History Of Native American Indians

The first Native Americans made their way into North America during the Ice Age, some 10,000 years ago. They crossed over from Siberia to Alaska, using the Bering Land Bridge across the Bering Strait. These people were hunters and gatherers. It is believed that they made their way through the Mackenzie River valley. As the glaciers kept melting, more people began moving down south towards South America in search of food and better living conditions. However, by the time the icecaps began melting, the northern reaches of the continent were more conducive to living and large animals began roaming there. Hence, the humans followed, as they hunted these animals. This is how the Native Americans made their way into Newfoundland and the prairies of Canada. Those tribes that were living along the northern coastal regions of Canada started hunting for sea mammals and their also moved towards the Arctic Circle and thereby making their way into Greenland. These are the ancestors of modern-day Eskimos.

In around 5000 to 2500 BC, the Native Americans began farming and cultivating crops. This took place first in the Tehuacan Valley, located in Mexico. It is believed that the first crops to be cultivated were squash and chili and thereafter corn, beans and different types of gourds were grown. Along with these crops, these people still hunted and gathered food.

The first Native American civilization established itself along the coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico. This was around 1200 BC and the establishment was done by the Olmec people. This was around the same time that the Aryans were establishing themselves in northern part of India and the Shang dynasty was spreading around China. And, around three centuries later, the Olmecs were followed by the Chavins in Peru, forming the first civilization in South America.

On the other hand, those Native Americans living in North America had got used to living in different types of environments. For instance, the eastern side of the continent was covered with forests and woodlands, where the people used to hunt for elk and deer; while on the grasslands, they used hunt horses, mammoths and camels; in the deserts of southwest, they used to hunt small animals and/or gather seeds; and in the Arctic circle, the American Indians used to fish and hunt down seals.

The first settlement of Native American Indians in North American was traced to the southwest and it was established in the second millennium BC. These people used to hunt, as well as grow their own food, such as corn, squash and gourds. It is believed that they got these crops from the Native Americans living in Mexico. Furthermore, these people also had the same ritual for building burial mounds. However, by 1000 BC, these mounds were made from wood. The earliest people to make burial mounds were the Native Americans from the Adena culture. The remnants of these mounds were found in Ohio valley. Archaeologists have also found evidence of Hopewell tribe's burial mounds. It is believed that between the 1st century BC and 5th century BC, the maximum number of burial mounds was built throughout North America. After this period, the Mississippi valley and the southwest had advanced farming societies; and this concept of living gradually spread to the east coast, where forest covers were cleared to make place for agriculture. The main crop planted was maize. However, even at this time, most of the Native Americans were still semi nomadic, and besides cultivating crops, they still hunted and gathered food.

We all know that once Christopher Columbus made his way to the New World in 1492 AD, it was practically the end of the indigenous people. The settlers brought diseases for which the tribes had no immunity, and as a result they died in large numbers. Even after the Native Americans tried to befriend the settlers, they were often met with resistance, which led to their massacre and torment. With the coming of the Europeans, life for the Native American Indians changed completely, but the change was not for the better.

It is important to note that after the European settlers came to the Americas; their interest was primarily removing the wealth from the region and relocating it to Spain. Hence, in Latin America, the Europeans who were living were elite. Also, Latin America was more populated with Native American Indians compared to North America. Furthermore, the European settlers in North America were Dutch, French and British, and they were interested in settling down in the New World unlike the Spaniards in South and Latin America. So, this led to a clash of interest between the settlers and Native American Indians. The Europeans began competing with the Indians for the land, with the Spaniards posing the first challenge, followed by the British and the French.

Ironically, when the English first came to the New World in the year 1584, their ship docked at Roanoke Island, which is off the coast of North Carolina and their first contact with the locals was a friendly one. These locals were the Algonquian Indians; and thereafter the Secotan Indians did trade with the English by bartering corals, fish, meat, leather goods, fruits and vegetables in lieu of axes, swords and hatchets. The English went back to England to report that the land was conducive to establish a new colony, and the rest is history.

Today, the American Indians in the United States are fighting for their rights, healthcare and education. They live in reservations and many men are alcohol addicts, something they claim that the settlers introduced their forefathers to.

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