Maps of Native American Tribes in the United States

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Estimates of the number of American Indians have been made since the European discovery of the continent. Various authorities estimate that there were approximately 1,000,000 native inhabitants within the continental United States when Columbus reached the New World. They coexisted as some 500 tribes, varying in size from a few dozen to several thousand, speaking more than 300 languages.

In 400 years, the Indian population was decimated by disease, starvation, genocide, and slavery to a low of 237,000 in 1900. The Indian population grew slowly to 357,000 in 1950. The 1980 census lists the Indian population as 1.4 million.

The dramatic increase in population is partly due to more proficient census methods and individuals’ propensity to acknowledge mixed Indian ancestry. People of mixed Indian blood could become tribal members depending on their respective tribe’s minimum blood quantum requirements, varying from 1/32 to 1/2. The blood quantum issue has been a cause for wide disparity concerning the Indian population.

A quincentennial map of American Indian history

The map below presents a broad view of American Indian history from an Indian perspective.

The arrival of Columbus (1492)
The prevalent theory is that at least 12,000 years ago, Indian ancestors crossed the frozen Bering Strait, fanned out from Alaska, and became the sole inhabitants of the North American continent. They established civilizations, cultures, and religions based on their acknowledged dependence on the environment and its elements.

Indians Forced Inland (1790)
European nations made sporadic attempts at settlements along the eastern seaboard. The first permanent settlement was Jamestown, an English colony established in 1607. As other colonies were established, they began an aggressive expansion policy by attrition. Indians resisted with open hostility. The first significant retaliation occurred in 1622 when Powhatan leader Opechancanough went on a rampage in Virginia and killed 347 settlers. This conflict initiated a pattern of reciprocal atrocities that lasted for nearly 300 years. By 1671, there were 50,000 settlers in the Colonies.

The 1744 Treaty OF Lancaster established the Appalachian Mountains as the physical boundary between the settlers and Indians. This general boundary was reaffirmed geographically when the 13 Colonies won their war for independence and became the United States of America. By 1790, the population of the United States was 4 million.

“Indian country” (1830)
The 1830 Indian Removal Act, signed into law by President Andrew Jackson, extinguished Indian land rights east of the Mississippi and provided for their relocation to “Indian Country,” which was defined as “the part of the United States west of the Mississippi and not within the states of Missouri, Louisiana, or the territory of Arkansas.” This definitive boundary seemed to create a brief pause in the settler’s voracious appetite for Indian lands for the next two decades. However, a tidal wave of immigrant humanity was building along the western frontier.

By 1829, the population of the United States was 12.5 million.

Immigrant Stampede (1860)
By 1850, the United States had extinguished all European land claims from coast to coast, setting the stage for the settlement of the West. Only the Indians stood in the way of progress.

The 1854 Indian Appropriation Act gave Congress the authority to establish Indian Reservations. This act provided the legal basis for the removal of specific Indians to specific locations. President Lincoln signed the 1862 Homeseat Act and Rail Road Act into law, which became significant factors in crushing Indian resistance.

The discovery of gold in the West and the availability of free land launched humanity’s stampede across the land. When the dust settled, Indian land rights had mostly been extinguished, and the devastated Indians had nearly been exterminated. In the wake of this carnage, the western half of a new nation was born.

By I860, the population of the United States was 31 million.

The Vanquished Indian (1890)
The last of the Indian wars was over, and the 1887 Indian Allotment Act was the “coup de grace” for Indian tribal land rights. The essence of this act was to eliminate the rights of Indians to hold tribal land in common, in exchange for an individualized allotment of 160 acres per head of household, with lesser acreages to individuals. The surplus land was ceded to the government to be sold to the settlers. More than 100 reservations were allotted, and over 90 million acres were abstracted from Indian lands.
In less than 100 years, Indian lands had been reduced from all land west of the Appalachian Mountains to desolate reservations, totaling less than 4% of the continental United States. The once-proud hunter-warrior had been relegated to a confined beggar’s existence of ridicule and abuse.
By 1890, the population of the United States was 63 million.

Native American lands

Historical Map of Native American Tribes in the Continental U.S.

Largest native American tribal group by U.S. county

Related post:
– The native tribes of  North and Central America
– American Indian Population by County (1990 – 2017)