Lucas Bottelier, Junior
The month of November is fortunately dedicated to Native Americans heritage and the bloodline of tribes that runs deep in U.S. history; the ones who inhabited the United States, participated in the military, and brought historical value to this land.
Thousands of years before Christopher Columbus landed ships in the Bahamas, the nomadic ancestors of "modern Native Americans" trekked over a land bridge that stretched from Asia to what is now called Alaska. Many people do not take into consideration the danger and difficulty of this incredible feat, but 12,000 miles is nearly half of the circumference of Earth itself. Many ignore the fact that these Natives were here before Columbus took over, but it is important to understand just how many people were already on this land before it became the known United States. By the time European explorers arrived in the 15th century, it is estimated that more than 50 million people were scattered across the Americas, while 10 million of that population were in the area that was soon to be inhabited by Europeans. Because of this, those 10 million were forced to migrate west, which forced them to adapt to different climates and come across other native tribes. Many tribes were separated by regions, which were much affected by the environment, as well as the purposes and goals of the Tribes.
The Arctic culture area was like a frozen desert; it was near the present day "Arctic Circle" in Alaska, and stretched to Greenland and Canada. These areas were home to the Inuit and Aleut who spoke a dialect that descended from what scholars call the Eskimo-Aleut language family. Now about 1.5% of the Alaskan population is still inhabited by the ancestors of these tribes.
The Northeast culture area was the first to make contact with the Europeans. This area stretched from present-day Canada’s Atlantic Coast to North Carolina and inland to the Mississippi River Valley. Its inhabitants were members of two main groups: Cayuga, Oneida, Erie, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora. Most of these people lived near rivers and lakes in fortified, stable villages. The more populated region was dominated by Algonquian speakers which included the Pequot, Fox, Shawnee, Wampanoag, Delaware and Menominee, who were all praised for their agricultural ability. Life in the Northeast was strutted by conflict. Iroquoian groups tended to be very aggressive and warlike, and villages outside of their allied confederacies were never safe from their raids. This grew to be very complicated when European colonizers got involved. Colonial wars forced the indigenous people to take sides, which put tribes that were once at peace into conflict. As the Europeans pushed westward, these tribes were fully separated and displaced from their lands.
It is sad to reflect on events like this that happened so long ago—most people don't even know about it. While Christopher Columbus is praised for "discovering and colonizing America," many forget about the very roots of our own country, who actually discovered this land, and what could have been a part of our modern society. Although many Native Americans can still be found in the southwest, their presence and heritage cannot be fully appreciated since many would discriminate and push them away from the modern way of life. The least people can do as a society is to be accepting to all people regardless of their past or religion, and popularize the celebration of and their deep roots in U.S. history.
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