Native Americans, American Indians, or Indians are all terms used to classify the earliest inhabitants of the North America and parts of Alaska and Hawaii. In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that about 0.8% of the U.S. population was that of American Indian or Alaska Native descent.
As of 2005 there are 564 recognized tribal entities within the United States. Louisiana alone, there are three tribes represented; the tribes known as the Chitimacha, Choctaw, and Houma Indians are all present amongst other ethnicities within the state.
Many of the populations left their homelands in order to find work to support their families. Today, however, the appreciation of tribal history has grown back to what it once was, prompting many natives to return back to their homeland reservations.
With all of the strife and illness that this ethnic group has experienced, it is understandable why the population percentage of Native Americans is at an all time low. From the time that Columbus first set foot on the soil of what would soon become the United States, these people have fought and died to preserve their own culture.
Native Americans: Truth Behind the TeePee 