9 Facts About Native American Tribes

When European ships first anchored off the Atlantic coast, they did not arrive on an empty continent. They arrived in a world of hundreds of nations, each with its own language, government, foodways, and spiritual life. Today more than nine million Native Americans live in the United States, representing hundreds of tribal nations whose histories reach back thousands of years, from the northern reaches of Alaska to the Gulf Coast of Florida. Understanding those nations means setting aside a single, flattened story and engaging instead with living cultures: the Cherokee syllabary that produced mass literacy in the 1820s, the Great Law of Peace of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the agricultural genius that gave the world corn, beans, and squash, and the long struggle for citizenship and sovereignty that continues today.

A Continent of Languages — and the Fight to Keep Them Alive

Before colonization, North America was among the most linguistically diverse places on Earth. More than 300 languages were spoken north of the Rio Grande, and some estimates place the total across the continent as high as 500. Each carried its own oral literature, ceremony, and ecological knowledge.

Many of those languages disappeared under deliberate government assimilation policy. In 1868, Ulysses S. Grant declared that “in the difference of language today lies two-thirds of our trouble… their barbarous dialect should be blotted out and the English language substituted.” Beginning in the 1800s, Native communities were displaced onto reservations and reserves, and children were removed to Indian boarding schools where English was enforced and Indigenous languages punished. Congress did not pass the Indian Education Act until 1972, permitting tribes to teach their own languages again.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, at least 169 Native languages were still spoken in the United States as of 2013, many with very small numbers of speakers. Congress responded with the Native American Languages Act of 1990, which supports preservation and revitalization. That support is critical: without sustained effort, most Native American languages face disappearance by 2050.

Sequoyah and the Cherokee Syllabary

Before European contact, Native American languages were transmitted orally. Afterward, several tribes adopted writing systems — the most remarkable being the work of Sequoyah, a member of the Cherokee Nation. He spent 12 years developing a writing system for his people, completing his 86-character syllabary in 1821.

“There are many syllabaries — the Japanese hiragana is the most famous one,” notes Dr. Ellen Cushman, a Cherokee Nation citizen and professor at Northeastern University. “But Cherokee is the only one that was invented by a Native person, for Native people.” Because the syllabary represented the specific sounds of Cherokee, it was easy to learn: within three to five years, the tribe could read and write. On February 21, 1828, the first edition of the Cherokee Phoenix appeared in the Cherokee capital of New Echota, Georgia — the first bilingual newspaper in the United States, printed in both English and Cherokee.

Sovereignty and Recognition: How Many Tribal Nations Exist?

Of the 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States, 229 are located in Alaska. California ranks second in number, with 109 federally recognized tribes, and also holds the largest Native American population of any state.

Federally recognized tribes hold government-to-government relationships with the United States, much like other sovereign nations. Many tribes, however, lack federal recognition, which leaves them ineligible for federal programs and support. As of 2020, 66 tribes had received recognition from 13 individual states. State recognition does not always carry state or federal benefits, but it formally acknowledges a tribe’s historical and contemporary existence.

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Great Law of Peace

Called the Iroquois Confederacy by the French, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy was formed by five nations: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. Some researchers date its founding to 1142, while the Confederacy itself says it has existed since time immemorial. Either way, it ranks among the oldest participatory democracies on Earth. The nations are bound by the Great Law of Peace (Kaianere’ko:wa), which serves as their political constitution. A sixth nation, the Tuscarora, joined in the 18th century.

“Many tribes were democratic, but the Haudenosaunee Confederacy brought people together across a large geographic expanse. That’s part of what makes them unique,” says Dr. Donald A. Grinde Jr., author of Exemplar of Liberty, who holds Yamasee heritage. His research traces the Confederacy’s influence on the United States Constitution through three contributions: that sovereignty resides in the people; the separation of powers into distinct branches of government; and a written constitution of citable articles, echoing how the Haudenosaunee recited the Great Law of Peace each year. Unlike the U.S. Constitution, women played an active role in Haudenosaunee democracy.

Removal, Land Loss, and the Long Road to Citizenship

In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, driven largely by white settlers’ desire to grow cotton on the valuable southern lands of the Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek, and other tribes. The law forced Native people out of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee and into “Indian Territory” in what is now Oklahoma. Thousands died during these forced migrations.

Assimilation continued through the Dawes Act of 1887, which granted citizenship to Native people who accepted land allotments, and through the removal of children to institutions where they were stripped of language and identity. Full citizenship arrived when President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act on June 2, 1924. Yet many Native Americans were still denied the vote, since voting rules fell to the states. Literacy tests and other discriminatory practices blocked access to the polls until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The boarding school system and its lasting impact remains central to understanding how language loss and land loss advanced together.

Foodways and an Agricultural Gift to the World

Native American tribes developed varied diets rooted in local food systems, and many practiced sophisticated agriculture. In 2016, it was estimated that as much as 60 percent of the global food supply was based on crops that originated in North America.

Corn was created by Indigenous farmers in southern Mexico and Guatemala perhaps 10,000 years ago. By the time European colonists arrived, Native Americans had been cultivating it for thousands of years, alongside beans, squash, potatoes, and tomatoes. These staples were developed over millennia through careful selection and stewardship of native plants.

Where Tribal Lands Stand Today

There are roughly 326 tribal land areas in the United States, compared with 574 federally recognized tribes. For tribes that do hold land, it averages only about 2.6 percent of the territory they occupied before colonization. Many forcibly relocated tribes were left with no land at all.

It is commonly cited that only 22 percent of Native Americans live on tribal lands — a figure drawn from the 2010 Census. A 2014 study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found instead that 68 percent of Native Americans and Alaska Natives live on or near their homelands.

The Navajo Nation spans nearly 25,000 square miles — about the size of West Virginia and more than twice the size of Maryland — extending into Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. In 2021, the Navajo Nation surpassed the Cherokee Nation to become the largest tribe by population, with nearly 400,000 registered members. Navajo also has the most speakers of any Native American language.

Readers interested in the beginnings of Indigenous language systems can explore how Native American languages developed historically, while those studying confederacy governance can examine the broader question of how the Iroquois Confederacy influenced U.S. government structure.

Historical Context & Key Cultural Takeaways

• Linguistic wealth and loss: More than 300 Native languages once flourished; roughly 169 remained in use as of 2013, with revitalization efforts supported by the Native American Languages Act of 1990.
• Indigenous innovation: Sequoyah’s 86-character Cherokee syllabary (1821) enabled rapid mass literacy and the 1828 founding of the Cherokee Phoenix, the first bilingual newspaper in the United States.
• Sovereignty persists: 574 federally recognized tribes maintain government-to-government relations with the United States, while 66 tribes hold state recognition in 13 states as of 2020.
• Constitutional influence: The Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace contributed ideas of popular sovereignty, separated powers, and a citable constitution to American political thought.
• Legal milestones: The Indian Removal Act of 1830, the Dawes Act of 1887, the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 mark key turning points in Native legal history.
• Land and agriculture: Tribal land today averages about 2.6 percent of pre-colonization territory, yet Indigenous crops underpin as much as 60 percent of the global food supply.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Native American languages existed before colonization, and how many survive today?
More than 300 languages were spoken north of the Rio Grande before colonization, with some estimates reaching 500 across the continent. As of 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau counted at least 169 Native languages still spoken in the United States — many by very small numbers of speakers.

Who created the Cherokee syllabary, and why is it significant?
Sequoyah, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, developed an 86-character syllabary over 12 years, completing it in 1821. It was the only syllabary invented by a Native person for Native people, and it allowed the Cherokee to achieve widespread literacy within three to five years, culminating in the 1828 launch of the bilingual Cherokee Phoenix.

What is the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and did it influence American government?
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy united the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations under the Great Law of Peace, later joined by the Tuscarora. Historians such as Dr. Donald A. Grinde Jr. identify three contributions to American constitutional thought: sovereignty residing in the people, separation of powers, and a written constitution of citable articles.

When did Native Americans gain U.S. citizenship and the right to vote?
The Indian Citizenship Act, signed June 2, 1924, granted full citizenship, though the Dawes Act of 1887 had already granted citizenship to some who accepted land allotments. Voting remained blocked in many states through literacy tests and other discriminatory practices until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

How much land do federally recognized tribes hold today?
Roughly 326 tribal land areas exist for 574 federally recognized tribes, averaging only about 2.6 percent of pre-colonization territory. A 2014 HUD study found that 68 percent of Native Americans and Alaska Natives live on or near their homelands.

Cultural Legacy and Modern Preservation

The story of Native American tribes is not a closed chapter. Language revitalization programs, tribal museums, and repatriation work under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act continue to return objects and knowledge to their communities of origin. Sovereignty today is asserted not only in courtrooms and councils but in classrooms where Cherokee, Diné Bizaad, and hundreds of other languages are taught again. Ten thousand years of agricultural knowledge, a written constitution older than the United States, and the first bilingual newspaper in the nation all belong to this living inheritance — one that Native nations continue to steward, adapt, and defend.