"Indigenous people of the Americas shaped life in the Western Hemisphere for millennia. After contact, American Indians and the events involving them greatly influenced the histories of the European colonies and the modern nations of North, Central, and South America. Today, this influence continues to play significant roles in many aspects of political, legal, cultural, environmental, and economic issues. To understand the history and cultures of the Americas requires understanding American Indian history from Indian perspectives."

- Native Knowledge 360 / Framework for Essential Understandings about American Indians

Tribal territories in pre-colonlized Southern New England

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Native-Land.ca's world map

"There is no single American Indian culture or language."

- - Native Knowledge 360

"Native Americans are often considered the “minority of the minority” in the United States because they have historically experienced a high degree of marginalization and discrimination, even within the broader category of racial and ethnic minorities. Despite being the original inhabitants of the continent, Native Americans have been subjected to centuries of forced displacement, cultural suppression and genocide at the hands of colonizers.

"Treated as second-class citizens and exploited almost from the moment that explorers and colonizers first arrived on the continent in 1492, it wasn’t until major legislation was passed in the 1900s that Native Americans began to see some of their civil rights recognized.

• 1924 with the Indian Citizen Act (Snyder Act) that granted citizenship to Native Americans

• 1940s through 1962 – Granted the right to vote (per state)

• 1978 American Indian Religious Freedom Act that gave freedom to practice their own religions

"Additionally, Native Americans are the only racial minority group that must have a card or some kind of enrollment status with their federally recognized tribe that shows how “Indian” they are based on blood quantum ratios and/or proof of ancestry to the tribal community.

"According to the 2020 Census, Native Americans and Alaska Natives make up only 2.9% of the total U.S. population. This small population size, combined with their historical marginalization, contributes to their status as a minority within a minority."

Health Disparities

Historical Trauma

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Tribal Property Rights

Unthanksgiving Day / National Day of Mourning

Cultural Appropriation

Funding Disparities

Reparations

Reclaiming Indigenous Lifeways

Cultural Revitalization

A Foot in Both Worlds