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Early History |
| The land called the United States today had been discovered more than once before the arrival of Columbus. When Columbus came, he found that there were already people living the New World. These people came from the continent of Asia. They had arrived 20,000 to 45,000 years before Columbus. Native Americans spread out all over the North American Continent. |
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Families, Groups and Languages
A Native American is loyal first to his family, village or hunting group. This could be a group of 10 people but they were the most important people in the person' s life. The group that you were the closest to was your family. Neighboring related family groups might get together to hunt, or to fight for each other against enemies. This larger group was called a tribe. Some tribes are small. They do not have very many people that belong to them.
Early explorers and settlers usually thought of the Indians as being all the same all over the United States. The Indians themselves did not. An Indian usually considers himself a member of a special smaller group such as Navajo, Seminole or Sioux. Each of these groups had a different language. Most did not understand each other. There are more than 500 languages.
Different climates, resources, and landforms shaped each tribe. Native Americans living in the same area shared similar cultures. These cultures were different than the Native Americans living in another area.
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