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Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are groups of people native to a specific region that inhabited the Americas before the arrival of European settlers in the 15th century and the ethnic groups who continue to identify themselves with those peoples.[34]

Indigenous peoples of the Americas
Current distribution of Indigenous peoples of the Americas
Total population
Approximately 62 million
Regions with significant populations
 Mexico11.8 - 23.2 million[1][2]
 United States3.7 - 9.7 million[3]
 Guatemala6.4 million[4]
 Peru5.9 million[5]
 Bolivia4.1 million[6]
 Chile2.1 million[7]
 Colombia1.9 million[8]
 Canada1.8 million[9]
 Brazil1.7 million[10]
 Argentina1.3 million[11]
 Ecuador1.3 million[12]
 Venezuela724,592[13]
 Honduras601,019[14]
 Nicaragua443,847[15]
 Panama417,559[16]
 Paraguay117,150[17]
 Costa Rica104,143[18]
 Guyana78,492[19]
 Uruguay76,452[20]
 Greenland50,189[21]
 Belize36,507[22]
 Suriname20,344[23]
 Puerto Rico19,839[24]
French Guiana~19,000[25]
 El Salvador13,310[26]
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines3,280[27]
 Dominica2,576[28]
 Trinidad and Tobago1,394[29]
 Saint Lucia951[30]
 Antigua and Barbuda327[31]
 Grenada162[32]
 Saint Kitts and Nevis8[33]
Languages
Numerous Indigenous American languages (both extant and extinct)
Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Danish, Dutch, and Russian (historically)
Religion
Mostly Christianity (Catholic and Protestant), along with various Indigenous American religions
Related ethnic groups
Mestizos, Métis, Zambos, Pardos, and Indigenous Siberian peoples

The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are diverse; some Indigenous peoples were historically hunter-gatherers, while others traditionally practice agriculture and aquaculture. In some regions, Indigenous peoples created pre-contact monumental architecture, large-scale organized cities, city-states, chiefdoms, states, kingdoms, republics, confederacies and empires.[35] These societies had varying degrees of knowledge of engineering, architecture, mathematics, astronomy, writing, physics, medicine, planting and irrigation, geology, mining, metallurgy, sculpture and gold smithing.

Many parts of the Americas are still populated by Indigenous peoples; some countries have sizeable populations, especially Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and the United States. At least a thousand different Indigenous languages are spoken in the Americas, where there are also 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States alone. Several of these languages are recognized as official by several governments such as those in Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay and Greenland. Some, such as Quechua, Arawak, Aymara, Guaraní, Mayan and Nahuatl, count their speakers in the millions. Whether contemporary Indigenous people live in rural communities or urban ones, many also maintain additional aspects of their cultural practices to varying degrees, including religion, social organization and subsistence practices. Like most cultures, over time, cultures specific to many Indigenous peoples have also evolved, preserving traditional customs but also adjusting to meet modern needs. Some Indigenous peoples still live in relative isolation from Western culture and a few are still counted as uncontacted peoples.[36] Indigenous peoples from the Americas have also formed diaspora communities outside the Western Hemisphere, namely in former colonial centers in Europe. A notable example is the sizable Greenlandic Inuit community in Denmark.[37] In the 20th and 21st centuries, Indigenous peoples from Suriname and French Guiana migrated to the Netherlands and France, respectively.[38][39]

Terminology

 
The West Indies in relation to the continental Americas
 
A Navajo boy in the desert in present-day Monument Valley in Arizona with the "Three Sisters" rock formation in the background in 2007

Application of the term "Indian" originated with Christopher Columbus, who, in his search for India, thought that he had arrived in the East Indies.[40][41][42][43][44][45]

The islands came to be known as the "West Indies", a name that is still used to describe the islands. This led to the blanket term "Indies" and "Indians" (Spanish: indios; Portuguese: índios; French: indiens; Dutch: indianen) for the Indigenous inhabitants, which implied some kind of ethnic or cultural unity among the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. This unifying concept, codified in law, religion, and politics, was not originally accepted by the myriad groups of Indigenous peoples themselves but has since been embraced or tolerated by many over the last two centuries.[46] Even though the term "Indian" generally does not include the culturally and linguistically distinct Indigenous peoples of the Arctic regions of the Americas, including the Aleuts, Inuit, or Yupik peoples, who entered the continent as a second, more recent wave of migration several thousand years later and have much more recent genetic and cultural commonalities with the Indigenous peoples of Siberia—these groups are nonetheless considered "Indigenous peoples of the Americas".[47]

The term Amerindian, a portmanteau of "American Indian", was coined in 1902 by the American Anthropological Association. It has been controversial ever since its creation. It was immediately rejected by some leading members of the Association, and, while adopted by many, it was never universally accepted.[48] While never popular in Indigenous communities themselves, it remains a preferred term among some anthropologists, notably in some parts of Canada and the English-speaking Caribbean.[49][50][51][52]

"Indigenous peoples in Canada" is used as the collective name for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis.[53][54] The term Aboriginal peoples as a collective noun (also describing First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) is a specific term of art used in some legal documents, including the Constitution Act, 1982,[55] though in most Indigenous circles Aboriginal has also fallen into disfavor.[56] Over time, as societal perceptions and government–indigenous relationships have shifted, many historical terms have changed definitions or been replaced as they have fallen out of favor.[57] The use of the term "Indian" is frowned upon because it represents the imposition and restriction of Indigenous peoples and cultures by the Canadian Government.[57] The terms "Native" and "Eskimo" are generally regarded as disrespectful, and so are rarely used unless specifically required.[58] While "Indigenous peoples" is the preferred term, many individuals or communities may choose to describe their identity using a different term.[57][58]

The Métis people of Canada can be contrasted, for instance, to the Indigenous-European mixed-race mestizos (or caboclos in Brazil) of Hispanic America who, with their larger population (in most Latin American countries constituting either outright majorities, pluralities, or at the least large minorities), identify largely as a new ethnic group distinct from both Europeans and Indigenous, but still considering themselves a subset of the European-derived Hispanic or Brazilian peoplehood in culture and ethnicity (cf. ladinos).

Among Spanish-speaking countries, indígenas or pueblos indígenas ('Indigenous peoples') is a common term, though nativos or pueblos nativos ('native peoples') may also be heard; moreover, aborigen ('aborigine') is used in Argentina and pueblos originarios ('original peoples') is common in Chile. In Brazil, indígenas and povos originários ('Indigenous peoples') are common formal-sounding designations, while índio ('Indian') is still the more often heard term (the noun for the South-Asian nationality being indiano), but for the past 10 years has been considered offensive and pejorative.[citation needed] Aborígene and nativo are rarely used in Brazil in Indigenous-specific contexts (e.g., aborígene is usually understood as the ethnonym for Indigenous Australians). The Spanish and Portuguese equivalents to Indian, nevertheless, could be used to mean any hunter-gatherer or full-blooded Indigenous person, particularly to continents other than Europe or Africa—for example, indios filipinos.[citation needed]

Indigenous peoples of the United States are commonly known as Native Americans, Indians, as well as Alaska Natives.[clarification needed] The term "Indian" is still used in some communities and remains in use in the official names of many institutions and businesses in Indian Country.[59]

Name controversy

 
Wayuu women in the Guajira Peninsula, which comprises parts of Colombia and Venezuela
 
Quechua women in festive dress on Taquile Island on Lake Titicaca, west of Peru

The various nations, tribes, and bands of Indigenous peoples of the Americas have differing preferences in terminology for themselves.[60] While there are regional and generational variations in which umbrella terms are preferred for Indigenous peoples as a whole, in general, most Indigenous peoples prefer to be identified by the name of their specific nation, tribe, or band.[60][61]

Early settlers often adopted terms that some tribes used for each other, not realizing these were derogatory terms used by enemies. When discussing broader subsets of peoples, naming has often been based on shared language, region, or historical relationship.[62] Many English exonyms have been used to refer to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Some of these names were based on foreign language terms used by earlier explorers and colonists, while others resulted from the colonists' attempts to translate or transliterate endonyms from the native languages. Other terms arose during periods of conflict between the colonists and Indigenous peoples.[63]

Since the late 20th century, Indigenous peoples in the Americas have been more vocal about how they want to be addressed, pushing to suppress the use of terms widely considered to be obsolete, inaccurate, or racist. During the latter half of the 20th century and the rise of the Indian rights movement, the United States federal government responded by proposing the use of the term "Native American", to recognize the primacy of Indigenous peoples' tenure in the nation.[64] As may be expected among people of over 400 different cultures in the US alone, not all of the people intended to be described by this term have agreed on its use or adopted it. No single group naming convention has been accepted by all Indigenous peoples in the Americas. Most prefer to be addressed as people of their tribe or nations when not speaking about Native Americans/American Indians as a whole.[65]

Since the 1970s, the word "Indigenous", which is capitalized when referring to people, has gradually emerged as a favored umbrella term. The capitalization is to acknowledge that Indigenous peoples have cultures and societies that are equal to Europeans, Africans, and Asians.[61][66] This has recently been acknowledged in the AP Stylebook.[67] Some consider it improper to refer to Indigenous people as "Indigenous Americans" or to append any colonial nationality to the term because Indigenous cultures existed before European colonization. Indigenous groups have territorial claims that are different from modern national and international borders, and when labeled as part of a country, their traditional lands are not acknowledged. Some who have written guidelines consider it more appropriate to describe an Indigenous person as "living in" or "of" the Americas, rather than calling them "American"; or simply calling them "Indigenous" without any addition of a colonial state.[68][69]

History

Peopling of the Americas

 
Map of early human migrations based on the Out of Africa theory; figures are in thousands of years ago (kya).[70]

The peopling of the Americas began when Paleolithic hunter-gatherers (Paleo-Indians) entered North America from the North Asian Mammoth steppe via the Beringia land bridge, which had formed between northeastern Siberia and western Alaska due to the lowering of sea level during the Last Glacial Maximum (26,000 to 19,000 years ago).[71] These populations expanded south of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and spread rapidly southward, occupying both North and South America, by 12,000 to 14,000 years ago.[72][73][74][75][76] The earliest populations in the Americas, before roughly 10,000 years ago, are known as Paleo-Indians. Indigenous peoples of the Americas have been linked to Siberian populations by linguistic factors, the distribution of blood types, and in genetic composition as reflected by molecular data, such as DNA.[77][78]

While there is general agreement that the Americas were first settled from Asia, the pattern of migration and the place(s) of origin in Eurasia of the peoples who migrated to the Americas remain unclear.[73] The traditional theory is that Ancient Beringians moved when sea levels were significantly lowered due to the Quaternary glaciation,[79][80] following herds of now-extinct Pleistocene megafauna along ice-free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets.[81] Another route proposed is that, either on foot or using primitive boats, they migrated down the Pacific coast to South America as far as Chile.[82] Any archaeological evidence of coastal occupation during the last Ice Age would now have been covered by the sea level rise, up to a hundred metres since then.[83]

The precise date for the peopling of the Americas is a long-standing open question, and while advances in archaeology, Pleistocene geology, physical anthropology, and DNA analysis have progressively shed more light on the subject, significant questions remain unresolved.[84][85] The "Clovis first theory" refers to the hypothesis that the Clovis culture represents the earliest human presence in the Americas about 13,000 years ago.[86] Evidence of pre-Clovis cultures has accumulated and pushed back the possible date of the first peopling of the Americas.[87][88][89][90] Academics generally believe that humans reached North America south of the Laurentide Ice Sheet at some point between 15,000 and 20,000 years ago.[84][87][91][92][93][94] Some new controversial archaeological evidence suggests the possibility that human arrival in the Americas may have occurred prior to the Last Glacial Maximum more than 20,000 years ago.[87][95][96][97][98]

Pre-Columbian era

 
Language families of Indigenous peoples in North America shown across present-day Canada, Greenland, the United States, and northern Mexico
 
The Kogi, descendants of the Tairona, are a culturally intact, largely pre-Columbian era society.[99]
 
"The Maiden", one of the discovered Llullaillaco mummies, a preserved Inca human sacrifice from around the year 1500.[100][101]

While technically referring to the era before Christopher Columbus' voyages of 1492 to 1504, in practice the term usually includes the history of Indigenous cultures until Europeans either conquered or significantly influenced them.[102] "Pre-Columbian" is used especially often in the context of discussing the pre-contact Mesoamerican Indigenous societies: Olmec; Toltec; Teotihuacano' Zapotec; Mixtec; Aztec and Maya civilizations; and the complex cultures of the Andes: Inca Empire, Moche culture, Muisca Confederation, and Cañari.

The Pre-Columbian era refers to all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European and African influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original arrival in the Upper Paleolithic to European colonization during the early modern period.[103] The Norte Chico civilization (in present-day Peru) is one of the defining six original civilizations of the world, arising independently around the same time as that of Egypt.[104][105] Many later pre-Columbian civilizations achieved great complexity, with hallmarks that included permanent or urban settlements, agriculture, engineering, astronomy, trade, civic and monumental architecture, and complex societal hierarchies. Some of these civilizations had long faded by the time of the first significant European and African arrivals (ca. late 15th–early 16th centuries), and are known only through oral history and through archaeological investigations. Others were contemporary with the contact and colonization period and were documented in historical accounts of the time. A few, such as the Mayan, Olmec, Mixtec, Aztec, and Nahua peoples, had their written languages and records. However, the European colonists of the time worked to eliminate non-Christian beliefs and burned many pre-Columbian written records. Only a few documents remained hidden and survived, leaving contemporary historians with glimpses of ancient culture and knowledge.

According to both Indigenous and European accounts and documents, American civilizations before and at the time of European encounter had achieved great complexity and many accomplishments.[106] For instance, the Aztecs built one of the largest cities in the world, Tenochtitlan (the historical site of what would become Mexico City), with an estimated population of 200,000 for the city proper and a population of close to five million for the extended empire.[107] By comparison, the largest European cities in the 16th century were Constantinople and Paris with 300,000 and 200,000 inhabitants respectively.[108] The population in London, Madrid, and Rome hardly exceeded 50,000 people. In 1523, right around the time of the Spanish conquest, the entire population in the country of England was just under three million people.[109] This fact speaks to the level of sophistication, agriculture, governmental procedure, and rule of law that existed in Tenochtitlan, needed to govern over such a large citizenry. Indigenous civilizations also displayed impressive accomplishments in astronomy and mathematics, including the most accurate calendar in the world.[citation needed] The domestication of maize or corn required thousands of years of selective breeding, and continued cultivation of multiple varieties was done with planning and selection, generally by women.

Inuit, Yupik, Aleut, and Indigenous creation myths tell of a variety of origins of their respective peoples. Some were "always there" or were created by gods or animals, some migrated from a specified compass point, and others came from "across the ocean".[110]

European colonization

 
Areas of Indigenous peoples in North America at time of European colonization
 
An illustration in Florentine Codex, compiled between 1540 and 1585, depicting the Nahua peoples suffering from smallpox during the conquest-era in central Mexico
 
Indigenous people at a farm plantation in Minas Gerais in present-day Brazil, c. 1824
 
Members of an uncontacted tribe encountered in Acre in present-day Brazil in 2009

The European colonization of the Americas fundamentally changed the lives and cultures of the resident Indigenous peoples. Although the exact pre-colonization population count of the Americas is unknown, scholars estimate that Indigenous populations diminished by between 80% and 90% during the first centuries of European colonization. Most scholars estimate a pre-colonization population of around 50 million, with other scholars arguing for an estimate of 100 million. Estimates reach as high as 145 million.[111][112][113]

Epidemics ravaged the Americas with diseases, such as smallpox, measles, and cholera, which the early colonists brought from Europe. The spread of infectious diseases was slow initially, as most Europeans were not actively or visibly infected, due to inherited immunity from generations of exposure to these diseases in Europe. This changed when the Europeans began the human trafficking of massive numbers of enslaved Western and Central African people to the Americas. Like Indigenous peoples, these African people, newly exposed to European diseases, lacked any inherited resistance to the diseases of Europe. In 1520 an African who had been infected with smallpox had arrived in Yucatán. By 1558, the disease had spread throughout South America and had arrived at the Plata basin.[114] Colonist violence towards Indigenous peoples accelerated the loss of lives. European colonists perpetrated massacres on the Indigenous peoples and enslaved them.[115][116][117] According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census (1894), the North American Indian Wars of the 19th century had a known death toll of about 19,000 Europeans and 30,000 Native Americans, and an estimated total death toll of 45,000 Native Americans.[118]

The first Indigenous group encountered by Columbus, the 250,000 Taínos of Hispaniola, represented the dominant culture in the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas. Within thirty years about 70% of the Taínos had died.[119] They had no immunity to European diseases, so outbreaks of measles and smallpox ravaged their population.[120] One such outbreak occurred in a camp of enslaved Africans, where smallpox spread to the nearby Taíno population and reduced their numbers by 50%.[114] Increasing punishment of the Taínos for revolting against forced labor, despite measures put in place by the encomienda, which included religious education and protection from warring tribes,[121] eventually led to the last great Taíno rebellion (1511–1529).

Following years of mistreatment, the Taínos began to adopt suicidal behaviors, with women aborting or killing their infants and men jumping from cliffs or ingesting untreated cassava, a violent poison.[119] Eventually, a Taíno Cacique named Enriquillo managed to hold out in the Baoruco Mountain Range for thirteen years, causing serious damage to the Spanish, Carib-held plantations and their Indian auxiliaries.[122][failed verification] Hearing of the seriousness of the revolt, Emperor Charles V (also King of Spain) sent Captain Francisco Barrionuevo to negotiate a peace treaty with the ever-increasing number of rebels. Two months later, after consultation with the Audencia of Santo Domingo, Enriquillo was offered any part of the island to live in peace.

The Laws of Burgos, 1512–1513, were the first codified set of laws governing the behavior of Spanish settlers in America, particularly concerning Indigenous peoples. The laws forbade the maltreatment of them and endorsed their conversion to Catholicism.[123] The Spanish crown found it difficult to enforce these laws in distant colonies.

Epidemic disease was the overwhelming cause of the population decline of the Indigenous peoples.[124][125] After initial contact with Europeans and Africans, Old World diseases caused the deaths of 90 to 95% of the native population of the New World in the following 150 years.[126] Smallpox killed from one-third to half of the native population of Hispaniola in 1518.[127][128] By killing the Incan ruler Huayna Capac, smallpox caused the Inca Civil War of 1529–1532. Smallpox was only the first epidemic. Typhus (probably) in 1546, influenza and smallpox together in 1558, smallpox again in 1589, diphtheria in 1614, and measles in 1618—all ravaged the remains of Inca culture.

Smallpox killed millions of native inhabitants of Mexico.[129][130] Unintentionally introduced at Veracruz with the arrival of Pánfilo de Narváez on 23 April 1520, smallpox ravaged Mexico in the 1520s,[131] possibly killing over 150,000 in Tenochtitlán (the heartland of the Aztec Empire) alone, and aiding in the victory of Hernán Cortés over the Aztec Empire at Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City) in 1521.[citation needed][114]

There are many factors as to why Indigenous peoples suffered such immense losses from Afro-Eurasian diseases. Many European diseases, like cow pox, are acquired from domesticated animals that are not indigenous to the Americas. European populations had adapted to these diseases, and built up resistance, over many generations. Many of the European diseases that were brought over to the Americas were diseases, like yellow fever, that were relatively manageable if infected as a child, but were deadly if infected as an adult. Children could often survive the disease, resulting in immunity to the disease for the rest of their lives. But contact with adult populations without this childhood or inherited immunity would result in these diseases proving fatal.[114][132]

Colonization of the Caribbean led to the destruction of the Arawaks of the Lesser Antilles. Their culture was destroyed by 1650. Only 500 had survived by the year 1550, though the bloodlines continued through to the modern populace. In Amazonia, Indigenous societies weathered, and continue to suffer, centuries of colonization and genocide.[133]

Contact with European diseases such as smallpox and measles killed between 50 and 67 percent of the Indigenous population of North America in the first hundred years after the arrival of Europeans.[134] Some 90 percent of the native population near Massachusetts Bay Colony died of smallpox in an epidemic in 1617–1619.[135] In 1633, in Fort Orange (New Netherland), the Native Americans there were exposed to smallpox because of contact with Europeans. As it had done elsewhere, the virus wiped out entire population groups of Native Americans.[136] It reached Lake Ontario in 1636, and the lands of the Iroquois by 1679.[137][138] During the 1770s smallpox killed at least 30% of the West Coast Native Americans.[139] The 1775–82 North American smallpox epidemic and the 1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic brought devastation and drastic population depletion among the Plains Indians.[140][141] In 1832 the federal government of the United States established a smallpox vaccination program for Native Americans (The Indian Vaccination Act of 1832).[142]

The Indigenous peoples in Brazil declined from a pre-Columbian high of an estimated three million[143] to some 300,000 in 1997.[dubious ][failed verification][144]

The Spanish Empire and other Europeans re-introduced horses to the Americas. Some of these animals escaped and began to breed and increase their numbers in the wild.[145] The reintroduction of the horse, extinct in the Americas for over 7500 years, had a profound impact on Indigenous cultures in the Great Plains of North America and in the Gran Chaco and Patagonia in South America. By domesticating horses, some tribes had great success: horses enabled them to expand their territories, exchange more goods with neighboring tribes, and more easily capture game, especially bison.

According to Erin McKenna and Scott L. Pratt, the Indigenous population of the Americas was 145 million in the late 15th and by the late 17th century, had been reduced to 15 million due to epidemics, wars, massacres, mass rapes, starvation, and enslavement.[113]

Indigenous historical trauma

 
Map of all Indigenous resident schools in Canada, including gravesites. This map can be expanded and interacted with.
  Confirmed discoveries of gravesites (24)
  Investigations underway as of 30 July 2021 (17)
  Investigations that concluded with no discoveries (2)
  Resident schools where no investigations have taken place (100)
Data

Indigenous historical trauma (IHT) is the trauma that can accumulate across generations and develop as a result of the historical ramifications of colonization and is linked to mental and physical health hardships and population decline.[146] IHT affects many different people in a multitude of ways because the Indigenous community and their history are diverse.

Many studies (such as Whitbeck et al., 2014;[147] Brockie, 2012; Anastasio et al., 2016;[148] Clark & Winterowd, 2012;[149] Tucker et al., 2016)[150] have evaluated the impact of IHT on health outcomes of Indigenous communities from the United States and Canada. IHT is a difficult term to standardize and measure because of the vast and variable diversity of Indigenous people and their communities. Therefore, it is an arduous task to assign an operational definition and systematically collect data when studying IHT. Many of the studies that incorporate IHT measure it in different ways, making it hard to compile data and review it holistically. This is an important point that provides context for the following studies that attempt to understand the relationship between IHT and potential adverse health impacts.

Some of the methodologies to measure IHT include a "Historical Losses Scale" (HLS), "Historical Losses Associated Symptoms Scale" (HLASS), and residential school ancestry studies.[146]: 23  HLS uses a survey format that includes "12 kinds of historical losses", such as loss of language and loss of land and asks participants how often they think about those losses.[146]: 23  The HLASS includes 12 emotional reactions, and asks participants how they feel when they think about these losses.[146] Lastly, the residential school ancestry studies ask respondents if their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, or "elders from their community" went to a residential school to understand if family or community history in residential schools is associated with negative health outcomes.[146]: 25  In a comprehensive review of the research literature, Joseph Gone and colleagues[146] compiled and compared outcomes for studies using these IHT measures relative to the health outcomes of Indigenous peoples. The study defined negative health outcomes to include such concepts as anxiety, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, polysubstance abuse, PTSD, depression, binge eating, anger, and sexual abuse.[146]

The connection between IHT and health conditions is complicated because of the difficult nature of measuring IHT, the unknown directionality of IHT and health outcomes, and because the term Indigenous people used in the various samples comprises a huge population of individuals with drastically different experiences and histories. That being said some studies such as Bombay, Matheson, and Anisman (2014),[151] Elias et al. (2012),[152] and Pearce et al. (2008)[153] found that Indigenous respondents with a connection to residential schools have more negative health outcomes (e.g., suicide ideation, suicide attempts, and depression) than those who did not have a connection to residential schools. Additionally, Indigenous respondents with higher HLS and HLASS scores had one or more negative health outcomes.[146] While there are many studies[148][154][149][155][150] that found an association between IHT and adverse health outcomes, scholars continue to suggest that it remains difficult to understand the impact of IHT. IHT needs to be systematically measured. Indigenous people also need to be understood in separate categories based on similar experiences, location, and background as opposed to being categorized as one monolithic group.[146]

Agriculture

 
A bison hunt depicted by George Catlin
 
The domesticated plant species that were cultivated by the Indigenous peoples have influenced the crops that were produced globally.

Plants

 
The ancient mesoamerican engraving of maize now on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico

For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples domesticated, bred, and cultivated a large array of plant species. These species now constitute between 50% and 60% of all crops in cultivation worldwide.[156] In certain cases, the Indigenous peoples developed entirely new species and strains through artificial selection, as with the domestication and breeding of maize from wild teosinte grasses in the valleys of southern Mexico. Numerous such agricultural products retain their native names in the English and Spanish lexicons.

The South American highlands became a center of early agriculture. Genetic testing of the wide variety of cultivars and wild species suggests that the potato has a single origin in the area of southern Peru,[157] from a species in the Solanum brevicaule complex. Over 99% of all modern cultivated potatoes worldwide are descendants of a subspecies Indigenous to south-central Chile,[158] Solanum tuberosum ssp. tuberosum, where it was cultivated as long as 10,000 years ago.[159][160] According to Linda Newson, "It is clear that in pre-Columbian times some groups struggled to survive and often suffered food shortages and famines, while others enjoyed a varied and substantial diet."[161]

Persistent drought around AD 850 coincided with the collapse of the Classic Maya civilization, and the famine of One Rabbit (AD 1454) was a major catastrophe in Mexico.[162]

 
The bean is native to Mexico and Central America and later began to be cultivated in South America.

Indigenous peoples of North America began practicing farming approximately 4,000 years ago, late in the Archaic period of North American cultures. Technology had advanced to the point where pottery had started to become common and the small-scale felling of trees had become feasible. Concurrently, the Archaic Indigenous peoples began using fire in a controlled manner. They carried out the intentional burning of vegetation to mimic the effects of natural fires that tended to clear forest understories. It made travel easier and facilitated the growth of herbs and berry-producing plants, which were important both for food and for medicines.[163]

In the Mississippi River valley, Europeans noted that Native Americans managed groves of nut and fruit trees not far from villages and towns and their gardens and agricultural fields. They would have used prescribed burning further away, in forest and prairie areas.[164]

 
The tomato (jitomate, in central Mexico) was later cultivated by the pre-Hispanic civilizations of Mexico.

Many crops first domesticated by Indigenous peoples are now produced and used globally, most notably maize (or "corn") arguably the most important crop in the world.[165] Other significant crops include cassava; chia; squash (pumpkins, zucchini, marrow, acorn squash, butternut squash); the pinto bean, Phaseolus beans including most common beans, tepary beans, and lima beans; tomatoes; potatoes; sweet potatoes; avocados; peanuts; cocoa beans (used to make chocolate); vanilla; strawberries; pineapples; peppers (species and varieties of Capsicum, including bell peppers, jalapeños, paprika, and chili peppers); sunflower seeds; rubber; brazilwood; chicle; tobacco; coca; blueberries, cranberries, and some species of cotton.

Studies of contemporary Indigenous environmental management—including agro-forestry practices among Itza Maya in Guatemala and hunting and fishing among the Menominee of Wisconsin—suggest that longstanding "sacred values" may represent a summary of sustainable millennial traditions.[166]

Animals

Numerous Native American dog breeds have been used by the people of the Americas, such as the Canadian Eskimo dog, the Carolina dog, and the Chihuahua. Some indigenous peoples in the Great Plains used dogs for pulling travois, while others like the Tahltan bear dog were bred to hunt larger game. Some Andean cultures also bred the Chiribaya to herd llamas. The vast majority of dog breeds in the Americas went extinct, due to being replaced by dogs of European origin.[167]

The Fuegian dog was a domesticated variation of the culpeo that was raised by several cultures in Tierra del Fuego, like the Selk'nam and the Yahgan.[168] It was exterminated by Argentine and Chilean settlers, due to supposedly posing as a threat to livestock.[169]

Several bird species, such as turkeys, Muscovy ducks, Puna ibis, and neotropic cormorants were domesticated by various peoples in Mesoamerica and South America to be used for poultry.

In the Andean region, indigenous peoples domesticated llamas and alpacas to produce fiber and meat. The llama was the only beast of burden in the Americas before European colonization.

Guinea pigs were domesticated from wild cavies to be raised for meat consumption in the Andean region. Guinea pigs are now widely raised in Western society as household pets.

Culture

Cultural practices in the Americas seem to have been shared mostly within geographical zones where distinct ethnic groups adopt shared cultural traits, similar technologies, and social organizations. An example of such a cultural area is Mesoamerica, where millennia of coexistence and shared development among the peoples of the region produced a fairly homogeneous culture with complex agricultural and social patterns. Another well-known example is the North American plains where until the 19th century several peoples shared the traits of nomadic hunter-gatherers based primarily on buffalo hunting.

Languages

 
The major indigenous language families of much of present-day South America and Panama

The languages of the North American Indians have been classified into 56 groups or stock tongues, in which the spoken languages of the tribes may be said to center. In connection with speech, reference may be made to gesture language which was highly developed in parts of this area. Of equal interest is the picture writing especially well developed among the Chippewas and Delawares.[170]

Writing systems

 
Maya glyphs in stucco now on display at Museo de sitio in Palenque, Mexico

Beginning in the 1st millennium BCE, pre-Columbian cultures in Mesoamerica developed several Indigenous writing systems (independent of any influence from the writing systems that existed in other parts of the world). The Cascajal Block is perhaps the earliest-known example in the Americas of what may be an extensive written text. The Olmec hieroglyphs tablet has been indirectly dated (from ceramic shards found in the same context) to approximately 900 BCE which is around the same time that the Olmec occupation of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán began to weaken.[171]

The Maya writing system was logosyllabic (a combination of phonetic syllabic symbols and logograms). It is the only pre-Columbian writing system known to have completely represented the spoken language of its community. It has more than a thousand different glyphs, but a few are variations on the same sign or have the same meaning, many appear only rarely or in particular localities, no more than about five hundred were in use in any given time, and, of those, it seems only about two hundred (including variations) represented a particular phoneme or syllable.[172][173][174]

The Zapotec writing system, one of the earliest in the Americas,[175] was logographic and presumably syllabic.[175] There are remnants of Zapotec writing in inscriptions on some of the monumental architecture of the period, but so few inscriptions are extant that it is difficult to fully describe the writing system. The oldest example of the Zapotec script, dating from around 600 BCE, is on a monument that was discovered in San José Mogote.[176]

Aztec codices (singular codex) are books that were written by pre-Columbian and colonial-era Aztecs. These codices are some of the best primary sources for descriptions of Aztec culture. The pre-Columbian codices are largely pictorial; they do not contain symbols that represent spoken or written language.[177] By contrast, colonial-era codices contain not only Aztec pictograms, but also writing that uses the Latin alphabet in several languages: Classical Nahuatl, Spanish, and occasionally Latin.

Spanish mendicants in the sixteenth century taught Indigenous scribes in their communities to write their languages using Latin letters, and there are a large number of local-level documents in Nahuatl, Zapotec, Mixtec, and Yucatec Maya from the colonial era, many of which were part of lawsuits and other legal matters. Although Spaniards initially taught Indigenous scribes alphabetic writing, the tradition became self-perpetuating at the local level.[178] The Spanish crown gathered such documentation, and contemporary Spanish translations were made for legal cases. Scholars have translated and analyzed these documents in what is called the New Philology to write histories of Indigenous peoples from Indigenous viewpoints.[179]

The Wiigwaasabak, birch bark scrolls on which the Ojibwa (Anishinaabe) people wrote complex geometrical patterns and shapes, can also be considered a form of writing, as can Mi'kmaq hieroglyphics.

Aboriginal syllabic writing, or simply syllabics, is a family of abugidas used to write some Indigenous languages of the Algonquian, Inuit, and Athabaskan language families.

Music and art

 
Indigenous peoples textile art in 1995 by Julia Pingushat, including Inuk, Arviat, Nunavut, Canada, wool, and embroidery floss
 
Chimu culture feather pectoral, feathers, reed, copper, silver, hide, cordage, c. 1350–1450
 
An Indigenous man playing a panpipe, antara, or siku

Indigenous music can vary between cultures, however, there are significant commonalities. Traditional music often centers around drumming and singing. Rattles, clapper sticks, and rasps are also popular percussive instruments, both historically and in contemporary cultures. Flutes are made of river cane, cedar, and other woods. The Apache have a type of fiddle, and fiddles are also found many First Nations and Métis cultures.

The music of the Indigenous peoples of Central Mexico and Central America, like that of the North American cultures, tends to be spiritual ceremonies. It traditionally includes a large variety of percussion and wind instruments such as drums, flutes, sea shells (used as trumpets), and "rain" tubes. No remnants of pre-Columbian stringed instruments were found until archaeologists discovered a jar in Guatemala, attributed to the Maya of the Late Classic Era (600–900 CE); this jar was decorated with imagery depicting a stringed musical instrument which has since been reproduced. This instrument is one of the very few stringed instruments known in the Americas before the introduction of European musical instruments; when played, it produces a sound that mimics a jaguar's growl.[180]

Visual arts by Indigenous peoples of the Americas comprise a major category in the world art collection. Contributions include pottery, paintings, jewelry, weavings, sculptures, basketry, carvings, and beadwork.[181] Because too many artists were posing as Native Americans and Alaska Natives[182] to profit from the cachet of Indigenous art in the United States, the U.S. passed the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, requiring artists to prove that they were enrolled in a state or federally recognized tribe. To support the ongoing practice of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian arts and cultures in the United States,[183] the Ford Foundation, arts advocates, and American Indian tribes created an endowment seed fund and established a national Native Arts and Cultures Foundation in 2007.[184][185]

After the entry of the Spaniards, the process of spiritual conquest was favored, among other things, by the liturgical musical service to which the natives, whose musical gifts came to surprise the missionaries, were integrated. The musical gifts of the natives were of such magnitude that they soon learned the rules of counterpoint and polyphony and even the virtuous handling of the instruments. This helped to ensure that it was not necessary to bring more musicians from Spain, which significantly annoyed the clergy.[186]

The solution that was proposed was not to employ but a certain number of indigenous people in the musical service, not to teach them counterpoint, not to allow them to play certain instruments (brass breaths, for example, in Oaxaca, Mexico) and, finally, not to import more instruments so that the indigenous people would not have access to them. The latter was not an obstacle to the musical enjoyment of the natives, who experienced the making of instruments, particularly rubbed strings (violins and double basses) or plucked (third). It is there where we can find the origin of what is now called traditional music whose instruments have their tuning and a typical Western structure.[187]

Demography

The following table provides estimates for each country in the Americas of the populations of Indigenous people and those with partial Indigenous ancestry, each expressed as a percentage of the overall population. The total percentage obtained by adding both of these categories is also given.

Note: these categories are inconsistently defined and measured differently from country to country. Some figures are based on the results of population-wide genetic surveys while others are based on self-identification or observational estimation.

Indigenous populations of the Americas
as estimated percentage of total country's population
Country Indigenous Ref. Part Indigenous Ref. Combined total Ref.
  Greenland 89% % 89% [188]
  Canada 1.8% 3.6% 5.4% [189]
  Mexico 7% 83% 90% [190]
  United States 1.1% 1.8% 2.9% [191]
  Dominican Republic % % %
  Grenada ~0.4% ~0% ~0.4% [192]
  Haiti % % % [193]
  Jamaica % % %
  Puerto Rico 0.4% [194] 84% [195][196] 84.4%
  Saint Kitts and Nevis % % %
  Saint Lucia % % %
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2% % % [197]
  Trinidad and Tobago 0.8% 88% 88.8%
  Argentina 2.38% [198] 27% [199][200] 29.38%
  Bolivia 20% 68% 88% [201]
  Brazil 0.4% 12% 12.4% [202]
  Chile 10.9% % % [203]
  Colombia 9.5% [204] 50.3% [204] 59.8% [204]
  Ecuador 25% 65% 90% [205]
  French Guiana % % %
  Guyana 10.5% [206] % %
  Paraguay 1.7% 95% 96.7% [207]
  Peru 25.8% 60.2% 86% [208]
  Suriname 2% [209] % %
  Uruguay 0% [210] 2.4% [211] 2.4%
  Venezuela 2.7% 51.6% 54.3% [212]

History and status by continent and country

North America

Canada

 
A map of Canada showing the percent of self-reported indigenous identity (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) by census division, according to the 2021 Canadian census[213]

Indigenous peoples in Canada (also known as Aboriginals)[214] are the indigenous peoples within the boundaries of Canada. They comprise the First Nations,[215] Inuit[216] and Métis.[217] Although "Indian" is a term still commonly used in legal documents, the descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada, and most consider them to be pejorative.[214][218][219] "Aboriginal" as a collective noun[220] is a specific term of art used in some legal documents, including the Constitution Act, 1982, though in some circles that word is also falling into disfavour.[221][222]

Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are some of the earliest known sites of human habitation in Canada. The Paleo-Indian Clovis, Plano and Pre-Dorset cultures pre-date the current Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Projectile point tools, spears, pottery, bangles, chisels and scrapers mark archaeological sites, thus distinguishing cultural periods, traditions, and lithic reduction styles.

The characteristics of Indigenous culture in Canada included permanent settlements,[223] agriculture,[224] civic and ceremonial architecture,[225] complex societal hierarchies, and trading networks.[226] Métis nations of mixed ancestry originated in the mid-17th century when First Nations and Inuit people married European fur traders, primarily the French.[227] The Inuit had more limited interaction with European settlers during that early period.[228] Various laws, treaties, and legislation have been enacted between European immigrants and First Nations across Canada. Aboriginal Right to Self-Government provides opportunity to manage historical, cultural, political, health care and economic control aspects within first people's communities.

As of the 2021 census, the Indigenous population totalled 1,807,250 people, or 5.0% of the national population, with 1,048,405 First Nations people, 624,220 Métis, and 70,540 Inuit.[229] 7.7% of the population under the age of 14 are of Indigenous descent.[230] There are over 600 recognized First Nations governments or bands with distinctive cultures, languages, art, and music.[231][232] National Indigenous Peoples Day recognizes the cultures and contributions of Indigenous peoples to the history of Canada.[233] First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples of all backgrounds have become prominent figures and have served as role models in the Indigenous community and help to shape the Canadian cultural identity.[234]

Greenland

 
Tunumiit Inuit couple from Kulusuk, Greenland

The Greenlandic Inuit (Kalaallisut: kalaallit, Tunumiisut: tunumiit, Inuktun: inughuit) are the Indigenous and most populous ethnic group in Greenland.[235] This means that Denmark has one officially recognized Indigenous group. the Inuit – the Greenlandic Inuit of Greenland and the Greenlandic people in Denmark (Inuit residing in Denmark).

Approximately 89 percent of Greenland's population of 57,695 is Greenlandic Inuit, or 51,349 people as of 2012.[236][237] Ethnographically, they consist of three major groups:

Mexico

 
A Huichol woman from Zacatecas, Mexico
 
A carnival with Tzeltal people in Tenejapa Municipality, Chiapas

The territory of modern-day Mexico was home to numerous Indigenous civilizations before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores: The Olmecs, who flourished from between 1200 BCE to about 400 BCE in the coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico; the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs, who held sway in the mountains of Oaxaca and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec; the Maya in the Yucatán (and into neighboring areas of contemporary Central America); the Purépecha in present-day Michoacán and surrounding areas, and the Aztecs/Mexica, who, from their central capital at Tenochtitlan, dominated much of the center and south of the country (and the non-Aztec inhabitants of those areas) when Hernán Cortés first landed at Veracruz.

In contrast to what was the general rule in the rest of North America, the history of the colony of New Spain was one of racial intermingling (mestizaje). Mestizos, which in Mexico designate people who do not identify culturally with any Indigenous grouping, quickly came to account for a majority of the colony's population. Today, Mestizos in Mexico of mixed indigenous and European ancestry (with a minor African contribution) are still a majority of the population. Genetic studies vary over whether indigenous or European ancestry predominates in the Mexican Mestizo population.[238][239] In the 2015 census, 20.3% of the Mexican population self-identified as indigenous. The 2020 INEGI (National Institute of Statistics and Geography) census showed that at the national level, there are 11.8 million indigenous people (9.3% of the Mexican population). In 2020 the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples reported that 11.1 million people in Mexico belong to an indigenous ethnicity (8.8% of the Mexican population).[240] The indigenous population is distributed throughout the territory of Mexico but is especially concentrated in the Sierra Madre del Sur, the Yucatán Peninsula, and the most remote and difficult-to-access areas, such as the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Sierra Madre Occidental, and neighboring areas.[241] The CDI identifies 62 Indigenous groups in Mexico, each with a unique language.[242][243]

In the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca and the interior of the Yucatán Peninsula, a large amount of the population is of Indigenous descent with the largest ethnic group being Mayan with a population of 900,000.[244] Large Indigenous minorities, including Aztecs or Nahua, Purépechas, Mazahua, Otomi, and Mixtecs are also present in the central regions of Mexico. In the Northern and Bajio regions of Mexico, Indigenous people are a small minority.

The General Law of Linguistic Rights of the Indigenous Peoples grants all Indigenous languages spoken in Mexico, regardless of the number of speakers, the same validity as Spanish in all territories in which they are spoken, and Indigenous peoples are entitled to request some public services and documents in their native languages.[245] Along with Spanish, the law has granted them—more than 60 languages—the status of "national languages". The law includes all Indigenous languages of the Americas regardless of origin; that is, it includes the Indigenous languages of ethnic groups non-native to the territory. The National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples recognizes the language of the Kickapoo, who immigrated from the United States[246] and recognizes the languages of the Indigenous refugees from Guatemala.[247] The Mexican government has promoted and established bilingual primary and secondary education in some Indigenous rural communities. Nonetheless, of the Indigenous peoples in Mexico, 93% are either native speakers or bilingual second-language speakers of Spanish with only about 62.4% of them (or 5.4% of the country's population) speaking an Indigenous language and about a sixth do not speak Spanish (0.7% of the country's population).[248]

The Indigenous peoples in Mexico have the right of free determination under the second article of the constitution. According to this article, the Indigenous peoples are granted:[249]

 
The Rarámuri marathon in Urique
  • the right to decide the internal forms of social, economic, political, and cultural organization;
  • the right to apply their normative systems of regulation as long as human rights and gender equality are respected;
  • the right to preserve and enrich their languages and cultures;
  • the right to elect representatives before the municipal council in which their territories are located;

amongst other rights.

United States

 
A Choctaw artist in present-day Oklahoma
 
A Navajo man on horseback in present-day Monument Valley in Arizona

Indigenous peoples in what is now the contiguous United States, including their descendants, were commonly called American Indians, or simply Indians domestically and since the late 20th century the term Native American came into common use. In Alaska, Indigenous peoples belong to 11 cultures with 11 languages. These include the St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Iñupiat, Athabaskan, Yup'ik, Cup'ik, Unangax, Alutiiq, Eyak, Haida, Tsimshian, and Tlingit,[250] and are collectively called Alaska Natives. They include Native American peoples as well as Inuit, who are distinct but occupy areas of the region.

The United States has authority over Indigenous Polynesian people, which include Hawaiians, Marshallese (Micronesian), and Samoan; politically they are classified as Pacific Islander Americans. They are geographically, genetically, and culturally distinct from Indigenous peoples of the mainland continents of the Americas.

In the 2020 census 2.9% of the U.S. population claimed to have some degree of Native American heritage. When answering a question about racial background, 3.7 million people identified solely as "American Indian or Alaska Native", while another 5.9 million did so in combination with other races.[3] Aztecs were the largest single Native American group in the 2020 census, while Cherokee was the largest group in combination with any other race.[251] Tribes have established their criteria for membership, which are often based on blood quantum, lineal descent, or residency. A minority of Native Americans live in land units called Indian reservations.

Some California and Southwestern tribes, such as the Kumeyaay, Cocopa, Pascua Yaqui, Tohono O'odham, and Apache, span both sides of the US–Mexican border. By treaty, Haudenosaunee people have the legal right to freely cross the US–Canada border. Athabascan, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Iñupiat, Blackfeet, Nakota, Cree, Anishinaabe, Huron, Lenape, Mi'kmaq, Penobscot, and Haudenosaunee, among others, live in both Canada and the United States, whose international border cut through their common cultural territory.

Central America

Belize

Mestizos (mixed European-Indigenous) number about 34% of the population; unmixed Maya make up another 10.6% (Kekchi, Mopan, and Yucatec). The Garifuna, who came to Belize in the 19th century from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, have mixed African, Carib, and Arawak ancestry and make up another 6% of the population.[252]

Costa Rica

There are over 114,000 inhabitants of Native American origins, representing 2.4% of the population. Most of them live in secluded reservations, distributed among eight ethnic groups: Quitirrisí (In the Central Valley), Matambú or Chorotega (Guanacaste), Maleku (Northern Alajuela), Bribri (Southern Atlantic), Cabécar (Cordillera de Talamanca), Boruca (Southern Costa Rica) and Ngäbe (Southern Costa Rica long the Panamá border).

These native groups are characterized by their work in wood, like masks, drums, and other artistic figures, as well as fabrics made of cotton.

Their subsistence is based on agriculture, having corn, beans, and plantains as the main crops.[citation needed]

El Salvador

 
Indigenous Pipil women dancing in the traditional Procession of Palms in Panchimalco, El Salvador

Estimates for El Salvador's indigenous population vary. The last time a reported census had an Indigenous ethnic option was in 2007, which estimated that 0.23% of the population identified as Indigenous.[26] Historically, estimates have claimed higher amounts. A 1930 census stated that 5.6% were Indigenous.[253] By the mid-20th century, there may have been as much as 20% (or 400,000) that would qualify as "Indigenous". Another estimate stated that by the late 1980s, 10% of the population was Indigenous, and another 89% was mestizo (or people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry).[254]

Much of El Salvador was home to the Pipil, the Lenca, Xinca, and Kakawira. The Pipil lived in western El Salvador, spoke Nawat, and had many settlements there, most noticeably Cuzcatlan. The Pipil had no precious mineral resources, but they did have rich and fertile land that was good for farming. The Spaniards were disappointed not to find gold or jewels in El Salvador as they had in other lands like Guatemala or Mexico, but upon learning of the fertile land in El Salvador, they attempted to conquer it. Noted Meso-American Indigenous warriors to rise militarily against the Spanish included Princes Atonal and Atlacatl of the Pipil people in central El Salvador and Princess Antu Silan Ulap of the Lenca people in eastern El Salvador, who saw the Spanish not as gods but as barbaric invaders. After fierce battles, the Pipil successfully fought off the Spanish army led by Pedro de Alvarado along with their Indigenous allies (the Tlaxcalas), sending them back to Guatemala. After many other attacks with an army reinforced with Indigenous allies, the Spanish were able to conquer Cuzcatlan. After further attacks, the Spanish also conquered the Lenca people. Eventually, the Spaniards intermarried with Pipil and Lenca women, resulting in the mestizo population that would make up the vast majority of the Salvadoran people. Today many Pipil and other Indigenous populations live in the many small towns of El Salvador like Izalco, Panchimalco, Sacacoyo, and Nahuizalco.

Guatemala

 
Maya women from present-day Guatemala
 
A Mayan woman

Guatemala has one of the largest Indigenous populations in Central America, with approximately 43.6% of the population considering themselves Indigenous.[255] The Indigenous demographic portion of Guatemala's population consists of a majority of Mayan groups and one non-Mayan group. The Mayan language-speaking portion makes up 29.7% of the population and is distributed into 23 groups namely Q'eqchi' 8.3%, K'iche 7.8%, Mam 4.4%, Kaqchikel 3%, Q'anjob'al 1.2%, Poqomchi' 1%, and Other 4%.[255] The Non-Mayan group consists of the Xinca who are another set of Indigenous people making up 1.8% of the population.[255] Other sources indicate that between 50% and 60% of the population could be Indigenous because part of the Mestizo population is predominantly Indigenous.

The Mayan tribes cover a vast geographic area throughout Central America and expand beyond Guatemala into other countries. One could find vast groups of Mayan people in Boca Costa, in the Southern portions of Guatemala, as well as the Western Highlands living together in close communities.[256] Within these communities and outside of them, around 23 Indigenous languages (or Native American Indigenous languages) are spoken as a first language. Of these 23 languages, they only received official recognition by the Government in 2003 under the Law of National Languages.[255] The Law on National Languages recognizes 23 Indigenous languages including Xinca, enforcing that public and government institutions not only translate but also provide services in said languages.[257] It would provide services in Cakchiquel, Garifuna, Kekchi, Mam, Quiche, and Xinca.[258]

The Law of National Languages has been an effort to grant and protect Indigenous people rights not afforded to them previously. Along with the Law of National Languages passed in 2003, in 1996 the Guatemalan Constitutional Court had ratified the ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples.[259] The ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, is also known as Convention 169. Which is the only International Law regarding Indigenous peoples that Independent countries can adopt. The convention establishes that governments like Guatemala must consult with Indigenous groups before any projects occur on tribal lands.[260]

Honduras

About 5 percent of the population is of full-blooded Indigenous descent, but as much as 80 percent of Hondurans are mestizo or part-Indigenous with European admixture, and about 10 percent are of Indigenous or African descent.[261] The largest concentrations of Indigenous communities in Honduras are in the westernmost areas facing Guatemala and along the coast of the Caribbean Sea, as well as on the border with Nicaragua.[261] The majority of Indigenous people are Lencas, Miskitos to the east, Mayans, Pech, Sumos, and Tolupan.[261]

Nicaragua

About 5% of the Nicaraguan population is Indigenous. The largest Indigenous group in Nicaragua is the Miskito people. Their territory extended from Cabo Camarón, Honduras, to La Cruz de Rio Grande, Nicaragua along the Mosquito Coast. There is a native Miskito language, but large numbers speak Miskito Coast Creole, Spanish, Rama, and other languages. Their use of Creole English came about through frequent contact with the British, who colonized the area. Many Miskitos are Christians. Traditional Miskito society was highly structured, politically and otherwise. It had a king, but he did not have total power. Instead, the power was split between himself, a Miskito Governor, a Miskito General, and by the 1750s, a Miskito Admiral. Historical information on Miskito kings is often obscured by the fact that many of the kings were semi-mythical.

Another major Indigenous culture in eastern Nicaragua is the Mayangna (or Sumu) people, counting some 10,000 people.[262] A smaller Indigenous culture in southeastern Nicaragua is the Rama.

Other Indigenous groups in Nicaragua are located in the central, northern, and Pacific areas and they are self-identified as follows: Chorotega, Cacaopera (or Matagalpa), Xiu-Subtiaba, and Nicarao.[263]

Panama

 
Embera girl, Darién Province, 2006
 
A Guna woman in Guna Yala
 
Guna house in Guna Yala, 2007

Indigenous peoples of Panama, or Native Panamanians, are the native peoples of Panama. According to the 2010 census, they make up 12.3% of the overall population of 3.4 million, or just over 418,000 people. The Ngäbe and Buglé comprise half of the indigenous peoples of Panama.[264]

Many of the Indigenous Peoples live on comarca indígenas,[265] which are administrative regions for areas with substantial Indigenous populations. Three comarcas (Comarca Emberá-Wounaan, Guna Yala, Ngäbe-Buglé) exist as equivalent to a province, with two smaller comarcas (Guna de Madugandí and Guna de Wargandí) subordinate to a province and considered equivalent to a corregimiento (municipality).

South America

Argentina

 
Owners of a roadside cafe near Cachi, Salta Province, Argentina

In 2005, the Indigenous population living in Argentina (known as pueblos originarios) numbered about 600,329 (1.6% of the total population); this figure includes 457,363 people who self-identified as belonging to an Indigenous ethnic group and 142,966 who identified themselves as first-generation descendants of an Indigenous people.[266] The ten most populous Indigenous peoples are the Mapuche (113,680 people), the Kolla (70,505), the Toba (69,452), the Guaraní (68,454), the Wichi (40,036), the DiaguitaCalchaquí (31,753), the Mocoví (15,837), the Huarpe (14,633), the Comechingón (10,863) and the Tehuelche (10,590). Minor but important peoples are the Quechua (6,739), the Charrúa (4,511), the Pilagá (4,465), the Chané (4,376), and the Chorote (2,613). The Selk'nam (Ona) people are now virtually extinct in its pure form. The languages of the Diaguita, Tehuelche, and Selk'nam nations have become extinct or virtually extinct: the Cacán language (spoken by Diaguitas) in the 18th century and the Selk'nam language in the 20th century; one Tehuelche language (Southern Tehuelche) is still spoken by a handful of elderly people.

Bolivia

 
An Indigenous woman in traditional dress near Cochabamba, Bolivia

In Bolivia, the 2012 National Census reported that 41% of residents over the age of 15 are of Indigenous origin. Some 3.7% report growing up with an Indigenous mother tongue but do not identify as Indigenous.[267] When both of these categories are totaled, and children under 15, some 66.4% of Bolivia's population was recorded as Indigenous in the 2001 Census.[268]

The 2021 National Census, recognizes 38 cultures, each with its language, as part of a pluri-national state. Some groups, including CONAMAQ (the National Council of Ayllus and Markas of Qullasuyu), draw ethnic boundaries within the Quechua- and Aymara-speaking population, resulting in a total of 50 Indigenous peoples native to Bolivia.

The largest Indigenous ethnic groups are Quechua, about 2.5 million people; Aymara, 2 million; Chiquitano, 181,000; Guaraní, 126,000; and Mojeño, 69,000. Some 124,000 belong to smaller Indigenous groups.[269] The Constitution of Bolivia, enacted in 2009, recognizes 36 cultures, each with its language, as part of a pluri-national state. Some groups, including CONAMAQ (the National Council of Ayllus and Markas of Qullasuyu), draw ethnic boundaries within the Quechua- and Aymara-speaking population, resulting in a total of 50 Indigenous peoples native to Bolivia.

Large numbers of Bolivian highland peasants retained Indigenous language, culture, customs, and communal organization throughout the Spanish conquest and the post-independence period. They mobilized to resist various attempts at the dissolution of communal landholdings and used legal recognition of "empowered caciques" to further communal organization. Indigenous revolts took place frequently until 1953.[270] While the National Revolutionary Movement government began in 1952 and discouraged people identifying as Indigenous (reclassifying rural people as campesinos, or peasants), renewed ethnic and class militancy re-emerged in the Katarista movement beginning in the 1970s.[271] Many lowland Indigenous peoples, mostly in the east, entered national politics through the 1990 March for Territory and Dignity organized by the CIDOB confederation. That march successfully pressured the national government to sign the ILO Convention 169 and to begin the still-ongoing process of recognizing and giving official titles to Indigenous territories. The 1994 Law of Popular Participation granted "grassroots territorial organizations;" these are recognized by the state and have certain rights to govern local areas.

Some radio and television programs are produced in the Quechua and Aymara languages. The constitutional reform in 1997 recognized Bolivia as a multi-lingual, pluri-ethnic society and introduced education reform. In 2005, for the first time in the country's history, an Indigenous Aymara, Evo Morales, was elected as president.

Morales began work on his "Indigenous autonomy" policy, which he launched in the eastern lowlands department on 3 August 2009. Bolivia was the first nation in the history of South America to affirm the right of Indigenous people to self-government.[272] Speaking in Santa Cruz Department, the President called it "a historic day for the peasant and Indigenous movement", saying that, though he might make errors, he would "never betray the fight started by our ancestors and the fight of the Bolivian people".[272] A vote on further autonomy for jurisdictions took place in December 2009, at the same time as general elections to office. The issue divided the country.[273]

At that time, Indigenous peoples voted overwhelmingly for more autonomy: five departments that had not already done so voted for it;[274][275] as did Gran Chaco Province in Taríja, for regional autonomy;[276] and 11 of 12 municipalities that had referendums on this issue.[274]

Brazil

 
An Indigenous Terena man from present-day Brazil

Indigenous peoples of Brazil make up 0.4% of Brazil's population, or about 817,000 people, but millions of Brazilians are mestizo or have some Indigenous ancestry.[277] Indigenous peoples are found in the entire territory of Brazil, although in the 21st century, the majority of them live in Indigenous territories in the North and Center-Western parts of the country. On 18 January 2007, Fundação Nacional do Índio (FUNAI) reported that it had confirmed the presence of 67 different uncontacted tribes in Brazil, up from 40 in 2005. Brazil is now the nation that has the largest number of uncontacted tribes, and the island of New Guinea is second.[277]

The Washington Post reported in 2007, "As has been proved in the past when uncontacted tribes are introduced to other populations and the microbes they carry, maladies as simple as the common cold can be deadly. In the 1970s, 185 members of the Panara tribe died within two years of discovery after contracting such diseases as flu and chickenpox, leaving only 69 survivors."[278]

Chile

 
A Mapuche man in present-day Chile
 
A Mapuche man and woman; the Mapuche make up about 85% of Indigenous population that live in Chile.

According to the 2012 Census, 10% of the Chilean population, including the Rapa Nui (a Polynesian people) of Easter Island, was Indigenous, although most show varying degrees of mixed heritage.[279] Many are descendants of the Mapuche and live in Santiago, Araucanía, and Los Lagos Region. The Mapuche successfully fought off defeat in the first 300–350 years of Spanish rule during the Arauco War. Relations with the new Chilean Republic were good until the Chilean state decided to occupy their lands. During the Occupation of Araucanía, the Mapuche surrendered to the country's army in the 1880s. Their land was opened to settlement by Chileans and Europeans. Conflict over Mapuche land rights continues to the present.

Other groups include the Aymara, the majority of whom live in Bolivia and Peru, with smaller numbers in the Arica-Parinacota and Tarapacá regions, and the Atacama people (Atacameños), who reside mainly in El Loa.

Colombia

 
Guambía people relaxing in Colombia

A minority today within Colombia's mostly Mestizo and White Colombian population, Indigenous peoples living in Colombia, consist of around 85 distinct cultures and around 1,905,617 people, however, it is likely much higher.[280][281] A variety of collective rights for Indigenous peoples are recognized in the 1991 Constitution. One of the influences is the Muisca culture, a subset of the larger Chibcha ethnic group, famous for their use of gold, which led to the legend of El Dorado. At the time of the Spanish conquest, the Muisca were the largest Indigenous civilization geographically between the Inca and the Aztec empires.

Ecuador

 
Shaman of the Cofán people from the Amazonian forest in present-day Ecuador

Ecuador was the site of many Indigenous cultures, and civilizations of different proportions. An early sedentary culture, known as the Valdivia culture, developed in the coastal region, while the Caras and the Quitus unified to form an elaborate civilization that ended at the birth of the Capital Quito. The Cañaris near Cuenca were the most advanced, and most feared by the Inca, due to their fierce resistance to the Incan expansion. Their architectural remains were later destroyed by the Spaniards and the Incas.

Between 55% and 65% of Ecuador's population consists of Mestizos of mixed indigenous and European ancestry while indigenous people comprise about 25%.[282] Genetic analysis indicates that Ecuadorian Mestizos are of predominantly indigenous ancestry.[283] Approximately 96.4% of Ecuador's Indigenous population are Highland Quichuas living in the valleys of the Sierra region. Primarily consisting of the descendants of peoples conquered by the Incas, they are Kichwa speakers and include the Caranqui, the Otavalos, the Cayambe, the Quitu-Caras, the Panzaleo, the Chimbuelo, the Salasacan, the Tugua, the Puruhá, the Cañari, and the Saraguro. Linguistic evidence suggests that the Salascan and the Saraguro may have been the descendants of Bolivian ethnic groups transplanted to Ecuador as mitimaes.

Coastal groups, including the Awá, Chachi, and the Tsáchila, make up 0.24% percent of the Indigenous population, while the remaining 3.35 percent live in the Oriente and consist of the Oriente Kichwa (the Canelo and the Quijos), the Shuar, the Huaorani, the Siona-Secoya, the Cofán, and the Achuar.

In 1986, Indigenous peoples formed the first "truly" national political organization. The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) has been the primary political institution of Indigenous peoples since then and is now the second-largest political party in the nation. It has been influential in national politics, contributing to the ouster of presidents Abdalá Bucaram in 1997 and Jamil Mahuad in 2000.

French Guiana

French Guiana is home to approximately 10,000 indigenous peoples, such as the Kalina and Lokono. Over time, the indigenous population has protested against various environmental issues, such as illegal gold mining, pollution, and a drastic decrease in wild game.

Guyana

During the early stages of colonization, the indigenous peoples in Guyana partook in trade relations with Dutch settlers and assisted in militia services such as hunting down escaped slaves for the British, which continued until the 19th century. Indigenous Guyanese people are responsible for the invention of the canoe as well as Guyanese pepperpot and the foundation of the Alleluia church.

Guyana's indigenous peoples have been recognized under the Constitution of 1965 and comprise 9.16% of the overall population.

Paraguay

The vast majority of indigenous peoples in Paraguay are concentrated in the Gran Chaco region in the northwest of the country, with the Guaraní making up the majority of the indigenous population in Paraguay. The Guaraní language is recognized as an official language alongside Spanish, with approximately 90% of the population speaking Guaraní. The indigenous population in Paraguay suffers from several social issues such as low literacy rates and inaccessibility to safe drinking water and electricity.

Peru

 
A Quechua woman and child in the Sacred Valley in Cuzco Region, Peru

According to the 2017 Census, the Indigenous population in Peru makes up approximately 26%.[5] However, this does not include Mestizos of mixed indigenous and European descent, who make up the majority of the population. Genetic testing indicates that Peruvian Mestizos are of predominantly indigenous ancestry.[284] Indigenous traditions and customs have shaped the way Peruvians live and see themselves today. Cultural citizenship—or what Renato Rosaldo has called, "the right to be different and to belong, in a democratic, participatory sense" (1996:243)—is not yet very well developed in Peru. This is perhaps no more apparent than in the country's Amazonian regions where Indigenous societies continue to struggle against state-sponsored economic abuses, cultural discrimination, and pervasive violence.[285]

Suriname

According to the 2012 census, the indigenous population of Suriname numbers around 20,000, amounting to 3.8% of the population. The most numerous indigenous groups in Suriname primarily comprise the Lokono, Kalina, Tiriyó, and Wayana.

Uruguay

Unlike most other Spanish-speaking countries, indigenous peoples are not a significant element in Uruguay, as the entire indigenous population is virtually extinct, with a few exceptions such as the Guaraní. Approximately 2.4% of the population in Uruguay is reported to have indigenous ancestry.[211]

Venezuela

 
A Warao family traveling in their canoe in Venezuela

Most Venezuelans have some degree of indigenous heritage even if they may not identify as such. The 2011 census estimated that around 52% of the population identified as mestizo. But those who identify as Indigenous, from being raised in those cultures, make up only around 2% of the total population. The Indigenous peoples speak around 29 different languages and many more dialects. As some of the ethnic groups are very small, their native languages are in danger of becoming extinct in the next decades. The most important Indigenous groups are the Ye'kuana, the Wayuu, the Kali'na, the Ya̧nomamö, the Pemon, and the Warao. The most advanced Indigenous peoples to have lived within the boundaries of present-day Venezuela are thought to have been the Timoto-cuicas, who lived in the Venezuelan Andes. Historians estimate that there were between 350 thousand and 500 thousand Indigenous inhabitants at the time of Spanish colonization. The most densely populated area was the Andean region (Timoto-cuicas), thanks to their advanced agricultural techniques and ability to produce a surplus of food.

The 1999 constitution of Venezuela gives indigenous peoples special rights, although the vast majority of them still live in very critical conditions of poverty. The government provides primary education in their languages in public schools to some of the largest groups, in efforts to continue the languages.

Caribbean

The indigenous population of the Caribbean islands consisted of the Taíno of the Lucayan Archipelago, the Greater Antilles and the northern Lesser Antilles, the Kalinago of the Lesser Antilles, the Ciguayo and Macorix of parts of Hispaniola, and the Guanahatabey of western Cuba. The overall population suffered the most adverse colonial effects out of all the indigenous populations in the Americas, as the Kalinago have been reduced to a few islands in the Lesser Antilles such as Dominica and the Taíno are culturally extinct, though a large proportion of populations in Greater Antillean islands such as Puerto Rico, and Cuba to a lesser extent,[286] possesses degrees of Taíno ancestry. The Cayman Islands were the only island group in the Caribbean to have remained unsettled by indigenous peoples before the era of colonialism.[287]

Rise of Indigenous movements

Since the late 20th century, Indigenous peoples in the Americas have become more politically active in asserting their treaty rights and expanding their influence. Some have organized to achieve some sort of self-determination and preservation of their cultures. Organizations such as the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin and the Indian Council of South America are examples of movements that are overcoming national borders to reunite Indigenous populations, for instance, those across the Amazon Basin. Similar movements for Indigenous rights can also be seen in Canada and the United States, with movements like the International Indian Treaty Council and the accession of native Indigenous groups into the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization.

There has been a recognition of Indigenous movements on an international scale. The membership of the United Nations voted to adopt the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, despite dissent from some of the stronger countries of the Americas.

In Colombia, various Indigenous groups have protested the denial of their rights. People organized a march in Cali in October 2008 to demand the government live up to promises to protect Indigenous lands, defend the Indigenous against violence, and reconsider the free trade pact with the United States.[288]

Indigenous heads of state

 
Evo Morales, an Aymara member and former President of Bolivia

The first Indigenous President of the Americas was José María Melo, of Pijao descent, and led Colombia in 1854 starting on April 17, 1854. José was born on October 9, 1800, in Chaparral, Tolima, and before his presidency, he fought alongside Simon Bolivar in the Spanish-American Wars of Independence. José María Melo led the Republic of New Granada during the Colombian Civil War of 1854 but eventually lost and was exiled on December 4, 1854.[289]

The first Indigenous candidate to be democratically elected as head of a country in the Americas was Benito Juárez, a Zapotec Mexican who was elected President of Mexico in 1858 and led the country until 1872 and led the country to victory during the Second French intervention in Mexico.[290]

In 1930 Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro became the first Peruvian President with Indigenous Peruvian ancestry and the first in South America.[291] He came to power in a military coup.

In 2005, Evo Morales of the Aymara people was the first Indigenous candidate elected as president of Bolivia and the first elected in South America.[292]

Genetic research

 
A schematic illustration of maternal (mtDNA) gene-flow in and out of Beringia, from 25,000 years ago to present
 
A map showing the origin of the first wave of humans into the Americas, including the Ancestral Northern Eurasian, which represent a distinct Paleolithic Siberian population, and the Northeast Asians, which are an East Asian-related group. The admixture happened somewhere in Northeast Siberia.[293]
 
Principal component analysis showing the Native American cluster in other Eurasian populations.[294]

Genetic history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas primarily focuses on Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups and Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroups. "Y-DNA" is passed solely along the patrilineal line, from father to son, while "mtDNA" is passed down the matrilineal line, from mother to offspring of both sexes. Neither recombines and thus Y-DNA and mtDNA change only by chance mutation at each generation with no intermixture between parents' genetic material.[295] Autosomal "atDNA" markers are also used but differ from mtDNA or Y-DNA in that they overlap significantly.[296] AtDNA is generally used to measure the average continent-of-ancestry genetic admixture in the entire human genome and related isolated populations.[296]

Genetic comparisons of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome of Native Americans to that of certain Siberian and Central Asian peoples (specifically Paleo-Siberians, Turkic, and historically the Okunev culture) have led Russian researcher I.A. Zakharov to believe that, among all the previously studied Asian peoples, it is "the peoples living between Altai and Lake Baikal along the Sayan mountains that are genetically closest to" Indigenous Americans.[297]

Some scientific evidence links them to North Asian peoples, specifically the Indigenous peoples of Siberia, such as the Ket, Selkup, Chukchi, and Koryak peoples. Indigenous peoples of the Americas have been linked to some extent to North Asian populations by the distribution of blood types, and in genetic composition as reflected by molecular data, and limited DNA studies.[298][299][300]

The common occurrence of the Asian mtDNA haplogroups A, B, C, and D among eastern Asian and Native American populations has been noted.[301] Some subclades of C and D that have been found in the limited populations of Native Americans who have agreed to DNA testing[299][300] bear some resemblance to the C and D subclades in Mongolian, Amur, Japanese, Korean, and Ainu populations.[301][302]

Available genetic patterns lead to two main theories of genetic episodes affecting the Indigenous peoples of the Americas; first with the initial peopling of the Americas, and secondly with European colonization of the Americas.[303][304][305] The former is the determinant factor for the number of gene lineages, zygosity mutations, and founding haplotypes present in today's Indigenous peoples of the Americas populations.[304]

The most popular theory among anthropologists is the Bering Strait theory, of human settlement of the New World occurring in stages from the Bering Sea coastline, with a possible initial layover of 10,000 to 20,000 years in Beringia for the small founding population.[306][307][308] The micro-satellite diversity and distributions of the Y lineage specific to South America indicate that certain Indigenous peoples of the Americas populations have been isolated since the initial colonization of the region.[309] The Na-Dené, Inuit, and Indigenous populations of Alaska exhibit haplogroup Q (Y-DNA) mutations, however are distinct from other Indigenous peoples of the Americas with various mtDNA and atDNA mutations.[310][311][312] This suggests that the earliest migrants into the northern extremes of North America and Greenland derived from later migrant populations.[313][314]

Multiple recent findings on autosomal DNA and full genome revealed more information about the formation, settlement, and external relationships of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas to other populations. Native Americans are very closely related to the Paleosiberian tribes of Siberia, and to the ancient samples of the Mal'ta–Buret' culture (Ancient North Eurasians) as well as to the Ancient Beringians. Native Americans also share a relatively higher genetic affinity with East Asian peoples. Native American genetic ancestry is occasionally dubbed as "Amerindian". This type of ancestry largely overlaps with "Paleosiberian" ancestry but is differentiated from "Neo-Siberian" ancestry which represents historical expansions from Northeast Asia and is today widespread among Siberian populations. The ancestors of Native Americans used a single migration route, most likely through Beringia, and subsequently populated all of the Americas in a time range between 25,000 and 15,000 years ago. Possible contact between Native Americans and Polynesians dates back to 1,400 years ago. Previously hypothesized "Paleo-Indian" groups turned out to be genetically identical to modern Native Americans. The controversial claim that the first peoples came from Europe via the North Atlantic, based on an ostensible similarity in stone-tool technology between the Solutrean culture of Pleistocene Europe and Clovis in North America, was undermined by the genome of the Anzick Clovis child, which sits squarely on the branch of Ancestral Native American peoples. No ancient or present-day genome (or mtDNA or Y chromosome marker) in the Americas has shown any direct affinities to Upper Palaeolithic European populations.[315][316][317][318][319][320][321][322]

The date for the formation of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas gene pool ranges from 36,000 to 25,000 years ago, with their internal diverging being around 21,000 years ago, during the settlement of the Americas.[323] The "Ancestral Native Americans" formed from a lineage that diverged from East Asian people around 36,000 years ago somewhere in Southern China, and subsequently migrated northwards into Siberia and encountered/interacted with a distinct Paleolithic Siberian population known as Ancient North Eurasians, closer related to modern Europeans, giving rise to both Indigenous peoples of Siberia and Native Americans.[324] Based on a 2023 mitochondrial DNA study, a subsequent wave of migration from Northern China, originating near the present-day cities of Beijing and Tianjin, occurred as recently as 9000 BCE, following a previously unknown coastal route from Asia to America.[325]

Notable people

See also

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indigenous, peoples, americas, groups, people, native, specific, region, that, inhabited, americas, before, arrival, european, settlers, 15th, century, ethnic, groups, continue, identify, themselves, with, those, peoples, current, distribution, total, populati. The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are groups of people native to a specific region that inhabited the Americas before the arrival of European settlers in the 15th century and the ethnic groups who continue to identify themselves with those peoples 34 Indigenous peoples of the AmericasCurrent distribution of Indigenous peoples of the AmericasTotal populationApproximately 62 millionRegions with significant populations Mexico11 8 23 2 million 1 2 United States3 7 9 7 million 3 Guatemala6 4 million 4 Peru5 9 million 5 Bolivia4 1 million 6 Chile2 1 million 7 Colombia1 9 million 8 Canada1 8 million 9 Brazil1 7 million 10 Argentina1 3 million 11 Ecuador1 3 million 12 Venezuela724 592 13 Honduras601 019 14 Nicaragua443 847 15 Panama417 559 16 Paraguay117 150 17 Costa Rica104 143 18 Guyana78 492 19 Uruguay76 452 20 Greenland50 189 21 Belize36 507 22 Suriname20 344 23 Puerto Rico19 839 24 French Guiana 19 000 25 El Salvador13 310 26 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines3 280 27 Dominica2 576 28 Trinidad and Tobago1 394 29 Saint Lucia951 30 Antigua and Barbuda327 31 Grenada162 32 Saint Kitts and Nevis8 33 LanguagesNumerous Indigenous American languages both extant and extinct Spanish English Portuguese French Danish Dutch and Russian historically ReligionMostly Christianity Catholic and Protestant along with various Indigenous American religionsRelated ethnic groupsMestizos Metis Zambos Pardos and Indigenous Siberian peoples The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are diverse some Indigenous peoples were historically hunter gatherers while others traditionally practice agriculture and aquaculture In some regions Indigenous peoples created pre contact monumental architecture large scale organized cities city states chiefdoms states kingdoms republics confederacies and empires 35 These societies had varying degrees of knowledge of engineering architecture mathematics astronomy writing physics medicine planting and irrigation geology mining metallurgy sculpture and gold smithing Many parts of the Americas are still populated by Indigenous peoples some countries have sizeable populations especially Bolivia Canada Chile Colombia Ecuador Guatemala Mexico Peru and the United States At least a thousand different Indigenous languages are spoken in the Americas where there are also 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States alone Several of these languages are recognized as official by several governments such as those in Bolivia Peru Paraguay and Greenland Some such as Quechua Arawak Aymara Guarani Mayan and Nahuatl count their speakers in the millions Whether contemporary Indigenous people live in rural communities or urban ones many also maintain additional aspects of their cultural practices to varying degrees including religion social organization and subsistence practices Like most cultures over time cultures specific to many Indigenous peoples have also evolved preserving traditional customs but also adjusting to meet modern needs Some Indigenous peoples still live in relative isolation from Western culture and a few are still counted as uncontacted peoples 36 Indigenous peoples from the Americas have also formed diaspora communities outside the Western Hemisphere namely in former colonial centers in Europe A notable example is the sizable Greenlandic Inuit community in Denmark 37 In the 20th and 21st centuries Indigenous peoples from Suriname and French Guiana migrated to the Netherlands and France respectively 38 39 Contents 1 Terminology 1 1 Name controversy 2 History 2 1 Peopling of the Americas 2 1 1 Pre Columbian era 2 2 European colonization 3 Indigenous historical trauma 4 Agriculture 4 1 Plants 4 2 Animals 5 Culture 5 1 Languages 5 2 Writing systems 5 3 Music and art 6 Demography 7 History and status by continent and country 7 1 North America 7 1 1 Canada 7 1 2 Greenland 7 1 3 Mexico 7 1 4 United States 7 2 Central America 7 2 1 Belize 7 2 2 Costa Rica 7 2 3 El Salvador 7 2 4 Guatemala 7 2 5 Honduras 7 2 6 Nicaragua 7 2 7 Panama 7 3 South America 7 3 1 Argentina 7 3 2 Bolivia 7 3 3 Brazil 7 3 4 Chile 7 3 5 Colombia 7 3 6 Ecuador 7 3 7 French Guiana 7 3 8 Guyana 7 3 9 Paraguay 7 3 10 Peru 7 3 11 Suriname 7 3 12 Uruguay 7 3 13 Venezuela 7 4 Caribbean 8 Rise of Indigenous movements 8 1 Indigenous heads of state 9 Genetic research 10 Notable people 11 See also 11 1 List of Indigenous peoples 11 2 Culture 11 3 Population and demographics 11 4 Central and South America 11 5 Caribbean 11 6 North America 12 References 12 1 Sources 12 1 1 Journal articles 12 1 2 Books 13 Further reading 14 External linksTerminology nbsp The West Indies in relation to the continental Americas nbsp A Navajo boy in the desert in present day Monument Valley in Arizona with the Three Sisters rock formation in the background in 2007 Application of the term Indian originated with Christopher Columbus who in his search for India thought that he had arrived in the East Indies 40 41 42 43 44 45 The islands came to be known as the West Indies a name that is still used to describe the islands This led to the blanket term Indies and Indians Spanish indios Portuguese indios French indiens Dutch indianen for the Indigenous inhabitants which implied some kind of ethnic or cultural unity among the Indigenous peoples of the Americas This unifying concept codified in law religion and politics was not originally accepted by the myriad groups of Indigenous peoples themselves but has since been embraced or tolerated by many over the last two centuries 46 Even though the term Indian generally does not include the culturally and linguistically distinct Indigenous peoples of the Arctic regions of the Americas including the Aleuts Inuit or Yupik peoples who entered the continent as a second more recent wave of migration several thousand years later and have much more recent genetic and cultural commonalities with the Indigenous peoples of Siberia these groups are nonetheless considered Indigenous peoples of the Americas 47 The term Amerindian a portmanteau of American Indian was coined in 1902 by the American Anthropological Association It has been controversial ever since its creation It was immediately rejected by some leading members of the Association and while adopted by many it was never universally accepted 48 While never popular in Indigenous communities themselves it remains a preferred term among some anthropologists notably in some parts of Canada and the English speaking Caribbean 49 50 51 52 Indigenous peoples in Canada is used as the collective name for First Nations Inuit and Metis 53 54 The term Aboriginal peoples as a collective noun also describing First Nations Inuit and Metis is a specific term of art used in some legal documents including the Constitution Act 1982 55 though in most Indigenous circles Aboriginal has also fallen into disfavor 56 Over time as societal perceptions and government indigenous relationships have shifted many historical terms have changed definitions or been replaced as they have fallen out of favor 57 The use of the term Indian is frowned upon because it represents the imposition and restriction of Indigenous peoples and cultures by the Canadian Government 57 The terms Native and Eskimo are generally regarded as disrespectful and so are rarely used unless specifically required 58 While Indigenous peoples is the preferred term many individuals or communities may choose to describe their identity using a different term 57 58 The Metis people of Canada can be contrasted for instance to the Indigenous European mixed race mestizos or caboclos in Brazil of Hispanic America who with their larger population in most Latin American countries constituting either outright majorities pluralities or at the least large minorities identify largely as a new ethnic group distinct from both Europeans and Indigenous but still considering themselves a subset of the European derived Hispanic or Brazilian peoplehood in culture and ethnicity cf ladinos Among Spanish speaking countries indigenas or pueblos indigenas Indigenous peoples is a common term though nativos or pueblos nativos native peoples may also be heard moreover aborigen aborigine is used in Argentina and pueblos originarios original peoples is common in Chile In Brazil indigenas and povos originarios Indigenous peoples are common formal sounding designations while indio Indian is still the more often heard term the noun for the South Asian nationality being indiano but for the past 10 years has been considered offensive and pejorative citation needed Aborigene and nativo are rarely used in Brazil in Indigenous specific contexts e g aborigene is usually understood as the ethnonym for Indigenous Australians The Spanish and Portuguese equivalents to Indian nevertheless could be used to mean any hunter gatherer or full blooded Indigenous person particularly to continents other than Europe or Africa for example indios filipinos citation needed Indigenous peoples of the United States are commonly known as Native Americans Indians as well as Alaska Natives clarification needed The term Indian is still used in some communities and remains in use in the official names of many institutions and businesses in Indian Country 59 Name controversy Main article Native American name controversy nbsp Wayuu women in the Guajira Peninsula which comprises parts of Colombia and Venezuela nbsp Quechua women in festive dress on Taquile Island on Lake Titicaca west of Peru The various nations tribes and bands of Indigenous peoples of the Americas have differing preferences in terminology for themselves 60 While there are regional and generational variations in which umbrella terms are preferred for Indigenous peoples as a whole in general most Indigenous peoples prefer to be identified by the name of their specific nation tribe or band 60 61 Early settlers often adopted terms that some tribes used for each other not realizing these were derogatory terms used by enemies When discussing broader subsets of peoples naming has often been based on shared language region or historical relationship 62 Many English exonyms have been used to refer to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas Some of these names were based on foreign language terms used by earlier explorers and colonists while others resulted from the colonists attempts to translate or transliterate endonyms from the native languages Other terms arose during periods of conflict between the colonists and Indigenous peoples 63 Since the late 20th century Indigenous peoples in the Americas have been more vocal about how they want to be addressed pushing to suppress the use of terms widely considered to be obsolete inaccurate or racist During the latter half of the 20th century and the rise of the Indian rights movement the United States federal government responded by proposing the use of the term Native American to recognize the primacy of Indigenous peoples tenure in the nation 64 As may be expected among people of over 400 different cultures in the US alone not all of the people intended to be described by this term have agreed on its use or adopted it No single group naming convention has been accepted by all Indigenous peoples in the Americas Most prefer to be addressed as people of their tribe or nations when not speaking about Native Americans American Indians as a whole 65 Since the 1970s the word Indigenous which is capitalized when referring to people has gradually emerged as a favored umbrella term The capitalization is to acknowledge that Indigenous peoples have cultures and societies that are equal to Europeans Africans and Asians 61 66 This has recently been acknowledged in the AP Stylebook 67 Some consider it improper to refer to Indigenous people as Indigenous Americans or to append any colonial nationality to the term because Indigenous cultures existed before European colonization Indigenous groups have territorial claims that are different from modern national and international borders and when labeled as part of a country their traditional lands are not acknowledged Some who have written guidelines consider it more appropriate to describe an Indigenous person as living in or of the Americas rather than calling them American or simply calling them Indigenous without any addition of a colonial state 68 69 HistoryPeopling of the Americas This section is an excerpt from Peopling of the Americas edit nbsp Map of early human migrations based on the Out of Africa theory figures are in thousands of years ago kya 70 The peopling of the Americas began when Paleolithic hunter gatherers Paleo Indians entered North America from the North Asian Mammoth steppe via the Beringia land bridge which had formed between northeastern Siberia and western Alaska due to the lowering of sea level during the Last Glacial Maximum 26 000 to 19 000 years ago 71 These populations expanded south of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and spread rapidly southward occupying both North and South America by 12 000 to 14 000 years ago 72 73 74 75 76 The earliest populations in the Americas before roughly 10 000 years ago are known as Paleo Indians Indigenous peoples of the Americas have been linked to Siberian populations by linguistic factors the distribution of blood types and in genetic composition as reflected by molecular data such as DNA 77 78 While there is general agreement that the Americas were first settled from Asia the pattern of migration and the place s of origin in Eurasia of the peoples who migrated to the Americas remain unclear 73 The traditional theory is that Ancient Beringians moved when sea levels were significantly lowered due to the Quaternary glaciation 79 80 following herds of now extinct Pleistocene megafauna along ice free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets 81 Another route proposed is that either on foot or using primitive boats they migrated down the Pacific coast to South America as far as Chile 82 Any archaeological evidence of coastal occupation during the last Ice Age would now have been covered by the sea level rise up to a hundred metres since then 83 The precise date for the peopling of the Americas is a long standing open question and while advances in archaeology Pleistocene geology physical anthropology and DNA analysis have progressively shed more light on the subject significant questions remain unresolved 84 85 The Clovis first theory refers to the hypothesis that the Clovis culture represents the earliest human presence in the Americas about 13 000 years ago 86 Evidence of pre Clovis cultures has accumulated and pushed back the possible date of the first peopling of the Americas 87 88 89 90 Academics generally believe that humans reached North America south of the Laurentide Ice Sheet at some point between 15 000 and 20 000 years ago 84 87 91 92 93 94 Some new controversial archaeological evidence suggests the possibility that human arrival in the Americas may have occurred prior to the Last Glacial Maximum more than 20 000 years ago 87 95 96 97 98 Pre Columbian era Main articles Pre Columbian era and Archaeology of the Americas nbsp Language families of Indigenous peoples in North America shown across present day Canada Greenland the United States and northern Mexico nbsp The Kogi descendants of the Tairona are a culturally intact largely pre Columbian era society 99 nbsp The Maiden one of the discovered Llullaillaco mummies a preserved Inca human sacrifice from around the year 1500 100 101 While technically referring to the era before Christopher Columbus voyages of 1492 to 1504 in practice the term usually includes the history of Indigenous cultures until Europeans either conquered or significantly influenced them 102 Pre Columbian is used especially often in the context of discussing the pre contact Mesoamerican Indigenous societies Olmec Toltec Teotihuacano Zapotec Mixtec Aztec and Maya civilizations and the complex cultures of the Andes Inca Empire Moche culture Muisca Confederation and Canari The Pre Columbian era refers to all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European and African influences on the American continents spanning the time of the original arrival in the Upper Paleolithic to European colonization during the early modern period 103 The Norte Chico civilization in present day Peru is one of the defining six original civilizations of the world arising independently around the same time as that of Egypt 104 105 Many later pre Columbian civilizations achieved great complexity with hallmarks that included permanent or urban settlements agriculture engineering astronomy trade civic and monumental architecture and complex societal hierarchies Some of these civilizations had long faded by the time of the first significant European and African arrivals ca late 15th early 16th centuries and are known only through oral history and through archaeological investigations Others were contemporary with the contact and colonization period and were documented in historical accounts of the time A few such as the Mayan Olmec Mixtec Aztec and Nahua peoples had their written languages and records However the European colonists of the time worked to eliminate non Christian beliefs and burned many pre Columbian written records Only a few documents remained hidden and survived leaving contemporary historians with glimpses of ancient culture and knowledge According to both Indigenous and European accounts and documents American civilizations before and at the time of European encounter had achieved great complexity and many accomplishments 106 For instance the Aztecs built one of the largest cities in the world Tenochtitlan the historical site of what would become Mexico City with an estimated population of 200 000 for the city proper and a population of close to five million for the extended empire 107 By comparison the largest European cities in the 16th century were Constantinople and Paris with 300 000 and 200 000 inhabitants respectively 108 The population in London Madrid and Rome hardly exceeded 50 000 people In 1523 right around the time of the Spanish conquest the entire population in the country of England was just under three million people 109 This fact speaks to the level of sophistication agriculture governmental procedure and rule of law that existed in Tenochtitlan needed to govern over such a large citizenry Indigenous civilizations also displayed impressive accomplishments in astronomy and mathematics including the most accurate calendar in the world citation needed The domestication of maize or corn required thousands of years of selective breeding and continued cultivation of multiple varieties was done with planning and selection generally by women Inuit Yupik Aleut and Indigenous creation myths tell of a variety of origins of their respective peoples Some were always there or were created by gods or animals some migrated from a specified compass point and others came from across the ocean 110 European colonization Main article European colonization of the Americas See also Population history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas Columbian exchange and Society of the Spanish Americans in the Spanish Colonial Americas nbsp Areas of Indigenous peoples in North America at time of European colonization nbsp An illustration in Florentine Codex compiled between 1540 and 1585 depicting the Nahua peoples suffering from smallpox during the conquest era in central Mexico nbsp Indigenous people at a farm plantation in Minas Gerais in present day Brazil c 1824 nbsp Members of an uncontacted tribe encountered in Acre in present day Brazil in 2009 The European colonization of the Americas fundamentally changed the lives and cultures of the resident Indigenous peoples Although the exact pre colonization population count of the Americas is unknown scholars estimate that Indigenous populations diminished by between 80 and 90 during the first centuries of European colonization Most scholars estimate a pre colonization population of around 50 million with other scholars arguing for an estimate of 100 million Estimates reach as high as 145 million 111 112 113 Epidemics ravaged the Americas with diseases such as smallpox measles and cholera which the early colonists brought from Europe The spread of infectious diseases was slow initially as most Europeans were not actively or visibly infected due to inherited immunity from generations of exposure to these diseases in Europe This changed when the Europeans began the human trafficking of massive numbers of enslaved Western and Central African people to the Americas Like Indigenous peoples these African people newly exposed to European diseases lacked any inherited resistance to the diseases of Europe In 1520 an African who had been infected with smallpox had arrived in Yucatan By 1558 the disease had spread throughout South America and had arrived at the Plata basin 114 Colonist violence towards Indigenous peoples accelerated the loss of lives European colonists perpetrated massacres on the Indigenous peoples and enslaved them 115 116 117 According to the U S Bureau of the Census 1894 the North American Indian Wars of the 19th century had a known death toll of about 19 000 Europeans and 30 000 Native Americans and an estimated total death toll of 45 000 Native Americans 118 The first Indigenous group encountered by Columbus the 250 000 Tainos of Hispaniola represented the dominant culture in the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas Within thirty years about 70 of the Tainos had died 119 They had no immunity to European diseases so outbreaks of measles and smallpox ravaged their population 120 One such outbreak occurred in a camp of enslaved Africans where smallpox spread to the nearby Taino population and reduced their numbers by 50 114 Increasing punishment of the Tainos for revolting against forced labor despite measures put in place by the encomienda which included religious education and protection from warring tribes 121 eventually led to the last great Taino rebellion 1511 1529 Following years of mistreatment the Tainos began to adopt suicidal behaviors with women aborting or killing their infants and men jumping from cliffs or ingesting untreated cassava a violent poison 119 Eventually a Taino Cacique named Enriquillo managed to hold out in the Baoruco Mountain Range for thirteen years causing serious damage to the Spanish Carib held plantations and their Indian auxiliaries 122 failed verification Hearing of the seriousness of the revolt Emperor Charles V also King of Spain sent Captain Francisco Barrionuevo to negotiate a peace treaty with the ever increasing number of rebels Two months later after consultation with the Audencia of Santo Domingo Enriquillo was offered any part of the island to live in peace The Laws of Burgos 1512 1513 were the first codified set of laws governing the behavior of Spanish settlers in America particularly concerning Indigenous peoples The laws forbade the maltreatment of them and endorsed their conversion to Catholicism 123 The Spanish crown found it difficult to enforce these laws in distant colonies Epidemic disease was the overwhelming cause of the population decline of the Indigenous peoples 124 125 After initial contact with Europeans and Africans Old World diseases caused the deaths of 90 to 95 of the native population of the New World in the following 150 years 126 Smallpox killed from one third to half of the native population of Hispaniola in 1518 127 128 By killing the Incan ruler Huayna Capac smallpox caused the Inca Civil War of 1529 1532 Smallpox was only the first epidemic Typhus probably in 1546 influenza and smallpox together in 1558 smallpox again in 1589 diphtheria in 1614 and measles in 1618 all ravaged the remains of Inca culture Smallpox killed millions of native inhabitants of Mexico 129 130 Unintentionally introduced at Veracruz with the arrival of Panfilo de Narvaez on 23 April 1520 smallpox ravaged Mexico in the 1520s 131 possibly killing over 150 000 in Tenochtitlan the heartland of the Aztec Empire alone and aiding in the victory of Hernan Cortes over the Aztec Empire at Tenochtitlan present day Mexico City in 1521 citation needed 114 There are many factors as to why Indigenous peoples suffered such immense losses from Afro Eurasian diseases Many European diseases like cow pox are acquired from domesticated animals that are not indigenous to the Americas European populations had adapted to these diseases and built up resistance over many generations Many of the European diseases that were brought over to the Americas were diseases like yellow fever that were relatively manageable if infected as a child but were deadly if infected as an adult Children could often survive the disease resulting in immunity to the disease for the rest of their lives But contact with adult populations without this childhood or inherited immunity would result in these diseases proving fatal 114 132 Colonization of the Caribbean led to the destruction of the Arawaks of the Lesser Antilles Their culture was destroyed by 1650 Only 500 had survived by the year 1550 though the bloodlines continued through to the modern populace In Amazonia Indigenous societies weathered and continue to suffer centuries of colonization and genocide 133 Contact with European diseases such as smallpox and measles killed between 50 and 67 percent of the Indigenous population of North America in the first hundred years after the arrival of Europeans 134 Some 90 percent of the native population near Massachusetts Bay Colony died of smallpox in an epidemic in 1617 1619 135 In 1633 in Fort Orange New Netherland the Native Americans there were exposed to smallpox because of contact with Europeans As it had done elsewhere the virus wiped out entire population groups of Native Americans 136 It reached Lake Ontario in 1636 and the lands of the Iroquois by 1679 137 138 During the 1770s smallpox killed at least 30 of the West Coast Native Americans 139 The 1775 82 North American smallpox epidemic and the 1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic brought devastation and drastic population depletion among the Plains Indians 140 141 In 1832 the federal government of the United States established a smallpox vaccination program for Native Americans The Indian Vaccination Act of 1832 142 The Indigenous peoples in Brazil declined from a pre Columbian high of an estimated three million 143 to some 300 000 in 1997 dubious discuss failed verification 144 The Spanish Empire and other Europeans re introduced horses to the Americas Some of these animals escaped and began to breed and increase their numbers in the wild 145 The reintroduction of the horse extinct in the Americas for over 7500 years had a profound impact on Indigenous cultures in the Great Plains of North America and in the Gran Chaco and Patagonia in South America By domesticating horses some tribes had great success horses enabled them to expand their territories exchange more goods with neighboring tribes and more easily capture game especially bison According to Erin McKenna and Scott L Pratt the Indigenous population of the Americas was 145 million in the late 15th and by the late 17th century had been reduced to 15 million due to epidemics wars massacres mass rapes starvation and enslavement 113 Indigenous historical traumaSee also Historical trauma Indigenous historical trauma nbsp Map of all Indigenous resident schools in Canada including gravesites This map can be expanded and interacted with Confirmed discoveries of gravesites 24 Investigations underway as of 30 July 2021 17 Investigations that concluded with no discoveries 2 Resident schools where no investigations have taken place 100 Data Indigenous historical trauma IHT is the trauma that can accumulate across generations and develop as a result of the historical ramifications of colonization and is linked to mental and physical health hardships and population decline 146 IHT affects many different people in a multitude of ways because the Indigenous community and their history are diverse Many studies such as Whitbeck et al 2014 147 Brockie 2012 Anastasio et al 2016 148 Clark amp Winterowd 2012 149 Tucker et al 2016 150 have evaluated the impact of IHT on health outcomes of Indigenous communities from the United States and Canada IHT is a difficult term to standardize and measure because of the vast and variable diversity of Indigenous people and their communities Therefore it is an arduous task to assign an operational definition and systematically collect data when studying IHT Many of the studies that incorporate IHT measure it in different ways making it hard to compile data and review it holistically This is an important point that provides context for the following studies that attempt to understand the relationship between IHT and potential adverse health impacts Some of the methodologies to measure IHT include a Historical Losses Scale HLS Historical Losses Associated Symptoms Scale HLASS and residential school ancestry studies 146 23 HLS uses a survey format that includes 12 kinds of historical losses such as loss of language and loss of land and asks participants how often they think about those losses 146 23 The HLASS includes 12 emotional reactions and asks participants how they feel when they think about these losses 146 Lastly the residential school ancestry studies ask respondents if their parents grandparents great grandparents or elders from their community went to a residential school to understand if family or community history in residential schools is associated with negative health outcomes 146 25 In a comprehensive review of the research literature Joseph Gone and colleagues 146 compiled and compared outcomes for studies using these IHT measures relative to the health outcomes of Indigenous peoples The study defined negative health outcomes to include such concepts as anxiety suicidal ideation suicide attempts polysubstance abuse PTSD depression binge eating anger and sexual abuse 146 The connection between IHT and health conditions is complicated because of the difficult nature of measuring IHT the unknown directionality of IHT and health outcomes and because the term Indigenous people used in the various samples comprises a huge population of individuals with drastically different experiences and histories That being said some studies such as Bombay Matheson and Anisman 2014 151 Elias et al 2012 152 and Pearce et al 2008 153 found that Indigenous respondents with a connection to residential schools have more negative health outcomes e g suicide ideation suicide attempts and depression than those who did not have a connection to residential schools Additionally Indigenous respondents with higher HLS and HLASS scores had one or more negative health outcomes 146 While there are many studies 148 154 149 155 150 that found an association between IHT and adverse health outcomes scholars continue to suggest that it remains difficult to understand the impact of IHT IHT needs to be systematically measured Indigenous people also need to be understood in separate categories based on similar experiences location and background as opposed to being categorized as one monolithic group 146 AgricultureSee also Agriculture in Mesoamerica Incan agriculture Eastern Agricultural Complex Prehistoric agriculture on the Great Plains and Prehistoric agriculture in the Southwestern United States nbsp A bison hunt depicted by George Catlin nbsp The domesticated plant species that were cultivated by the Indigenous peoples have influenced the crops that were produced globally Plants nbsp The ancient mesoamerican engraving of maize now on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico For thousands of years Indigenous peoples domesticated bred and cultivated a large array of plant species These species now constitute between 50 and 60 of all crops in cultivation worldwide 156 In certain cases the Indigenous peoples developed entirely new species and strains through artificial selection as with the domestication and breeding of maize from wild teosinte grasses in the valleys of southern Mexico Numerous such agricultural products retain their native names in the English and Spanish lexicons The South American highlands became a center of early agriculture Genetic testing of the wide variety of cultivars and wild species suggests that the potato has a single origin in the area of southern Peru 157 from a species in the Solanum brevicaule complex Over 99 of all modern cultivated potatoes worldwide are descendants of a subspecies Indigenous to south central Chile 158 Solanum tuberosum ssp tuberosum where it was cultivated as long as 10 000 years ago 159 160 According to Linda Newson It is clear that in pre Columbian times some groups struggled to survive and often suffered food shortages and famines while others enjoyed a varied and substantial diet 161 Persistent drought around AD 850 coincided with the collapse of the Classic Maya civilization and the famine of One Rabbit AD 1454 was a major catastrophe in Mexico 162 nbsp The bean is native to Mexico and Central America and later began to be cultivated in South America Indigenous peoples of North America began practicing farming approximately 4 000 years ago late in the Archaic period of North American cultures Technology had advanced to the point where pottery had started to become common and the small scale felling of trees had become feasible Concurrently the Archaic Indigenous peoples began using fire in a controlled manner They carried out the intentional burning of vegetation to mimic the effects of natural fires that tended to clear forest understories It made travel easier and facilitated the growth of herbs and berry producing plants which were important both for food and for medicines 163 In the Mississippi River valley Europeans noted that Native Americans managed groves of nut and fruit trees not far from villages and towns and their gardens and agricultural fields They would have used prescribed burning further away in forest and prairie areas 164 nbsp The tomato jitomate in central Mexico was later cultivated by the pre Hispanic civilizations of Mexico Many crops first domesticated by Indigenous peoples are now produced and used globally most notably maize or corn arguably the most important crop in the world 165 Other significant crops include cassava chia squash pumpkins zucchini marrow acorn squash butternut squash the pinto bean Phaseolus beans including most common beans tepary beans and lima beans tomatoes potatoes sweet potatoes avocados peanuts cocoa beans used to make chocolate vanilla strawberries pineapples peppers species and varieties of Capsicum including bell peppers jalapenos paprika and chili peppers sunflower seeds rubber brazilwood chicle tobacco coca blueberries cranberries and some species of cotton Studies of contemporary Indigenous environmental management including agro forestry practices among Itza Maya in Guatemala and hunting and fishing among the Menominee of Wisconsin suggest that longstanding sacred values may represent a summary of sustainable millennial traditions 166 Animals Numerous Native American dog breeds have been used by the people of the Americas such as the Canadian Eskimo dog the Carolina dog and the Chihuahua Some indigenous peoples in the Great Plains used dogs for pulling travois while others like the Tahltan bear dog were bred to hunt larger game Some Andean cultures also bred the Chiribaya to herd llamas The vast majority of dog breeds in the Americas went extinct due to being replaced by dogs of European origin 167 The Fuegian dog was a domesticated variation of the culpeo that was raised by several cultures in Tierra del Fuego like the Selk nam and the Yahgan 168 It was exterminated by Argentine and Chilean settlers due to supposedly posing as a threat to livestock 169 Several bird species such as turkeys Muscovy ducks Puna ibis and neotropic cormorants were domesticated by various peoples in Mesoamerica and South America to be used for poultry In the Andean region indigenous peoples domesticated llamas and alpacas to produce fiber and meat The llama was the only beast of burden in the Americas before European colonization Guinea pigs were domesticated from wild cavies to be raised for meat consumption in the Andean region Guinea pigs are now widely raised in Western society as household pets CultureFurther information Classification of Indigenous peoples of the Americas Mythologies of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas Category Archaeological cultures of North America and Category Archaeological cultures of South America Cultural practices in the Americas seem to have been shared mostly within geographical zones where distinct ethnic groups adopt shared cultural traits similar technologies and social organizations An example of such a cultural area is Mesoamerica where millennia of coexistence and shared development among the peoples of the region produced a fairly homogeneous culture with complex agricultural and social patterns Another well known example is the North American plains where until the 19th century several peoples shared the traits of nomadic hunter gatherers based primarily on buffalo hunting Languages Main article Indigenous languages of the Americas nbsp The major indigenous language families of much of present day South America and Panama The languages of the North American Indians have been classified into 56 groups or stock tongues in which the spoken languages of the tribes may be said to center In connection with speech reference may be made to gesture language which was highly developed in parts of this area Of equal interest is the picture writing especially well developed among the Chippewas and Delawares 170 Writing systems See also Syllabics used by Indigenous peoples living in Canada Cherokee syllabary and Quipu nbsp Maya glyphs in stucco now on display at Museo de sitio in Palenque Mexico Beginning in the 1st millennium BCE pre Columbian cultures in Mesoamerica developed several Indigenous writing systems independent of any influence from the writing systems that existed in other parts of the world The Cascajal Block is perhaps the earliest known example in the Americas of what may be an extensive written text The Olmec hieroglyphs tablet has been indirectly dated from ceramic shards found in the same context to approximately 900 BCE which is around the same time that the Olmec occupation of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan began to weaken 171 The Maya writing system was logosyllabic a combination of phonetic syllabic symbols and logograms It is the only pre Columbian writing system known to have completely represented the spoken language of its community It has more than a thousand different glyphs but a few are variations on the same sign or have the same meaning many appear only rarely or in particular localities no more than about five hundred were in use in any given time and of those it seems only about two hundred including variations represented a particular phoneme or syllable 172 173 174 The Zapotec writing system one of the earliest in the Americas 175 was logographic and presumably syllabic 175 There are remnants of Zapotec writing in inscriptions on some of the monumental architecture of the period but so few inscriptions are extant that it is difficult to fully describe the writing system The oldest example of the Zapotec script dating from around 600 BCE is on a monument that was discovered in San Jose Mogote 176 Aztec codices singular codex are books that were written by pre Columbian and colonial era Aztecs These codices are some of the best primary sources for descriptions of Aztec culture The pre Columbian codices are largely pictorial they do not contain symbols that represent spoken or written language 177 By contrast colonial era codices contain not only Aztec pictograms but also writing that uses the Latin alphabet in several languages Classical Nahuatl Spanish and occasionally Latin Spanish mendicants in the sixteenth century taught Indigenous scribes in their communities to write their languages using Latin letters and there are a large number of local level documents in Nahuatl Zapotec Mixtec and Yucatec Maya from the colonial era many of which were part of lawsuits and other legal matters Although Spaniards initially taught Indigenous scribes alphabetic writing the tradition became self perpetuating at the local level 178 The Spanish crown gathered such documentation and contemporary Spanish translations were made for legal cases Scholars have translated and analyzed these documents in what is called the New Philology to write histories of Indigenous peoples from Indigenous viewpoints 179 The Wiigwaasabak birch bark scrolls on which the Ojibwa Anishinaabe people wrote complex geometrical patterns and shapes can also be considered a form of writing as can Mi kmaq hieroglyphics Aboriginal syllabic writing or simply syllabics is a family of abugidas used to write some Indigenous languages of the Algonquian Inuit and Athabaskan language families Music and art Main articles Visual arts by Indigenous peoples of the Americas and Indigenous music nbsp Indigenous peoples textile art in 1995 by Julia Pingushat including Inuk Arviat Nunavut Canada wool and embroidery floss nbsp Chimu culture feather pectoral feathers reed copper silver hide cordage c 1350 1450 nbsp An Indigenous man playing a panpipe antara or siku Indigenous music can vary between cultures however there are significant commonalities Traditional music often centers around drumming and singing Rattles clapper sticks and rasps are also popular percussive instruments both historically and in contemporary cultures Flutes are made of river cane cedar and other woods The Apache have a type of fiddle and fiddles are also found many First Nations and Metis cultures The music of the Indigenous peoples of Central Mexico and Central America like that of the North American cultures tends to be spiritual ceremonies It traditionally includes a large variety of percussion and wind instruments such as drums flutes sea shells used as trumpets and rain tubes No remnants of pre Columbian stringed instruments were found until archaeologists discovered a jar in Guatemala attributed to the Maya of the Late Classic Era 600 900 CE this jar was decorated with imagery depicting a stringed musical instrument which has since been reproduced This instrument is one of the very few stringed instruments known in the Americas before the introduction of European musical instruments when played it produces a sound that mimics a jaguar s growl 180 Visual arts by Indigenous peoples of the Americas comprise a major category in the world art collection Contributions include pottery paintings jewelry weavings sculptures basketry carvings and beadwork 181 Because too many artists were posing as Native Americans and Alaska Natives 182 to profit from the cachet of Indigenous art in the United States the U S passed the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 requiring artists to prove that they were enrolled in a state or federally recognized tribe To support the ongoing practice of American Indian Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian arts and cultures in the United States 183 the Ford Foundation arts advocates and American Indian tribes created an endowment seed fund and established a national Native Arts and Cultures Foundation in 2007 184 185 After the entry of the Spaniards the process of spiritual conquest was favored among other things by the liturgical musical service to which the natives whose musical gifts came to surprise the missionaries were integrated The musical gifts of the natives were of such magnitude that they soon learned the rules of counterpoint and polyphony and even the virtuous handling of the instruments This helped to ensure that it was not necessary to bring more musicians from Spain which significantly annoyed the clergy 186 The solution that was proposed was not to employ but a certain number of indigenous people in the musical service not to teach them counterpoint not to allow them to play certain instruments brass breaths for example in Oaxaca Mexico and finally not to import more instruments so that the indigenous people would not have access to them The latter was not an obstacle to the musical enjoyment of the natives who experienced the making of instruments particularly rubbed strings violins and double basses or plucked third It is there where we can find the origin of what is now called traditional music whose instruments have their tuning and a typical Western structure 187 DemographyFurther information Population history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas The following table provides estimates for each country in the Americas of the populations of Indigenous people and those with partial Indigenous ancestry each expressed as a percentage of the overall population The total percentage obtained by adding both of these categories is also given Note these categories are inconsistently defined and measured differently from country to country Some figures are based on the results of population wide genetic surveys while others are based on self identification or observational estimation Indigenous populations of the Americasas estimated percentage of total country s population Country Indigenous Ref Part Indigenous Ref Combined total Ref nbsp Greenland 89 89 188 nbsp Canada 1 8 3 6 5 4 189 nbsp Mexico 7 83 90 190 nbsp United States 1 1 1 8 2 9 191 nbsp Dominican Republic nbsp Grenada 0 4 0 0 4 192 nbsp Haiti 193 nbsp Jamaica nbsp Puerto Rico 0 4 194 84 195 196 84 4 nbsp Saint Kitts and Nevis nbsp Saint Lucia nbsp Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2 197 nbsp Trinidad and Tobago 0 8 88 88 8 nbsp Argentina 2 38 198 27 199 200 29 38 nbsp Bolivia 20 68 88 201 nbsp Brazil 0 4 12 12 4 202 nbsp Chile 10 9 203 nbsp Colombia 9 5 204 50 3 204 59 8 204 nbsp Ecuador 25 65 90 205 nbsp French Guiana nbsp Guyana 10 5 206 nbsp Paraguay 1 7 95 96 7 207 nbsp Peru 25 8 60 2 86 208 nbsp Suriname 2 209 nbsp Uruguay 0 210 2 4 211 2 4 nbsp Venezuela 2 7 51 6 54 3 212 History and status by continent and countryNorth America Canada Main article Indigenous peoples in Canada nbsp A map of Canada showing the percent of self reported indigenous identity First Nations Inuit Metis by census division according to the 2021 Canadian census 213 These paragraphs are an excerpt from Indigenous peoples in Canada edit Indigenous peoples in Canada also known as Aboriginals 214 are the indigenous peoples within the boundaries of Canada They comprise the First Nations 215 Inuit 216 and Metis 217 Although Indian is a term still commonly used in legal documents the descriptors Indian and Eskimo have fallen into disuse in Canada and most consider them to be pejorative 214 218 219 Aboriginal as a collective noun 220 is a specific term of art used in some legal documents including the Constitution Act 1982 though in some circles that word is also falling into disfavour 221 222 Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are some of the earliest known sites of human habitation in Canada The Paleo Indian Clovis Plano and Pre Dorset cultures pre date the current Indigenous peoples of the Americas Projectile point tools spears pottery bangles chisels and scrapers mark archaeological sites thus distinguishing cultural periods traditions and lithic reduction styles The characteristics of Indigenous culture in Canada included permanent settlements 223 agriculture 224 civic and ceremonial architecture 225 complex societal hierarchies and trading networks 226 Metis nations of mixed ancestry originated in the mid 17th century when First Nations and Inuit people married European fur traders primarily the French 227 The Inuit had more limited interaction with European settlers during that early period 228 Various laws treaties and legislation have been enacted between European immigrants and First Nations across Canada Aboriginal Right to Self Government provides opportunity to manage historical cultural political health care and economic control aspects within first people s communities As of the 2021 census the Indigenous population totalled 1 807 250 people or 5 0 of the national population with 1 048 405 First Nations people 624 220 Metis and 70 540 Inuit 229 7 7 of the population under the age of 14 are of Indigenous descent 230 There are over 600 recognized First Nations governments or bands with distinctive cultures languages art and music 231 232 National Indigenous Peoples Day recognizes the cultures and contributions of Indigenous peoples to the history of Canada 233 First Nations Inuit and Metis peoples of all backgrounds have become prominent figures and have served as role models in the Indigenous community and help to shape the Canadian cultural identity 234 Greenland Main article Greenlandic Inuit nbsp Tunumiit Inuit couple from Kulusuk Greenland The Greenlandic Inuit Kalaallisut kalaallit Tunumiisut tunumiit Inuktun inughuit are the Indigenous and most populous ethnic group in Greenland 235 This means that Denmark has one officially recognized Indigenous group the Inuit the Greenlandic Inuit of Greenland and the Greenlandic people in Denmark Inuit residing in Denmark Approximately 89 percent of Greenland s population of 57 695 is Greenlandic Inuit or 51 349 people as of 2012 update 236 237 Ethnographically they consist of three major groups the Kalaallit of west Greenland who speak Kalaallisut the Tunumiit of Tunu east Greenland who speak Tunumiit oraasiat East Greenlandic the Inughuit of north Greenland who speak Inuktun Polar Inuit Mexico Main article Indigenous peoples of Mexico nbsp A Huichol woman from Zacatecas Mexico nbsp A carnival with Tzeltal people in Tenejapa Municipality Chiapas The territory of modern day Mexico was home to numerous Indigenous civilizations before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores The Olmecs who flourished from between 1200 BCE to about 400 BCE in the coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs who held sway in the mountains of Oaxaca and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec the Maya in the Yucatan and into neighboring areas of contemporary Central America the Purepecha in present day Michoacan and surrounding areas and the Aztecs Mexica who from their central capital at Tenochtitlan dominated much of the center and south of the country and the non Aztec inhabitants of those areas when Hernan Cortes first landed at Veracruz In contrast to what was the general rule in the rest of North America the history of the colony of New Spain was one of racial intermingling mestizaje Mestizos which in Mexico designate people who do not identify culturally with any Indigenous grouping quickly came to account for a majority of the colony s population Today Mestizos in Mexico of mixed indigenous and European ancestry with a minor African contribution are still a majority of the population Genetic studies vary over whether indigenous or European ancestry predominates in the Mexican Mestizo population 238 239 In the 2015 census 20 3 of the Mexican population self identified as indigenous The 2020 INEGI National Institute of Statistics and Geography census showed that at the national level there are 11 8 million indigenous people 9 3 of the Mexican population In 2020 the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples reported that 11 1 million people in Mexico belong to an indigenous ethnicity 8 8 of the Mexican population 240 The indigenous population is distributed throughout the territory of Mexico but is especially concentrated in the Sierra Madre del Sur the Yucatan Peninsula and the most remote and difficult to access areas such as the Sierra Madre Oriental the Sierra Madre Occidental and neighboring areas 241 The CDI identifies 62 Indigenous groups in Mexico each with a unique language 242 243 In the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca and the interior of the Yucatan Peninsula a large amount of the population is of Indigenous descent with the largest ethnic group being Mayan with a population of 900 000 244 Large Indigenous minorities including Aztecs or Nahua Purepechas Mazahua Otomi and Mixtecs are also present in the central regions of Mexico In the Northern and Bajio regions of Mexico Indigenous people are a small minority The General Law of Linguistic Rights of the Indigenous Peoples grants all Indigenous languages spoken in Mexico regardless of the number of speakers the same validity as Spanish in all territories in which they are spoken and Indigenous peoples are entitled to request some public services and documents in their native languages 245 Along with Spanish the law has granted them more than 60 languages the status of national languages The law includes all Indigenous languages of the Americas regardless of origin that is it includes the Indigenous languages of ethnic groups non native to the territory The National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples recognizes the language of the Kickapoo who immigrated from the United States 246 and recognizes the languages of the Indigenous refugees from Guatemala 247 The Mexican government has promoted and established bilingual primary and secondary education in some Indigenous rural communities Nonetheless of the Indigenous peoples in Mexico 93 are either native speakers or bilingual second language speakers of Spanish with only about 62 4 of them or 5 4 of the country s population speaking an Indigenous language and about a sixth do not speak Spanish 0 7 of the country s population 248 The Indigenous peoples in Mexico have the right of free determination under the second article of the constitution According to this article the Indigenous peoples are granted 249 nbsp The Raramuri marathon in Urique the right to decide the internal forms of social economic political and cultural organization the right to apply their normative systems of regulation as long as human rights and gender equality are respected the right to preserve and enrich their languages and cultures the right to elect representatives before the municipal council in which their territories are located amongst other rights United States Main articles Native Americans in the United States and Alaska Natives nbsp A Choctaw artist in present day Oklahoma nbsp A Navajo man on horseback in present day Monument Valley in Arizona Indigenous peoples in what is now the contiguous United States including their descendants were commonly called American Indians or simply Indians domestically and since the late 20th century the term Native American came into common use In Alaska Indigenous peoples belong to 11 cultures with 11 languages These include the St Lawrence Island Yupik Inupiat Athabaskan Yup ik Cup ik Unangax Alutiiq Eyak Haida Tsimshian and Tlingit 250 and are collectively called Alaska Natives They include Native American peoples as well as Inuit who are distinct but occupy areas of the region The United States has authority over Indigenous Polynesian people which include Hawaiians Marshallese Micronesian and Samoan politically they are classified as Pacific Islander Americans They are geographically genetically and culturally distinct from Indigenous peoples of the mainland continents of the Americas In the 2020 census 2 9 of the U S population claimed to have some degree of Native American heritage When answering a question about racial background 3 7 million people identified solely as American Indian or Alaska Native while another 5 9 million did so in combination with other races 3 Aztecs were the largest single Native American group in the 2020 census while Cherokee was the largest group in combination with any other race 251 Tribes have established their criteria for membership which are often based on blood quantum lineal descent or residency A minority of Native Americans live in land units called Indian reservations Some California and Southwestern tribes such as the Kumeyaay Cocopa Pascua Yaqui Tohono O odham and Apache span both sides of the US Mexican border By treaty Haudenosaunee people have the legal right to freely cross the US Canada border Athabascan Tlingit Haida Tsimshian Inupiat Blackfeet Nakota Cree Anishinaabe Huron Lenape Mi kmaq Penobscot and Haudenosaunee among others live in both Canada and the United States whose international border cut through their common cultural territory Central America Belize Mestizos mixed European Indigenous number about 34 of the population unmixed Maya make up another 10 6 Kekchi Mopan and Yucatec The Garifuna who came to Belize in the 19th century from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have mixed African Carib and Arawak ancestry and make up another 6 of the population 252 Costa Rica Main article Indigenous peoples of Costa Rica There are over 114 000 inhabitants of Native American origins representing 2 4 of the population Most of them live in secluded reservations distributed among eight ethnic groups Quitirrisi In the Central Valley Matambu or Chorotega Guanacaste Maleku Northern Alajuela Bribri Southern Atlantic Cabecar Cordillera de Talamanca Boruca Southern Costa Rica and Ngabe Southern Costa Rica long the Panama border These native groups are characterized by their work in wood like masks drums and other artistic figures as well as fabrics made of cotton Their subsistence is based on agriculture having corn beans and plantains as the main crops citation needed El Salvador Main articles Demographics of El Salvador and La Matanza nbsp Indigenous Pipil women dancing in the traditional Procession of Palms in Panchimalco El Salvador Estimates for El Salvador s indigenous population vary The last time a reported census had an Indigenous ethnic option was in 2007 which estimated that 0 23 of the population identified as Indigenous 26 Historically estimates have claimed higher amounts A 1930 census stated that 5 6 were Indigenous 253 By the mid 20th century there may have been as much as 20 or 400 000 that would qualify as Indigenous Another estimate stated that by the late 1980s 10 of the population was Indigenous and another 89 was mestizo or people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry 254 Much of El Salvador was home to the Pipil the Lenca Xinca and Kakawira The Pipil lived in western El Salvador spoke Nawat and had many settlements there most noticeably Cuzcatlan The Pipil had no precious mineral resources but they did have rich and fertile land that was good for farming The Spaniards were disappointed not to find gold or jewels in El Salvador as they had in other lands like Guatemala or Mexico but upon learning of the fertile land in El Salvador they attempted to conquer it Noted Meso American Indigenous warriors to rise militarily against the Spanish included Princes Atonal and Atlacatl of the Pipil people in central El Salvador and Princess Antu Silan Ulap of the Lenca people in eastern El Salvador who saw the Spanish not as gods but as barbaric invaders After fierce battles the Pipil successfully fought off the Spanish army led by Pedro de Alvarado along with their Indigenous allies the Tlaxcalas sending them back to Guatemala After many other attacks with an army reinforced with Indigenous allies the Spanish were able to conquer Cuzcatlan After further attacks the Spanish also conquered the Lenca people Eventually the Spaniards intermarried with Pipil and Lenca women resulting in the mestizo population that would make up the vast majority of the Salvadoran people Today many Pipil and other Indigenous populations live in the many small towns of El Salvador like Izalco Panchimalco Sacacoyo and Nahuizalco Guatemala Main article Demographics of Guatemala nbsp Maya women from present day Guatemala nbsp A Mayan woman Guatemala has one of the largest Indigenous populations in Central America with approximately 43 6 of the population considering themselves Indigenous 255 The Indigenous demographic portion of Guatemala s population consists of a majority of Mayan groups and one non Mayan group The Mayan language speaking portion makes up 29 7 of the population and is distributed into 23 groups namely Q eqchi 8 3 K iche 7 8 Mam 4 4 Kaqchikel 3 Q anjob al 1 2 Poqomchi 1 and Other 4 255 The Non Mayan group consists of the Xinca who are another set of Indigenous people making up 1 8 of the population 255 Other sources indicate that between 50 and 60 of the population could be Indigenous because part of the Mestizo population is predominantly Indigenous The Mayan tribes cover a vast geographic area throughout Central America and expand beyond Guatemala into other countries One could find vast groups of Mayan people in Boca Costa in the Southern portions of Guatemala as well as the Western Highlands living together in close communities 256 Within these communities and outside of them around 23 Indigenous languages or Native American Indigenous languages are spoken as a first language Of these 23 languages they only received official recognition by the Government in 2003 under the Law of National Languages 255 The Law on National Languages recognizes 23 Indigenous languages including Xinca enforcing that public and government institutions not only translate but also provide services in said languages 257 It would provide services in Cakchiquel Garifuna Kekchi Mam Quiche and Xinca 258 The Law of National Languages has been an effort to grant and protect Indigenous people rights not afforded to them previously Along with the Law of National Languages passed in 2003 in 1996 the Guatemalan Constitutional Court had ratified the ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples 259 The ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples is also known as Convention 169 Which is the only International Law regarding Indigenous peoples that Independent countries can adopt The convention establishes that governments like Guatemala must consult with Indigenous groups before any projects occur on tribal lands 260 Honduras About 5 percent of the population is of full blooded Indigenous descent but as much as 80 percent of Hondurans are mestizo or part Indigenous with European admixture and about 10 percent are of Indigenous or African descent 261 The largest concentrations of Indigenous communities in Honduras are in the westernmost areas facing Guatemala and along the coast of the Caribbean Sea as well as on the border with Nicaragua 261 The majority of Indigenous people are Lencas Miskitos to the east Mayans Pech Sumos and Tolupan 261 Nicaragua About 5 of the Nicaraguan population is Indigenous The largest Indigenous group in Nicaragua is the Miskito people Their territory extended from Cabo Camaron Honduras to La Cruz de Rio Grande Nicaragua along the Mosquito Coast There is a native Miskito language but large numbers speak Miskito Coast Creole Spanish Rama and other languages Their use of Creole English came about through frequent contact with the British who colonized the area Many Miskitos are Christians Traditional Miskito society was highly structured politically and otherwise It had a king but he did not have total power Instead the power was split between himself a Miskito Governor a Miskito General and by the 1750s a Miskito Admiral Historical information on Miskito kings is often obscured by the fact that many of the kings were semi mythical Another major Indigenous culture in eastern Nicaragua is the Mayangna or Sumu people counting some 10 000 people 262 A smaller Indigenous culture in southeastern Nicaragua is the Rama Other Indigenous groups in Nicaragua are located in the central northern and Pacific areas and they are self identified as follows Chorotega Cacaopera or Matagalpa Xiu Subtiaba and Nicarao 263 Panama This section is an excerpt from Indigenous peoples of Panama edit nbsp Embera girl Darien Province 2006 nbsp A Guna woman in Guna Yala nbsp Guna house in Guna Yala 2007 Indigenous peoples of Panama or Native Panamanians are the native peoples of Panama According to the 2010 census they make up 12 3 of the overall population of 3 4 million or just over 418 000 people The Ngabe and Bugle comprise half of the indigenous peoples of Panama 264 Many of the Indigenous Peoples live on comarca indigenas 265 which are administrative regions for areas with substantial Indigenous populations Three comarcas Comarca Embera Wounaan Guna Yala Ngabe Bugle exist as equivalent to a province with two smaller comarcas Guna de Madugandi and Guna de Wargandi subordinate to a province and considered equivalent to a corregimiento municipality South America Main article Indigenous peoples of South America Argentina See also Demographics of Argentina Indigenous peoples in Argentina and List of indigenous languages in Argentina nbsp Owners of a roadside cafe near Cachi Salta Province Argentina In 2005 the Indigenous population living in Argentina known as pueblos originarios numbered about 600 329 1 6 of the total population this figure includes 457 363 people who self identified as belonging to an Indigenous ethnic group and 142 966 who identified themselves as first generation descendants of an Indigenous people 266 The ten most populous Indigenous peoples are the Mapuche 113 680 people the Kolla 70 505 the Toba 69 452 the Guarani 68 454 the Wichi 40 036 the Diaguita Calchaqui 31 753 the Mocovi 15 837 the Huarpe 14 633 the Comechingon 10 863 and the Tehuelche 10 590 Minor but important peoples are the Quechua 6 739 the Charrua 4 511 the Pilaga 4 465 the Chane 4 376 and the Chorote 2 613 The Selk nam Ona people are now virtually extinct in its pure form The languages of the Diaguita Tehuelche and Selk nam nations have become extinct or virtually extinct the Cacan language spoken by Diaguitas in the 18th century and the Selk nam language in the 20th century one Tehuelche language Southern Tehuelche is still spoken by a handful of elderly people Bolivia This article s factual accuracy may be compromised due to out of date information Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information April 2012 Main articles Demographics of Bolivia and Indigenous peoples in Bolivia nbsp An Indigenous woman in traditional dress near Cochabamba Bolivia In Bolivia the 2012 National Census reported that 41 of residents over the age of 15 are of Indigenous origin Some 3 7 report growing up with an Indigenous mother tongue but do not identify as Indigenous 267 When both of these categories are totaled and children under 15 some 66 4 of Bolivia s population was recorded as Indigenous in the 2001 Census 268 The 2021 National Census recognizes 38 cultures each with its language as part of a pluri national state Some groups including CONAMAQ the National Council of Ayllus and Markas of Qullasuyu draw ethnic boundaries within the Quechua and Aymara speaking population resulting in a total of 50 Indigenous peoples native to Bolivia The largest Indigenous ethnic groups are Quechua about 2 5 million people Aymara 2 million Chiquitano 181 000 Guarani 126 000 and Mojeno 69 000 Some 124 000 belong to smaller Indigenous groups 269 The Constitution of Bolivia enacted in 2009 recognizes 36 cultures each with its language as part of a pluri national state Some groups including CONAMAQ the National Council of Ayllus and Markas of Qullasuyu draw ethnic boundaries within the Quechua and Aymara speaking population resulting in a total of 50 Indigenous peoples native to Bolivia Large numbers of Bolivian highland peasants retained Indigenous language culture customs and communal organization throughout the Spanish conquest and the post independence period They mobilized to resist various attempts at the dissolution of communal landholdings and used legal recognition of empowered caciques to further communal organization Indigenous revolts took place frequently until 1953 270 While the National Revolutionary Movement government began in 1952 and discouraged people identifying as Indigenous reclassifying rural people as campesinos or peasants renewed ethnic and class militancy re emerged in the Katarista movement beginning in the 1970s 271 Many lowland Indigenous peoples mostly in the east entered national politics through the 1990 March for Territory and Dignity organized by the CIDOB confederation That march successfully pressured the national government to sign the ILO Convention 169 and to begin the still ongoing process of recognizing and giving official titles to Indigenous territories The 1994 Law of Popular Participation granted grassroots territorial organizations these are recognized by the state and have certain rights to govern local areas Some radio and television programs are produced in the Quechua and Aymara languages The constitutional reform in 1997 recognized Bolivia as a multi lingual pluri ethnic society and introduced education reform In 2005 for the first time in the country s history an Indigenous Aymara Evo Morales was elected as president Morales began work on his Indigenous autonomy policy which he launched in the eastern lowlands department on 3 August 2009 Bolivia was the first nation in the history of South America to affirm the right of Indigenous people to self government 272 Speaking in Santa Cruz Department the President called it a historic day for the peasant and Indigenous movement saying that though he might make errors he would never betray the fight started by our ancestors and the fight of the Bolivian people 272 A vote on further autonomy for jurisdictions took place in December 2009 at the same time as general elections to office The issue divided the country 273 At that time Indigenous peoples voted overwhelmingly for more autonomy five departments that had not already done so voted for it 274 275 as did Gran Chaco Province in Tarija for regional autonomy 276 and 11 of 12 municipalities that had referendums on this issue 274 Brazil See also Indigenous peoples in Brazil nbsp An Indigenous Terena man from present day Brazil Indigenous peoples of Brazil make up 0 4 of Brazil s population or about 817 000 people but millions of Brazilians are mestizo or have some Indigenous ancestry 277 Indigenous peoples are found in the entire territory of Brazil although in the 21st century the majority of them live in Indigenous territories in the North and Center Western parts of the country On 18 January 2007 Fundacao Nacional do Indio FUNAI reported that it had confirmed the presence of 67 different uncontacted tribes in Brazil up from 40 in 2005 Brazil is now the nation that has the largest number of uncontacted tribes and the island of New Guinea is second 277 The Washington Post reported in 2007 As has been proved in the past when uncontacted tribes are introduced to other populations and the microbes they carry maladies as simple as the common cold can be deadly In the 1970s 185 members of the Panara tribe died within two years of discovery after contracting such diseases as flu and chickenpox leaving only 69 survivors 278 Chile Main article Indigenous peoples in Chile nbsp A Mapuche man in present day Chile nbsp A Mapuche man and woman the Mapuche make up about 85 of Indigenous population that live in Chile According to the 2012 Census 10 of the Chilean population including the Rapa Nui a Polynesian people of Easter Island was Indigenous although most show varying degrees of mixed heritage 279 Many are descendants of the Mapuche and live in Santiago Araucania and Los Lagos Region The Mapuche successfully fought off defeat in the first 300 350 years of Spanish rule during the Arauco War Relations with the new Chilean Republic were good until the Chilean state decided to occupy their lands During the Occupation of Araucania the Mapuche surrendered to the country s army in the 1880s Their land was opened to settlement by Chileans and Europeans Conflict over Mapuche land rights continues to the present Other groups include the Aymara the majority of whom live in Bolivia and Peru with smaller numbers in the Arica Parinacota and Tarapaca regions and the Atacama people Atacamenos who reside mainly in El Loa Colombia Main article Indigenous peoples in Colombia nbsp Guambia people relaxing in Colombia A minority today within Colombia s mostly Mestizo and White Colombian population Indigenous peoples living in Colombia consist of around 85 distinct cultures and around 1 905 617 people however it is likely much higher 280 281 A variety of collective rights for Indigenous peoples are recognized in the 1991 Constitution One of the influences is the Muisca culture a subset of the larger Chibcha ethnic group famous for their use of gold which led to the legend of El Dorado At the time of the Spanish conquest the Muisca were the largest Indigenous civilization geographically between the Inca and the Aztec empires Ecuador Main article Indigenous peoples in Ecuador nbsp Shaman of the Cofan people from the Amazonian forest in present day Ecuador Ecuador was the site of many Indigenous cultures and civilizations of different proportions An early sedentary culture known as the Valdivia culture developed in the coastal region while the Caras and the Quitus unified to form an elaborate civilization that ended at the birth of the Capital Quito The Canaris near Cuenca were the most advanced and most feared by the Inca due to their fierce resistance to the Incan expansion Their architectural remains were later destroyed by the Spaniards and the Incas Between 55 and 65 of Ecuador s population consists of Mestizos of mixed indigenous and European ancestry while indigenous people comprise about 25 282 Genetic analysis indicates that Ecuadorian Mestizos are of predominantly indigenous ancestry 283 Approximately 96 4 of Ecuador s Indigenous population are Highland Quichuas living in the valleys of the Sierra region Primarily consisting of the descendants of peoples conquered by the Incas they are Kichwa speakers and include the Caranqui the Otavalos the Cayambe the Quitu Caras the Panzaleo the Chimbuelo the Salasacan the Tugua the Puruha the Canari and the Saraguro Linguistic evidence suggests that the Salascan and the Saraguro may have been the descendants of Bolivian ethnic groups transplanted to Ecuador as mitimaes Coastal groups including the Awa Chachi and the Tsachila make up 0 24 percent of the Indigenous population while the remaining 3 35 percent live in the Oriente and consist of the Oriente Kichwa the Canelo and the Quijos the Shuar the Huaorani the Siona Secoya the Cofan and the Achuar In 1986 Indigenous peoples formed the first truly national political organization The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador CONAIE has been the primary political institution of Indigenous peoples since then and is now the second largest political party in the nation It has been influential in national politics contributing to the ouster of presidents Abdala Bucaram in 1997 and Jamil Mahuad in 2000 French Guiana French Guiana is home to approximately 10 000 indigenous peoples such as the Kalina and Lokono Over time the indigenous population has protested against various environmental issues such as illegal gold mining pollution and a drastic decrease in wild game Guyana Main article Indigenous peoples in Guyana During the early stages of colonization the indigenous peoples in Guyana partook in trade relations with Dutch settlers and assisted in militia services such as hunting down escaped slaves for the British which continued until the 19th century Indigenous Guyanese people are responsible for the invention of the canoe as well as Guyanese pepperpot and the foundation of the Alleluia church Guyana s indigenous peoples have been recognized under the Constitution of 1965 and comprise 9 16 of the overall population Paraguay Main article Indigenous peoples in Paraguay The vast majority of indigenous peoples in Paraguay are concentrated in the Gran Chaco region in the northwest of the country with the Guarani making up the majority of the indigenous population in Paraguay The Guarani language is recognized as an official language alongside Spanish with approximately 90 of the population speaking Guarani The indigenous population in Paraguay suffers from several social issues such as low literacy rates and inaccessibility to safe drinking water and electricity Peru Main article Indigenous peoples in Peru nbsp A Quechua woman and child in the Sacred Valley in Cuzco Region Peru According to the 2017 Census the Indigenous population in Peru makes up approximately 26 5 However this does not include Mestizos of mixed indigenous and European descent who make up the majority of the population Genetic testing indicates that Peruvian Mestizos are of predominantly indigenous ancestry 284 Indigenous traditions and customs have shaped the way Peruvians live and see themselves today Cultural citizenship or what Renato Rosaldo has called the right to be different and to belong in a democratic participatory sense 1996 243 is not yet very well developed in Peru This is perhaps no more apparent than in the country s Amazonian regions where Indigenous societies continue to struggle against state sponsored economic abuses cultural discrimination and pervasive violence 285 Suriname Main article Indigenous peoples in SurinameAccording to the 2012 census the indigenous population of Suriname numbers around 20 000 amounting to 3 8 of the population The most numerous indigenous groups in Suriname primarily comprise the Lokono Kalina Tiriyo and Wayana Uruguay Main article Indigenous peoples in Uruguay Unlike most other Spanish speaking countries indigenous peoples are not a significant element in Uruguay as the entire indigenous population is virtually extinct with a few exceptions such as the Guarani Approximately 2 4 of the population in Uruguay is reported to have indigenous ancestry 211 Venezuela Main article Indigenous peoples in Venezuela nbsp A Warao family traveling in their canoe in Venezuela Most Venezuelans have some degree of indigenous heritage even if they may not identify as such The 2011 census estimated that around 52 of the population identified as mestizo But those who identify as Indigenous from being raised in those cultures make up only around 2 of the total population The Indigenous peoples speak around 29 different languages and many more dialects As some of the ethnic groups are very small their native languages are in danger of becoming extinct in the next decades The most important Indigenous groups are the Ye kuana the Wayuu the Kali na the Ya nomamo the Pemon and the Warao The most advanced Indigenous peoples to have lived within the boundaries of present day Venezuela are thought to have been the Timoto cuicas who lived in the Venezuelan Andes Historians estimate that there were between 350 thousand and 500 thousand Indigenous inhabitants at the time of Spanish colonization The most densely populated area was the Andean region Timoto cuicas thanks to their advanced agricultural techniques and ability to produce a surplus of food The 1999 constitution of Venezuela gives indigenous peoples special rights although the vast majority of them still live in very critical conditions of poverty The government provides primary education in their languages in public schools to some of the largest groups in efforts to continue the languages Caribbean Main article Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean The indigenous population of the Caribbean islands consisted of the Taino of the Lucayan Archipelago the Greater Antilles and the northern Lesser Antilles the Kalinago of the Lesser Antilles the Ciguayo and Macorix of parts of Hispaniola and the Guanahatabey of western Cuba The overall population suffered the most adverse colonial effects out of all the indigenous populations in the Americas as the Kalinago have been reduced to a few islands in the Lesser Antilles such as Dominica and the Taino are culturally extinct though a large proportion of populations in Greater Antillean islands such as Puerto Rico and Cuba to a lesser extent 286 possesses degrees of Taino ancestry The Cayman Islands were the only island group in the Caribbean to have remained unsettled by indigenous peoples before the era of colonialism 287 Rise of Indigenous movementsSince the late 20th century Indigenous peoples in the Americas have become more politically active in asserting their treaty rights and expanding their influence Some have organized to achieve some sort of self determination and preservation of their cultures Organizations such as the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin and the Indian Council of South America are examples of movements that are overcoming national borders to reunite Indigenous populations for instance those across the Amazon Basin Similar movements for Indigenous rights can also be seen in Canada and the United States with movements like the International Indian Treaty Council and the accession of native Indigenous groups into the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization There has been a recognition of Indigenous movements on an international scale The membership of the United Nations voted to adopt the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples despite dissent from some of the stronger countries of the Americas In Colombia various Indigenous groups have protested the denial of their rights People organized a march in Cali in October 2008 to demand the government live up to promises to protect Indigenous lands defend the Indigenous against violence and reconsider the free trade pact with the United States 288 Indigenous heads of state nbsp Evo Morales an Aymara member and former President of Bolivia The first Indigenous President of the Americas was Jose Maria Melo of Pijao descent and led Colombia in 1854 starting on April 17 1854 Jose was born on October 9 1800 in Chaparral Tolima and before his presidency he fought alongside Simon Bolivar in the Spanish American Wars of Independence Jose Maria Melo led the Republic of New Granada during the Colombian Civil War of 1854 but eventually lost and was exiled on December 4 1854 289 The first Indigenous candidate to be democratically elected as head of a country in the Americas was Benito Juarez a Zapotec Mexican who was elected President of Mexico in 1858 and led the country until 1872 and led the country to victory during the Second French intervention in Mexico 290 In 1930 Luis Miguel Sanchez Cerro became the first Peruvian President with Indigenous Peruvian ancestry and the first in South America 291 He came to power in a military coup In 2005 Evo Morales of the Aymara people was the first Indigenous candidate elected as president of Bolivia and the first elected in South America 292 Genetic researchMain article Genetic history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas See also Y DNA haplogroups in Indigenous peoples of the Americas nbsp A schematic illustration of maternal mtDNA gene flow in and out of Beringia from 25 000 years ago to present nbsp A map showing the origin of the first wave of humans into the Americas including the Ancestral Northern Eurasian which represent a distinct Paleolithic Siberian population and the Northeast Asians which are an East Asian related group The admixture happened somewhere in Northeast Siberia 293 nbsp Principal component analysis showing the Native American cluster in other Eurasian populations 294 Genetic history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas primarily focuses on Human Y chromosome DNA haplogroups and Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroups Y DNA is passed solely along the patrilineal line from father to son while mtDNA is passed down the matrilineal line from mother to offspring of both sexes Neither recombines and thus Y DNA and mtDNA change only by chance mutation at each generation with no intermixture between parents genetic material 295 Autosomal atDNA markers are also used but differ from mtDNA or Y DNA in that they overlap significantly 296 AtDNA is generally used to measure the average continent of ancestry genetic admixture in the entire human genome and related isolated populations 296 Genetic comparisons of the mitochondrial DNA mtDNA and Y chromosome of Native Americans to that of certain Siberian and Central Asian peoples specifically Paleo Siberians Turkic and historically the Okunev culture have led Russian researcher I A Zakharov to believe that among all the previously studied Asian peoples it is the peoples living between Altai and Lake Baikal along the Sayan mountains that are genetically closest to Indigenous Americans 297 Some scientific evidence links them to North Asian peoples specifically the Indigenous peoples of Siberia such as the Ket Selkup Chukchi and Koryak peoples Indigenous peoples of the Americas have been linked to some extent to North Asian populations by the distribution of blood types and in genetic composition as reflected by molecular data and limited DNA studies 298 299 300 The common occurrence of the Asian mtDNA haplogroups A B C and D among eastern Asian and Native American populations has been noted 301 Some subclades of C and D that have been found in the limited populations of Native Americans who have agreed to DNA testing 299 300 bear some resemblance to the C and D subclades in Mongolian Amur Japanese Korean and Ainu populations 301 302 Available genetic patterns lead to two main theories of genetic episodes affecting the Indigenous peoples of the Americas first with the initial peopling of the Americas and secondly with European colonization of the Americas 303 304 305 The former is the determinant factor for the number of gene lineages zygosity mutations and founding haplotypes present in today s Indigenous peoples of the Americas populations 304 The most popular theory among anthropologists is the Bering Strait theory of human settlement of the New World occurring in stages from the Bering Sea coastline with a possible initial layover of 10 000 to 20 000 years in Beringia for the small founding population 306 307 308 The micro satellite diversity and distributions of the Y lineage specific to South America indicate that certain Indigenous peoples of the Americas populations have been isolated since the initial colonization of the region 309 The Na Dene Inuit and Indigenous populations of Alaska exhibit haplogroup Q Y DNA mutations however are distinct from other Indigenous peoples of the Americas with various mtDNA and atDNA mutations 310 311 312 This suggests that the earliest migrants into the northern extremes of North America and Greenland derived from later migrant populations 313 314 Multiple recent findings on autosomal DNA and full genome revealed more information about the formation settlement and external relationships of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas to other populations Native Americans are very closely related to the Paleosiberian tribes of Siberia and to the ancient samples of the Mal ta Buret culture Ancient North Eurasians as well as to the Ancient Beringians Native Americans also share a relatively higher genetic affinity with East Asian peoples Native American genetic ancestry is occasionally dubbed as Amerindian This type of ancestry largely overlaps with Paleosiberian ancestry but is differentiated from Neo Siberian ancestry which represents historical expansions from Northeast Asia and is today widespread among Siberian populations The ancestors of Native Americans used a single migration route most likely through Beringia and subsequently populated all of the Americas in a time range between 25 000 and 15 000 years ago Possible contact between Native Americans and Polynesians dates back to 1 400 years ago Previously hypothesized Paleo Indian groups turned out to be genetically identical to modern Native Americans The controversial claim that the first peoples came from Europe via the North Atlantic based on an ostensible similarity in stone tool technology between the Solutrean culture of Pleistocene Europe and Clovis in North America was undermined by the genome of the Anzick Clovis child which sits squarely on the branch of Ancestral Native American peoples No ancient or present day genome or mtDNA or Y chromosome marker in the Americas has shown any direct affinities to Upper Palaeolithic European populations 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 The date for the formation of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas gene pool ranges from 36 000 to 25 000 years ago with their internal diverging being around 21 000 years ago during the settlement of the Americas 323 The Ancestral Native Americans formed from a lineage that diverged from East Asian people around 36 000 years ago somewhere in Southern China and subsequently migrated northwards into Siberia and encountered interacted with a distinct Paleolithic Siberian population known as Ancient North Eurasians closer related to modern Europeans giving rise to both Indigenous peoples of Siberia and Native Americans 324 Based on a 2023 mitochondrial DNA study a subsequent wave of migration from Northern China originating near the present day cities of Beijing and Tianjin occurred as recently as 9000 BCE following a previously unknown coastal route from Asia to America 325 Notable peopleMain article List of indigenous people of the AmericasSee also nbsp Civilizations portal nbsp Indigenous peoples of the Americas portal Indigenous peoples in Ecuador Indigenous peoples in Paraguay Indigenous peoples of Costa Rica Indigenous peoples in Argentina Indigenous peoples of Peru Indigenous peoples in Canada Indigenous peoples in Colombia Indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples in Chile Languages of Guatemala Indigenous languages of the Americas Ancient American engineering Andean culture disambiguation List of Indigenous peoples List of Greenlandic Inuit List of Indigenous artists of the Americas List of Indigenous peoples of the Americas List of Indigenous writers from the Americas Culture Ceramics of Indigenous peoples of the Americas Chunkey Fully feathered basket Indian Mass Native American religion Pow wow Shamanism Population and demographics Child development of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas Classification of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas Indigenous Movements in the Americas Origins of Paleoindians Pacific Islander Population history of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas Central and South America Indigenous peoples of South America List of Mayan languages Society in the Spanish Colonial Americas Caribbean Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean Indigenous peoples of Guyana Indigenous peoples of Suriname North America Genocide of Indigenous peoples of the Americas History of the west coast of North America List of traditional territories of the Indigenous peoples of North America Native Americans in the United States List of American Inuit Native American Languages Act of 1990 Native American weaponry Native Americans in German popular culture Republic of Lakotah RedskinReferences Censo de Poblacion y Vivienda 2020 Presentacion de resultados PDF in Spanish Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia p 49 Archived PDF from the original on 24 January 2022 Retrieved 29 January 2022 Note Indigenous population was identified as the total population in households where the head of the household his or her spouse or any of their ascendants claimed to speak an Indigenous language Censo de Poblacion y Vivienda 2020 Resultados complementarios PDF in Spanish Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia p 27 Archived PDF from the original on 31 January 2022 Retrieved 30 January 2022 It was estimated that 19 41 of population aged 3 years and older considered themselves to be Indigenous a b 2020 DEC Redistricting Data PL 94 171 United States Census Bureau The American Indian and Alaska Native population of one race was 3 7 million and the two or more races population 5 9 million excluding Puerto Rico Principales Resultados del Censo 2018 PDF in Spanish Instituto Nacional de Estadistica p 10 Archived PDF from the original on 29 April 2021 Retrieved 29 April 2021 Sum of people who identify as Maya 6 207 503 and Xinka 264 167 a b Peru Perfil Sociodemografico PDF in Spanish Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informatica p 214 Archived PDF from the original on 11 February 2020 Retrieved 30 April 2021 Sum of people who identify as Quechua 5 176 809 Aimara 548 292 Native or Indigenous from the Amazon 79 266 Ashaninka 55 489 Part of another Indigenous or originary peoples 49 838 Awajun 37 690 and Shipibo Konibo 25 222 Caracteristicas de la Poblacion Censo 2012 PDF in Spanish Instituto Nacional de Estadistica p 103 Archived PDF from the original on 30 April 2021 Retrieved 30 April 2021 Excluding Afro Bolivians 23 330 Sintesis de Resultados Censo 2017 PDF in Spanish Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas p 16 Archived PDF from the original on 13 July 2018 Retrieved 30 April 2021 Excluding Rapa Nui 9 399 Poblacion Indigena de Colombia PDF in Spanish Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica Archived PDF from the original on 18 September 2020 Retrieved 1 May 2021 Indigenous identity by Registered or Treaty Indian status Canada provinces and territories census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts Statistics Canada 21 September 2022 Archived from the original on 27 September 2022 Censo Demografico 2022 Identificacao etnico racial da populacao por sexo e idade PDF in Portuguese Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica Archived PDF from the original on 27 December 2023 Retrieved 1 February 2024 Censo Nacional de Poblacion Hogares y Viviendas 2022 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