Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions. Native Americans have been living in what is now the United States of America since long before any Europeans came. They are not just a single group of people – there are many different tribes of Native Americans. Different Native American groups have different languages, religious beliefs, and ways of living, or folkways. You can see just how different ...

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Native Americans have been living in what is now the United States of America since long before any Europeans came. They are not just a single group of people – there are many different tribes of Native Americans. Different Native American groups have different languages, religious beliefs, and ways of living, or folkways.

You can see just how different Native American groups can be by comparing one to another. Look at the Hopi people. The Hopi are Native Americans who come from what is now the American Southwest. When the Spanish came to America in the 16th century and found the Hopi people, they nicknamed them “pueblo people” because Hopi people didn’t move around much – they lived together in what amounted to towns. Pueblo is a Spanish word that means “town”. The Hopi have always have been a very peaceful people. Their name comes from the term Hopituh Shi-nu-mu, which means, in the Hopi language, “The peaceful People” or “Peaceful Little Ones”.

Now compare the Hopi to Navajo. The Navajo come from the same general area as the Hopi. But instead of being a “pueblo people”, instead of staying in one place, they moved around. They didn’t live in permanent towns like the Hopi. They were a “semi-nomadic” people. While the Hopi were historically known for farming, the Navajo were known for hunting and gathering. After they met the Spanish, the Navajo became known for herding sheep. The Hopi, not so much.

The Hopi and the Navajo were, and are, two very distinct groups of people, and they come from the same part of the continent! So think about how much other tribes from other parts of the continent might differ.

For thousands of years the Chinook have lived near the coast of the Pacific Ocean. They were known, and are still known, for being skilled fishers. The Chinook would make huge dug-out canoes, and the fish that they caught most often was salmon. The salmon was a very important food source for the Chinook, and it plays a large role in the Chinook sense of identity.

All the way across the country, over in what is now Maine, the Penobscot also derive meaning and a sense of identity from the animals they hunt. But they are completely different animals: beavers, otters, moose, bears, and caribou.

Today, there may not be as many thriving Native American tribes as there used to be but there are more than a few. The United States of America federally recognizes more than 500 different Native American tribes. When a tribe is federally recognized, it means that tribe may form its own government with its own laws, taxes, rules. There are also about 400 non-federally recognized tribes. All I all, there are about 1000 different groups of Native American people in the United States, and each group is unique.

How long have Native Americans been living in America?