The map above shows how indigenous American tribes were distributed throughout North America and parts of the Caribbean.
These indigenous peoples (IPs), with 86 tribes in total, are spread in 11 regions throughout the continent.
The Eskimo is the sole tribe in the Arctic region, located in the extreme north of present-day Canada and the Danish province of Greenland.
Two indigenous groups occupy the Subarctic region that comprises most of north-central Canada:
- Yellowknife
- Chippewyah
Eight IP groups live in the Northwest Coast region:
- Tlingit
- Haida
- Kwakiutl
- Salish
- Nootka
- Makah
- Chinook
- Tillamook
In the California region live seven tribes:
- Yorok
- Hupa
- Maiou
- Yuki
- Pomo
- Miwok
- Mono
Five ethnic groups inhabit the Plateau area:
- Spokane
- Coeur d’Alene
- Cayuse
- Nez Perce
- Flathead
There are also five IP groups living in the Great Basin area:
- Modoc
- Shoshoni
- Washo
- Paiute
- Ute
The Southwest region houses ten groups:
- Navajo
- Apache
- Hopi
- Zuñi
- Mohave
- Yuma
- Pima
- Papago
- Pueblo
- Karankara
In the region of Mesoamerica live three ethnic tribes:
- Aztec
- Ciboney
- Taino
There are 16 tribes living in the Great Plains region:
- Cree
- Crow
- Mandan
- Arikara
- Sioux
- Iowa
- Missouri
- Arapaho
- Kansa
- Osage
- Cheyenne
- Quapaw
- Kiowa
- Apache
- Comanche
- Waco
In the Northeast region live the most number of indigenous tribes, 19 to be exact:
- Ojibwa
- Huron
- Menomini Ojibwa
- Saux Fox
- Iroquis
- Massachuset
- Kickapoo
- Potawatomi
- Illinois
- Miami
- Erie
- Pamunkey
- Susquehanna
- Delaware
- Powhatan
- Shawnee
- Chickahominy
- Tuscarora
- Catawba
Finally, in the Southeast region live 11 indigenous American tribes:
- Cherokee
- Tuskegee
- Creek
- Chickasaw
- Choctaw
- Wichita
- Caddo
- Natchez
- Alabama
- Timukua
- Calusa
In this Reddit thread, several users notice that since the map is sourced from a textbook published in the United States (US), there are more tribes situated in the modern-day US. This means that other nations such as Canada and Mexico are underrepresented, and only have a few tribes listed on the map.
Here are some books to check out about more of the native American tribes:
- Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes
- Revisioning History: An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States
- The History of the American Indians
- The Apache and Comanche: The History and Legacy of the Southwest’s Most Famous Warrior Tribes
- Native American Tribes: The History and Culture of the Navajo
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