Guide Note

American Indians, sometimes called Native Americans, are the peoples who inhabited North America before European explorers arrived in the 15th Century.

Most scholars believe American Indians arrived during the last Ice Age, 15,000 and 13,000 years ago, by crossing the Bering Strait from eastern Asia.¹

When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492, it is estimated there were 10 million Indians living throughout North America. The name Indian was first used to describe the indigenous peoples by Columbus who mistakenly thought he had landed in India.²

Fast Facts

1. The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granted citizenship to America's indigenous peoples³
2. The term Native American was introduced in the 1960s by the U.S. Government⁴
3. According to a 1995 Census Bureau Survey, the preferred term is American Indian⁵
4. Currently 50 federally recognized tribes in the the U.S.⁶
5. Approximately 56.2 million acres of land is held in trust for various tribes⁶

• 1492: Columbus arrives in America⁷
• 1520: Aztec Empire at Mexico City falls to Hernando Cortes⁷
• 1565: First European colony set up in Jamestown, Virginia⁷
• 1622: First Indian uprising in an English colony⁷
• 1778: First treaty between United States and Delaware Indians⁸
• 1830: Indian Removal Act passed by Congress⁹
• 1892: Federal law prohibits the sale of liquor to Indians⁸
• 1934: Wheeler-Howard Act passed to protect Native Culture¹⁰
• 1979: American Indian Religious Freedom Act¹¹

• Everything in Native American History...