Native Hawaiians and Alaskan Natives, such as Aleut, Yup'ik, and Inuit, are not commonly referred to as “Native Americans”.¹⁾

The term “American Indian” is used by the majority of indigenous people in the United States, while “First Nations” is used by the majority of indigenous people in Canada. People in both countries are frequently referred to as “Native Americans” or “indigenous Americans”.²⁾

Ishi (about 1860-1916) is commonly regarded as America's “last wild Indian.” He spent the most of his life outside of contemporary civilization when his tribe, the Yahi (of the Yana group), fell extinct due to the California Gold Rush in the late 1800s. After his family died, he lived alone in the wilderness. He walked out of the wilderness into the town of Oroville in 1911, starving and with nowhere to go, where he would later be studied by anthropologists.³⁾

The Sequoia tree was named after Cherokee leader Sequoyah, who assisted his people in developing an alphabet.⁴⁾

The term “Indian” was coined by Christopher Columbus, who thought he had discovered the East Indies. He referred to the indigenous people as “Indians”.⁵⁾

Native Americans and First Nations people who spoke an Algonquian language were the first to meet English explorers, and as a result, many words from these languages entered English.⁶⁾

The Algonquian people were the first to encounter English explorers, which resulted in the incorporation of their terms into our own language: 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.⁷⁾

The term “avocado” is Nahuatl meaning “testicle” in the Central Mexican/Aztec Indian language.⁸⁾

Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, and Missouri are among the states whose names are derived from Amerindian terms.⁹⁾

Many Native American words, such as chia, chili, chocolate, coyote, guacamole, mesquite, peyote, shack, tamale, tomato, abalone, bayou, cannibal, Chinook, manatee, poncho, and potato, have entered the English language.¹⁰⁾

The word “barbecue” comes from the Arawakan Indian language and means “stick framework”.¹¹⁾

Native Americans, according to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are descended from the Middle East and were Jewish in origin. In their book, The Book of Mormon, Native Americans are referred to as “Laminates”.¹²⁾

The Indian Citizenship Act (Snyder Act) of 1924 awarded indigenous peoples full U.S. citizenship. It was passed in part to honor the hundreds of Native Americans who served in WWI.¹³⁾

Native Americans have lived on the American continent since around 12,000 B.C. They were not a single nation, but rather a diverse collection of civilizations, peoples, and languages. Some historians estimate that humanity have lived in South America for about 30,000 years.¹⁴⁾

The Iroquois Confederacy was formed in the early 1600s by five former enemies. An all-male council made decisions; however, women had the authority to fire any councilor.¹⁵⁾