Native Americans occupied much of the land in North America long before the United States of America ever raised its flag and claimed that land as its own. Yet, on the whole, Native communities are largely misunderstood by many Americans.
That's why it's important to make an effort to learn about other cultures of the people, like Native Americans, who inhabit the same land. Increasing awareness of other cultures increases respect, cooperation, communication and decreases stereotypes as well as ethnic and racial division.
With that in mind, here are 10 things Native Americans wish everyone knew.
1. Native Americans are not a monolith.
To say that the Native American culture is a monolith is to claim that everyone within that group is similar in regards to their traditions, dress, language, beliefs, and general way of life. This is absolutely not true. “Native American” is a broadly encompassing term that includes almost 600 federally recognized Native tribes living in America, with many more unrecognized as official tribes. This means that there are, conservatively, 600 different ways of life, various languages with different dialects and slang, traditions, art, music, and craft, economy, topography and geography, religious and spiritual beliefs, education systems, social structures, family structures, and so on. Just like you can't take all white people in America and shoehorn them into one all-inclusive category, it would be a disservice to do the same to Native people.
2. Not all Native American tribes are federally recognized.
To reiterate, not all Native American tribes are federally recognized. The United States can deny or refute a tribe's petitions for federal acknowledgment. But for some of the petitions, they've simply yet to make a decision. The seven requirements that a tribe must meet in order to become federally recognized include:
- The petitioner has been identified as an American Indian entity since 1900.
- A predominant portion of the petitioning group comprises a distinct community.
- The petitioner has maintained political influence or authority over its members.
- The group has governing documents which include its membership criteria.
- The petitioner’s membership consists of individuals who descend from a historical Indian tribe or from historical Indian tribes which combined and functioned as a single autonomous political entity.
- The membership of the petitioning group is composed primarily of persons who are not members of an acknowledged North American Indian tribe.
- Neither the petitioner nor its members are the subject of congressional legislation that has expressly terminated or forbidden the federal relationship.
3. We don’t own our reservation lands outright.
While some tribes do not live on a reservation, more than 300 do. Some are shared by multiple tribes, while some tribes inhabit more than one reservation. The entire idea behind the reservation formed when the Constitution was ratified and the government agreed to look upon Native tribes as independent sovereign nations. The Native Americans “reserved” plots of land that no longer belonged to them outright. As stated by experts at the History Channel:
“The main goals of Indian reservations were to bring Native Americans under U.S. government control, minimize conflict between Indians and settlers and encourage Native Americans to take on the ways of the white man. But many Native Americans were forced onto reservations with catastrophic results and devastating, long-lasting effects.”
Now, reservation land is held “in trust” for Native Americans by the federal government, which means that those who live on the property cannot reap the benefits of owning land, such as obtaining equity or mortgaging assets.
4. Most of us don’t live on reservations.
Most of the Native population in North American are congregated around the central states such as Oklahoma and the southwest and northwest states, as well as Alaska and Canada—and most of these individuals do not live on reservations. They live in cities, in small quaint towns, up in the mountains, in the suburbs, and deep in rural areas just like the rest of the population.
Approximately only 600,000 Native individuals live on reservations today, but these numbers can't be trusted entirely, as Native Americans are historically grossly undercounted in the census. The total number of Native Americans and Alaska Natives living in the U.S. today? 6.9 million. So less than 10 percent live on a reservation.
5. History books are not 100% accurate.
What has your history teacher not told you? Or perhaps more likely, what does your history teacher not even know him or herself? While ignorance is no defense, many people's worldviews are shaped by what they learn in school, at home, and in society, especially when it comes to United States history. Textbooks are definitely whitewashed and written in favor of those who won the wars, which in America…were “Americans.” Yet, providing our students with a strictly “positive” version of U.S. history does not produce patriotic Americans. Rather, it produces misguided ones.
However, changes are gradually coming as we continue to uncover the half-truths and flat-out falsities perpetuated by antiquated textbooks. Future editions of textbooks in our schools could very well paint a fuller, more accurate picture of the events in our history.
If you're curious, “An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is a good starting point.
6. Regalia is not a costume.
Native tribes each have their own form of regalia, which consists of the sacred clothing, accessories, and artifacts we wear and treasure. The colors and stitching are deep in symbolism and the entire process of hand-making the regalia is significant in itself. Native individuals wear regalia to pow wows, ceremonies, and other important events while using them to dance and share stories with others. Putting on regalia is meaningful and a time of great pride. It is a form of self-expression not to be taken lightly.
Those who dress similarly and wear them as “costumes” during a holiday or sporting event may think they are being playful when in reality, they are offending a culture. Not only are these fake regalia costumes portrayed incorrectly, they often sexualize girls and women by showing excessive skin, and making the costume unnecessarily tight. The fact that they are available online and in stores is a testament to how far we still have to go.
7. We didn't choose the term “Indian.”
In fourteen hundred ninety-two…
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
This part is true. However, he obviously did not land where he expected to. Christopher Columbus thought he was headed toward India, where he wanted to see for himself the magical places he had been reading about and what he had heard from Marco Polo. Gold and spices were calling his name. Unfortunately, he miscalculated the distance (badly) and ended up in what is now the Bahamas, which were inhabited by a group of people who named the island Guanahani. Because Columbus thought he had landed in India and didn’t realize his mistake for some time, he coined the indigenous inhabitants of the newly discovered world “Indians.”
The Smithsonian Magazine online has quite a detailed and interesting story about Columbus’ voyages and his huge mistake that ended up in disaster, if you want to know more.
8. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving the same way.
Go read up on the true history of Thanksgiving and you will see why many Native American families do not celebrate it the same way that non-Natives do. There's a reason many have taken to calling it “The National Day of Mourning” since the 1970s. While some use Thanksgiving as a reminder to be grateful, kind and compassionate, many Americans still believe in the false childhood stories of colonists and Natives coming around a dinner table feasting on what they have prepared together, to celebrate the harvest and the coming-together of two groups of people.
Make no mistake: this did not happen. The Natives were stolen from, made a mockery of, and murdered. On Plymouth Rock today, a plaque at the site notes:
“Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of their people, the theft of their lands, and the relentless assault on their cultures. Participants in National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today.”
9. We don’t want your pity. We need allies.
Historically, like many other cultures, Native Americans have gone through oppression, execution, segregation, racism, and separation. They've been removed from their land, taken from their families, made mascots of, made into symbols by other cultures, forced into poverty, and abandoned by their government.
However, they still don’t want your pity. What will pity do? It won’t raise awareness, grow important relationships or secure much-needed funding and programs to help Native people. It won’t improve the lives of the historically disenfranchised in any meaningful way.
What Native Americans need are strong allies who will stand up with them to fight the unnecessary and continued oppression and segregation.
10. We're still here, and we're doing incredible things.
We still have a long way to go toward an adequate and accurate representation of Native American communities. We're grossly underrepresented in the media, and when we are featured, it's typically in an unflattering light. It's no wonder we're often referred to as the “invisible minority.”
The truth is, much of the U.S. doesn't see it, but Native communities across the country are doing wonderful things. We're creating beautiful, stunning art, we're making timeless films, we're dancing beautifully and passionately, we're making waves in politics, and we're just getting started.
Don't believe me?
Deb Haaland is stepping in as Interior Secretary for President Joe Biden's administration.
Michaela Goade recently became the first Native American illustrator to win the Caldecott Medal.
Taika Waititi is rolling out a new show about Native Americans with an entirely indigenous writers room.
A 16-year old environmental activist is changing the world. Sixteen.
I could go on, but I encourage you to pay more attention to all of the ways Native communities are changing the world for the better. You might be surprised.
Last Updated on April 12, 2023 by Paul G
Janice Prucker
says:Have you ever heard of the indigenous rock and roll band called Redbone? One of their hits (and one of my favorite songs at that time) was called’Come and Get Your Love’ was rereleased and on the soundtrack of the movie‘Guardians of the Galaxy’. They released another song at that time called’We were all wounded at wounded knee’ which was banned in the USA but was number one in the Netherlands for several weeks. They also released many other popular songs but the group was never inducted in the Rock and Roll hall of fame and most people never heard of them. They are every bit as good if not better than other groups that were included.
Trudy Krusmark Gomez
says:Megwitch! I too am learning about my Ojibwe Bad River heritage, and so happy to see the traditions and culture growing.
Deanna Lesher
says:Stop being and acting like victims. Everyone makes their own way. Move on and make a positive difference in this world, but don’t be another Black Lives Matter movement. Aren’t we ALL Americans now? My family came from Poland because they were fleeing eradication from the Germans. We are not mad at the Germans of today, the group doing the damage are long gone. We are here and you are here. Let’s make our country the best it can be by contributing our strengths and joy in this beautiful land. I agree with your protection rights of the land and that you should actually own it, free and clear…but I don’t own my land either even though my mortgage is paid in full. That is something we all need to fix, together. And people using Native American images and mascots was not meant to be disrespectful. Americans are proud of our strong Native American heritage, what’s wrong with that? I think it helps keep pride and recognition to to our Native American history. Don’t be the next Aunt Jermima and be gone from all things in our society..you will be forgotten.
Frank Benvenuto
says:Ms. Lesher: I just read your comments and would like to respond to them. Firstly, the Holocaust was one of the many acts of genocide against Jewish people as well as Poles. Trust me when I say that there are many Poles today who still hate what the Nazis did to your people. It just so happened that the Nazis were German henchmen being misled by Hitler. I’m sure we all know the story of Hitler.
Secondly, regarding the mascots, mascots have always been nothing but cartoonish caricatures of Natives. They DO NOT and HAVE NEVER represented real portrayals of the People. They are Indigenous. That alone makes them more unique and distinct than non-Indigenous folks, whether you want to agree with that or not. I’m of Italian background myself but have always considered myself to be just a settler/squatter on traditional Native land just as much as you are a settler/squatter. No offense. This sure as heck isn’t MY land. This entire hemisphere belongs to every Indigenous person whose ancestors have always been here since time immemorial.
Regarding how Natives “shouldn’t be another Black Lives Matter movement”, the BLM group formed for a good reason: because they have been extremely oppressed by white colonialism as much as Natives have. This is why Idle No More was formed back in the early 2000s. I fully support INM as well should you since you’re an American citizen living on traditional Native land.
As for the whole Aunt Jemima thing, you may need to be careful with that because there may be African-Americans who will not take those 2 words very well.
Anyway, that is my scoop on this.
David Kahn
says:I am grateful for all the TRUE information provided to people like me who really care. My family came to the USA from a get to in Russia around 1900. I have read extensively on Native American culture from Black Elk , Fools Crow and Handsome Lake. I am grateful for all I have learned and try to share it with anyone who has the intelligence to learn. Thank you for all that appears in these columns
Dave Kahn
Dennis
says:As I read and learn more about part of myself, I find myself drawn to the real history of North America. In that process, I believe but am not certain, that in Canada, the term is First Nations, not Native Americans. While both are appropriate, I find myself drawn to the first nations title. Just wanted to share that. Great stories, great website. Thank you.
Ric Taylor
says:Greetings. Hope this finds everyone in excellent health and SPIRIT.
The late John Trudeau once said “Everyone (if you go back far enough) is from a tribe(s). Native American People are No Different. Everyone deserves respect. Everyone needs love.
What brings us together is a Strong Humanity, with a reverence for GOD.
Mitakuye Oyasin/ We Are All Related.
GOD Bless You.
ROBERT Fastré
says:bonjour , je suis passé par des POW WOW a A Albuquerque et Durango , jr connais la super malheureuse histoire des Amérindiens ; Wondet knee et l obligation d allé a l école Anglaise .
la culture Indienne reprend ses droits , et formidable vous renaissez de vos droits .
Mon regret c est que il n existe pas l organisation TOURISTIQUE Amérindienne ; en Europe on visite les MUSEE et l histoire ,dommage que on ne peut pas entré dans vos ville et y resté 1 semaine ! La jalousie des envallisseur et les chercheur de dispute qui on beaucoup de terrains
J ai vu le filme de ” HOSTILES ” de SCOTT COOPER et je crois GREEN RIVER ( une indienne tuée par des hommes du forage pétrolier ) on lui a enlevé ses bottes et il doit marché dans la neige
A + de 2000 mètres DOMMAGE QU IL N Y A PAS PL+S DE RESPECT POUR LES FEMMES INDIENNES /// PAS DE RECONNESSENCE CIVIL ++++++++++++++
Donna Brewer Haley
says:Thank you for sharing this information. I am going to try and learn more..
Nancy ONeal
says:I thought the Ten Things Native Americans Wish Everyone Knew was great. Knew many of them because I have Native American blood coursing through my veins. Although I live in a white persons world I have strived in my adult life to try and promote Native American activities whenever and wherever I can.
I am forwarding the message to many individuals in my life.
It brought to mind the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation which I have visited, it is so much more than a tribute to a Native American hero. I thought of the summer school on the foundation grounds allowing Native students college credits that will help further education.
I sincerely hope that the word will spread about achievements like the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation.
Nancy ONeal
David Fritze
says:Thank you for this article. Thank you for Powwows.com too. I am just learning about my Ojibwe heritage. I live in Duluth, MN. My ancestors [at least (5) generations] are of the White Earth Rez in NW Minnesota. I will post more soon.