Page 6 - The Native American Experience

INTRODUCTION

Unique Cultures,

Diverse People

Native Americans have been part of American mythology for cen-
turies. Since the fi rst Europeans arrived in the 1500s, the country’s
indigenous people have been stereotyped in stories and works of
art. White culture has depicted Native Americans in countless de-
meaning ways, portraying them alternately as noble warriors and
Indian princesses or as brutal savages. Native American names
and imagery have been used on American money, military attack
helicopters, and toys; in advertisements; and as sports mascots.
Many of these portrayals represent Native Americans as a single
culture or people. Kevin Gover, who is a citizen of the Pawnee
Tribe and director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the
American Indian, explains how these stereotypes took hold: “It
was Hollywood that established our monolithic modern vision of
American Indians, in blockbuster westerns . . . that depict all Indi-
ans, all the time, as horse-riding; tipi-dwelling; bow-, arrow- and
rifl e-wielding; buckskin-, feather- and fringe-wearing warriors.” 1
These stereotypes mask the reality of tribal nations that work every
day to preserve a wide range of cultures, languages, and customs. In
the 2020 census, 3.7 million people identifi ed as Native American or
Alaska Native, and 5.9 million people identifi ed as Native American or
Alaska Native in combination with another ethnic group. These indig-
enous Americans belong to 574 federally recognized Indian tribes—
also called bands, pueblos, and Native villages. These nations have
tribal sovereignty, the legal authority to govern themselves.
Census fi gures show that about 30 percent of Native Americans
live in what is called Indian country, a term that defi nes all lands within

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