Native American nations refer to the various tribes, groups, and communities of Indigenous peoples who inhabited North America before Europeans arrived. These nations had their own unique cultures, languages, and forms of governance.
Related terms
Assimilation: The process by which Native Americans were pressured or forced to adopt European customs, language, and culture.
Indian Removal Act: A law passed in 1830 that authorized the forced relocation of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands in the southeastern United States.
Trail of Tears: Refers to the forced removal and relocation of Cherokee Nation from their homelands in Georgia to present-day Oklahoma in 1838-1839.