy that is nearly five years lower than that of other Americans.
92. The Iroquois had a winter holiday that resembled trick-or-treating. An elderly woman led a small group of adolescents through the town singing and dancing. They came to a halt outside people’s homes, waiting for gifts to be delivered.
93. Approximately 36% of Native peoples with heart disease die before they reach the age of 65, compared to 15% of Caucasians.
94. American Indians are 177 percent more likely than non-Natives to die from diabetes. About 500 percent are more likely to die of TB, and 82% are more likely to commit suicide.
95. The infant mortality rate among Native Americans is 60 percent greater than that of Caucasians.
96. Many Native American women were skilled horsewomen and sharpshooters.
97. Some Native Americans constructed a “Cry Shed” out of dirt, which symbolized the community’s problems and desires. It was set ablaze, and it was thought that as it burnt, misfortunes were taken away on the wind, and hopes were conveyed to the spirit realm.
98. Young Native Americans commit suicide at a rate that is more than three times the national average, and up to ten times the national average on some reservations. Poverty, unemployment, domestic violence, sexual assault, alcoholism, and drug addiction are among variables that researchers say contribute to the high prevalence.
99. Native Americans have double the risk of dying before reaching the age of 24 than any other ethnic group.
100. Approximately 28.2 percent of American Indians live below the poverty threshold set by the federal government.
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