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Population figures for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas before European colonization have been difficult to establish. Estimates have varied widely from as low as 8 million to as many as 100 million, though many scholars gravitated toward an estimate of around 50 million by the end of the 20th century.[1][2]
The monarchs of the nascent Spanish Empire decided to fund Christopher Columbus' voyage in 1492, leading to the establishment of colonies and marking the beginning of the migration of millions of Europeans and Africans to the Americas. While the population of European settlers, primarily from Spain, Portugal, France, England, and the Netherlands, along with African slaves, grew steadily, the Indigenous population plummeted. There are numerous reasons for the population decline, including exposure to Eurasian diseases such as influenza, pneumonic plagues, and smallpox; direct violence by settlers and their allies through war and forced removal; and the general disruption of societies.[3][4] Scholarly disputes remain over the degree to which each factor contributed or should be emphasized; some modern scholars have categorized it as a genocide, claiming that deliberate, systematic actions by Europeans were the primary cause.[5][6][7] Traditional scholars have disputed this characterization, maintaining that incidental disease exposure was the primary cause.[6][8][9]
Pre-Columbian population figures are difficult to estimate because of the fragmentary nature of the evidence. Estimates range from 8–112 million.[10] Scholars have varied widely on the estimated size of the Indigenous populations prior to colonization and on the effects of European contact.[11] Estimates are made by extrapolations from small bits of data. In 1976, geographer William Denevan used the existing estimates to derive a "consensus count" of about 54 million people. Nonetheless, more recent estimates still range widely.[12] In 1992, Denevan suggested that the total population was approximately 53.9 million and the populations by region were, approximately, 3.8 million for the United States and Canada, 17.2 million for Mexico, 5.6 million for Central America, 3 million for the Caribbean, 15.7 million for the Andes and 8.6 million for lowland South America.[13] A 2020 genetic study suggests that prior estimates for the pre-Columbian Caribbean population may have been at least tenfold too large.[14] Historian David Stannard estimates that the extermination of Indigenous peoples took the lives of 100 million people: "...the total extermination of many American Indian peoples and the near-extermination of others, in numbers that eventually totaled close to 100,000,000."[15] A 2019 study estimates the pre-Columbian Indigenous population contained more than 60 million people, but dropped to 6 million by 1600, based on a drop in atmospheric CO2 during that period.[16][17] Other studies have disputed this conclusion.[18][19]
The Indigenous population of the Americas in 1492 was not necessarily at a high point and may actually have already been in decline in some areas. Indigenous populations in most areas of the Americas reached a low point by the early 20th century.[20]
Using an estimate of approximately 37 million people in Mexico, Central and South America in 1492 (including 6 million in the Aztec Empire, 5–10 million in the Mayan States, 11 million in what is now Brazil, and 12 million in the Inca Empire), the lowest estimates give a population decrease from all causes of 80% by the end of the 17th century (nine million people in 1650).[21] Latin America would match its 15th-century population early in the 19th century; it numbered 17 million in 1800, 30 million in 1850, 61 million in 1900, 105 million in 1930, 218 million in 1960, 361 million in 1980, and 563 million in 2005.[21] In the last three decades of the 16th century, the population of present-day Mexico dropped to about one million people.[21] The Maya population is today estimated at six million, which is about the same as at the end of the 15th century, according to some estimates.[21] In what is now Brazil, the Indigenous population declined from a pre-Columbian high of an estimated four million to some 300,000. Over 60 million Brazilians possess at least one Native South American ancestor, according to a DNA study.[22]
While it is difficult to determine exactly how many Natives lived in North America before Columbus,[23] estimates range from 3.8 million, as mentioned above, to 7 million[24] people to a high of 18 million.[25] Scholars vary on the estimated size of the Indigenous population in what is now Canada prior to colonization and on the effects of European contact.[26] During the late 15th century is estimated to have been between 200,000[27] and two million,[28] with a figure of 500,000 currently accepted by Canada's Royal Commission on Aboriginal Health.[29] Although not without conflict, European Canadians' early interactions with First Nations and Inuit populations were relatively peaceful.[30] However repeated outbreaks of European infectious diseases such as influenza, measles, and smallpox (to which they had no natural immunity),[31] combined with other effects of European contact, resulted in a twenty-five percent to eighty percent Indigenous population decrease post-contact.[27] Roland G Robertson suggests that during the late 1630s, smallpox killed over half of the Wyandot (Huron), who controlled most of the early North American fur trade in the area of New France.[32] In 1871 there was an enumeration of the Indigenous population within the limits of Canada at the time, showing a total of only 102,358 individuals.[33] From 2006 to 2016, the Indigenous population has grown by 42.5 percent, four times the national rate.[34] According to the 2011 Canadian census, Indigenous peoples (First Nations – 851,560, Inuit – 59,445 and Métis – 451,795) numbered at 1,400,685, or 4.3% of the country's total population.[35]
The population debate has often had ideological underpinnings.[36] Low estimates were sometimes reflective of European notions of cultural and racial superiority. Historian Francis Jennings argued, "Scholarly wisdom long held that Indians were so inferior in mind and works that they could not possibly have created or sustained large populations."[37] In 1998, Africanist Historian David Henige said many population estimates are the result of arbitrary formulas applied from unreliable sources.[38]
| Author | Date | USA and Canada | Mexico | Mesoamerica | Caribbean | Andes | Patagonia and Amazonia |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sapper[39] | 1924 | 2–3 | 12–15 | 5–6 | 3–4 | 12–15 | 3–5 | 37–48.5 |
| Kroeber[40] | 1939 | 0.9 | 3.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 3 | 1 | 8.4 |
| Steward[41] | 1949 | 1 | 4.5 | 0.74 | 0.22 | 6.13 | 2.9 | 15.49 |
| Rosenblat[42] | 1954 | 1 | 4.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 4.75 | 2.03 | 13.38 |
| Dobyns[43] | 1966 | 9.8–12.25 | 30–37.5 | 10.8–13.5 | 0.44–0.55 | 30–37.5 | 9–11.25 | 90.04–112.55 |
| Ubelaker[44] | 1988 | 1.213–2.639 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Denevan[45] | 1992 | 3.79 | 17.174 | 5.625 | 3 | 15.696 | 8.619 | 53.904 |
| Snow[46] | 2001 | 3.44 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Alchon[47] | 2003 | 3.5 | 16–18 | 5–6 | 2–3 | 13–15 | 7–8 | 46.5–53.5 |
| Thornton[48] | 2005 | 7 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Peros[49] | 2009 | 2.5 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Milner[50] | 2010 | 3.8 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Population size for Native American tribes is very difficult to state definitively, but at least one writer has made estimates, often based on an assumed proportion of the number of warriors to total population for the tribe.[51] Typical proportions were 5 people per one warrior and at least 1 up to 5 warriors (therefore at least 5–25 people) per lodge, cabin or house.
 |
| Rank | Cultural Area | Region | Tribe or nation | Highest pop. estimate | Year | Towns/ villages |
Lodges/cabins/houses/tents/tipis etc. | Sources of estimates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Sioux [Note 1][52][53] | 150,000 – 50,000 (1841) | 1762 | 40+ | 5,000 lodges in 1846, averaging over ten people per lodge | Lt. James Gorrell[54] and A. Ramsey |
| 2 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Choctaw [Note 2][55] | 125,000 | 1718 | 102[56] | 102 towns enumerated by Swanton | Le Page du Pratz and J. R. Swanton |
| 3 | NE Woodlands | Old Northwest | Illinois [Note 3][57] | 100,000 | 1658 | 60 | Jean de Quen | |
| 4a | Great Basin | Mexican Cession | Shoshone | 60,000 | 1820 | (number without 20,000 East Shoshone) | Jedidiah Morse | |
| 4b | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Eastern Shoshone | 20,000 | 1820 | Jedidiah Morse | ||
| 5 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Pueblo Tigua (Tiwa) | 78,100+ | 1626 | 20 | 7,000 houses only in two largest pueblos | Alonso de Benavides[58] |
| 6a | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Blackfoot [Note 4] in the USA | 37,500 – 30,000 (1841) | 1836 | (60,000 in 1841 & approx. 75,000 in 1836, ca. half of them in the USA) | George Catlin | |
| 6b | Great Plains | Prairies, Canada | Blackfoot[59] in Canada | 37,500 – 30,000 (1841) | 1836 | (60,000 in 1841 & approx. 75,000 in 1836, ca. half of them in Canada) | George Catlin | |
| 7 | NE Woodlands | Middle Colonies | Iroquois [Note 5][60] | 70,000 | 1690 | 226[61] | Nearly 60 towns destroyed in 1779[62] | L. A. de Lahontan and John R. Swanton |
| 8 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Apache | 60,000 | 1700 | José de Urrutia | ||
| 9 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Muscogee confederacy including Hitchiti | 50,000 | 1794 | 100 | (at least 100 towns in 1789 per Henry Knox) | James Seagrove and Henry Knox |
| 10 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Hopi [Note 6][63] | 50,000 | 1584 | 7 | Antonio de Espejo | |
| 11 | NE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Shawnee | 50,000 – 15,000 (1702) | 1540 | 38+ | (at first contact est. 50,000 & 15,000 in 1702) | M. A. Jaimes[64] & Pierre d'Iberville |
| 12 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Crow (Apsáalooke) | 45,000 | 1834 | Samuel Gardner Drake[65][66] | ||
| 13 | NE Woodlands | Ontario, Canada | Hurons [Note 7][67] (Wyandot) | 40,000 | 1632 | 32 | Gabriel Sagard and J. Lalemant | |
| 14 | Great Plains | Texas Annexation | Comanche | 40,000 | 1832 | George Catlin and J. Morse | ||
| 15 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Pueblo Tano/Maguas including Pecos | 40,000 | 1584 | 11 | Antonio de Espejo | |
| 16 | NE Woodlands | Old Northwest | Miami [Note 8][68] | 40,000 | 1657 | 20+ | (one of their towns had 400 families in 1751) | Gabriel Druillettes |
| 17 | NE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Ioways | 40,000 | 1762 | 16+ | (at least 16 towns in the early 19th century) | Lt. James Gorrell[54] |
| 18a | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Piegan in the USA | 30,000 | 1700 | (ca. 3/4 in the US, ca. 6,000 lodges) | George Bird Grinnell | |
| 18b | Great Plains | Alberta, Canada | Piegan in Canada | 10,000 | 1700 | (ca. 1/4 in Canada, ca. 2,000 lodges) | George Bird Grinnell | |
| 19 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Pawnee [Note 9][69] | 38,000 | 1719 | 38 | 5,000 – 6,000 cabins/lodges & 7,600 warriors | Claude Du Tisne and L. Krzywicki |
| 20a | NE Woodlands | Old Northwest | Ojibwe in the USA | 18,000 | 1860 | (half in the US and half in Canada) | Emmanuel Domenech[70] | |
| 20b | NE Woodlands | Ontario, Canada | Ojibwe in Canada | 18,000 | 1860 | (half in the US and half in Canada) | Emmanuel Domenech[70] | |
| 21a | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Assiniboine in the USA | 17,500 | 1823 | 15+ | (ca. half in the US, ca. 1,500 lodges) | W. H. Keating and G. C. Beltrami |
| 21b | Great Plains | Prairies, Canada | Assiniboine in Canada | 17,500 | 1823 | 15+ | (ca. half in Canada, ca. 1,500 lodges) | W. H. Keating and G. C. Beltrami |
| 22 | NE Woodlands | Acadia, Canada | Mi'kmaq | 35,000 | 1500 | Virginia P. Miller[71] | ||
| 23 | SE Woodlands | Spanish Florida | Apalachee | 34,000 | 1635 | 11+ | J. R. Swanton | |
| 24 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Navajo (Diné) | 30,000+ | 1626 | In 1910 still numbered 29,624 people in Arizona and New Mexico | Alonso de Benavides | |
| 25 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Cherokee [Note 10][72] | 30,000 | 1735 | 201[73] | 201 towns enumerated by Swanton | J. Adair and Ga. Hist. Coll., II |
| 26 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Tuscarora [Note 11][74] | 30,000 | 1600 | 24 | D. Cusick | |
| 27 | NE Woodlands | New England | Narragansett | 30,000 | 1642 | 8+ | S. G. Drake and J. R. Swanton | |
| 28 | NE Woodlands | Middle Colonies | Mohican confederacy | 30,000 | 1600 | 16+ | J. A. Maurault and J. R. Swanton | |
| 29 | NE Woodlands | New England | Massachusett | 30,000 | 1600 | 23+ | J. A. Maurault and J. R. Swanton | |
| 30 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Jemez Pueblo [Note 12][75] | 30,000 | 1584 | 11 | Antonio de Espejo | |
| 31 | SE Woodlands | Spanish Florida | Timucua tribes | 30,000 | 1635 | 141 | 44 missions in 1635: 30,000 Christian Indians | J. R. Swanton |
| 32 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Clayoquot (Clayoquat) | 30,000 | 1780 | (30,000 under the rule of chief Wickaninnish) | Ho. Doc. 1839–1840 and Meares | |
| 33a | Subarctic & Arctic | Saskatchewan, Canada | Woods Cree in Saskatchewan | 5,600 | 1670 | James Mooney | ||
| 33b | Subarctic & Arctic | Manitoba, Canada | Cree living in Manitoba | 4,250 | 1670 | James Mooney | ||
| 33c | Subarctic & Arctic | Alberta, Canada | Woodland Cree in Alberta | 3,050 | 1670 | James Mooney | ||
| 33d | Subarctic & Arctic | Ontario, Canada | Swampy Cree in Ontario | 2,100 | 1670 | James Mooney | ||
| 33e | Subarctic & Arctic | Ontario, Canada | Moose Cree (Monsoni) | 5,000 | 1600 | James Mooney | ||
| 33f | Great Plains | Prairies, Canada | Plains Cree | 7,000 | 1853 | David G. Mandelbaum | ||
| 34a | Great Basin | Mexican Cession | Ute living in Utah | 13,050 | 1867 | Indian Affairs 1867 | ||
| 34b | Great Basin | Mexican Cession | Ute living in Colorado | 7,000 | 1866 | Indian Affairs 1866 | ||
| 34c | Great Basin | Mexican Cession | Ute living in New Mexico | 6,000 | 1846–1854 | H. H. Davis and Indian Affairs 1854 | ||
| 35 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Mabila (Mobile) | 25,000 | 1540 | Mississippian chiefdom under chief Tuskaloosa, about 5,000 warriors | Ludwik Krzywicki | |
| 36 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Chinook tribes | 22,000 | 1780 | 1,000 lodges just among the Lower Chinook | James Mooney[76] and Duflot de Mofras | |
| 37 | NE Woodlands | Old Northwest | Mascouten | 20,000 | 1679 | They consisted of 12 sub-tribes | Claude Dablon | |
| 38 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Chickasaw | 20,000 | 1687 | 27+ | Louis Hennepin | |
| 39 | NE Woodlands | Ontario, Canada | Neutrals [Note 13][77] | 20,000 | 1616 | 40 | Samuel de Champlain | |
| 40 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Zuni Pueblo | 20,000 | 1584 | 12 | Antonio de Espejo | |
| 41 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Pueblo Tewa/Ubates | 20,000 | 1584 | 5 | Antonio de Espejo | |
| 42 | NE Woodlands | New England | Pequots [Note 14][78] | 20,000 | 1600 | 21 | Daniel Gookin and J. R. Swanton | |
| 43 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Skidi | 20,000 | 1687 | 22 | At least 4,400 cabins (on average at least 200 per town) | George Bird Grinnell |
| 44 | SE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Natchez | 20,000 | 1715 | 60 | Pierre Charlevoix | |
| 45 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Pueblo Punames | 20,000 | 1584 | 5 | Zia was the largest of 5 Puname pueblos | Antonio de Espejo |
| 46 | NE Woodlands | Middle Colonies | Lenape (Delaware) | 18,400 | 1635–1648 | 118 | (3,680 warriors in 27 divisions or "kingdoms") | R. Evelin, Th. Donaldson & Swanton |
| 47 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Mandan | 17,500 – 15,000 (1836) | 1738 | 17 | 1,000+ lodges and 3,500 warriors | W. Sanstead[79] & Indian Affairs 1836 |
| 48 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Atsina (Gros Ventre) | 16,800 | 1837 | Still reported at 16,800 in 1841[80] | Indian Affairs 1837 | |
| 49 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Powhatan confederacy | 16,600 | 1616 | 161 | (3,320 warriors in 1616) | William Strachey and John Smith |
| 50 | NE Woodlands | Middle Colonies | Nanticoke confederacy | 16,500 | 1600 | 16+ | (1,100 warriors in 4 tribes, in total 12 tribes) | John Smith and J. R. Swanton |
| 51 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Arikaras | 16,000 | 1700 | 48 | Kinglsey M. Bray[81] | |
| 52 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Vancouver Island Salish | 15,500 | 1780 | (Coast Salish on Vancouver Island) | Herbert C. Taylor[82] | |
| 53 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Arapaho | 15,250 | 1812 | M. R. Stuart | ||
| 54 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Wichita confederacy | 15,000+ | 1772 | (3,000+ warriors) | Juan de Ripperda | |
| 55 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Pueblo Keres [Note 15][83] | 15,000 | 1584 | 7 | Antonio de Espejo | |
| 56 | NE Woodlands | New England | Abenaki | 15,000 | 1600 | 31 | J. A. Maurault and J. R. Swanton | |
| 57 | NE Woodlands | New England | Pennacook confederacy | 15,000 | 1674 | Daniel Gookin | ||
| 58 | NE Woodlands | New England | Wampanoag (mainland) | 15,000 | 1600 | 30 | Daniel Gookin and J. R. Swanton | |
| 59 | NE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Missouria [Note 16][84] | 15,000 | 1764 | H. Bouquet and J. Buchanan | ||
| 60 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Hidatsa | 15,000 | 1835 | William M. Denevan[85] | ||
| 61 | NE Woodlands | Ontario, Canada | Ottawa (Odawa) | 15,000 – 13,150 (1825) | 1777 | (3,000 warriors in 1777) | L. Houck and J. C. Colhoun | |
| 62 | Southwest | Texas Annexation | Coahuiltecan tribes | 15,000 | 1690 | James Mooney[86] | ||
| 63 | NE Woodlands | Old Northwest | Mishinimaki | 15,000 | 1600 | 30 | Claude Dablon | |
| 64 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Taos Pueblo (Yuraba) | 15,000 | 1540 | 1+ | Relacion del Suceso[87] | |
| 65 | NE Woodlands | Old Northwest | Erie | 14,500 | 1653 | J. N. B. Hewitt | ||
| 66 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Kwakiutl tribes excluding Haisla | 14,500 | 1780 | Herbert C. Taylor[88] | ||
| 67 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Nootka (Nutka) tribes | 14,000 | 1780 | Herbert C. Taylor[88] | ||
| 68 | NE Woodlands | Middle Colonies | Wappinger confederacy | 13,500 | 1600 | 68 | E. J. Boesch and J. R. Swanton | |
| 69 | NE Woodlands | Ontario, Canada | Mississaugas (Messassagnes) | 12,000+ | 1744 | 3+ | (2,400 warriors in 3 large towns) | Arthur Dobbs |
| 70 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Coast Salish (except VI) | 12,000 | 1835 | (includes 7,100 mainland Cowichan / Stalo and 1,400 mainland Comox) | Wilson Duff & J. Mooney | |
| 71 | Subarctic & Arctic | District of Franklin, Canada | District of Franklin Inuit | 12,000 | 1670 | James Mooney | ||
| 72 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Lekwiltok | 10,520 | 1839 | HBC Indian Census 1839 | ||
| 73 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Puget Sound Salish (Lushootseed) tribes | 10,300 | 1780 | Herbert C. Taylor | ||
| 74 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Catawba | 10,000 | 1700 | R. Mills and H. Lewis Scaife[89] | ||
| 75 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Akimel O'odham (Pima) | 10,000 | 1850 | S. Mowry | ||
| 76 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Cheyenne | 10,000 | 1856 | 1,000 lodges and 2,000 warriors | Thomas S. Twiss[90] | |
| 77 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Chilkat | 10,000 | 1869 | F. K. Louthan | ||
| 78 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Pueblo Tompiro | 10,000 | 1626 | 15 | Alonso de Benavides | |
| 79 | NE Woodlands | Old Northwest | Menominee | 10,000 | 1778 | (2,000 warriors) | H. R. Schoolcraft | |
| 80 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Mohave (Mojave) | 10,000 | 1869 | William Abraham Bell | ||
| 81 | Southwest | Texas Annexation | Jumanos | 10,000 | 1584 | 5+ | 5 large towns | Antonio de Espejo |
| 82 | SE Woodlands | Florida Purchase | Seminole[91] | 10,000 | 1836 | 93[92] | (other figures: 4,883 people in 1821 and 6,385 people in 1822) | N. G. Taylor and Capt. Hugh Young |
| 83 | SE Woodlands | Spanish Florida | Calusa | 10,000 | 1570 | 56 | Lopez de Velasco & J. R. Swanton | |
| 84 | Great Plains | Texas Annexation | Kichai, Waco, Tawakoni | 10,000 | 1719 | (2,000 warriors) | Benard de La Harpe | |
| 85 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Pisquow (Piskwau) and Sinkiuse-Columbia | 10,000 | 1780 | (including Wenatchi / Wenatchee) | James Teit | |
| 86 | NE Woodlands | Quebec, Canada | St. Lawrence Iroquoians | 10,000 | 1500 | Also known as Laurentians | Gary Warrick & Louis Lesage[93] | |
| 87 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Bitterroot Salish (Flathead Salish) | 9,000 | 1821 | (1,800 warriors) | M. R. Stuart | |
| 88 | Great Basin | Oregon Country | Bannock and Diggers | 9,000 | 1848 | 1,200 lodges of southern Bannock (in 1829) | Joseph L. Meek and Jim Bridger | |
| 89 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Piro Pueblo | 9,000 | 1500 | 14 | John R. Swanton and Alonso de Benavides | |
| 90 | SE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Caddo tribes | 8,500 | 1690 | James Mooney | ||
| 91 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Haida (except Kaigani) | 8,400 | 1787 | 42+ | C. F. Newcombe | |
| 92 | Great Basin | Mexican Cession | Paiute | 8,200 | 1859 | John Weiss Forney | ||
| 93 | NE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Osage | 8,000 | 1819 | 17 | (1,500 families in 1702,1,600 warriors in 1764 and 8,000 people in 1819[94]) | Th. Nuttall, Iberville and H. Bouquet |
| 94 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Kansa (Kaw) | 8,000 | 1764 | (1,600 warriors) | Henry Bouquet | |
| 95 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Nez Perce | 8,000 | 1806 | Isaac Ingalls Stevens | ||
| 96 | NE Woodlands | Ontario, Canada | Tionontati (Petun) | 8,000 | 1600 | 9 | 9 towns, 600 families in the main town | James Mooney & Jes. Rel. XXXV |
| 97 | Subarctic & Arctic | Canada | Chipewyan | 7,500 | 1812 | Samuel Gardner Drake | ||
| 98 | Northwest Plateau | British Columbia, Canada | Secwepemc (Shuswap) | 7,200 | 1850 | James Teit[95] and A. C. Anderson | ||
| 99 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Omaha, Ponca | 7,200 | 1702 | Pierre d'Iberville | ||
| 100 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Yamasee | 7,000 | 1702 | 10 | (1,400 warriors) | Guillaume Delisle |
| 101 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Conoy (Piscataway) | 7,000+ | 1600 | 13+ | W. M. Denevan[85] & J. R. Swanton | |
| 102 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Umpqua | 7,000 | 1835 | Samuel Parker | ||
| 103 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Tsimshian of British Columbia and Nisga'a | 7,000 | 1780 | (includes Kitksan / Gitxsan and Kitsun tribes) | James Mooney | |
| 104 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Tohono Oʼodham (Papago) | 6,800 | 1863 | 19 | Indian Affairs 1863[96] | |
| 105 | NE Woodlands | Quebec, Canada | Algonquin (Anicinàpe) | 6,500 | 1860 | Emmanuel Domenech | ||
| 106 | NE Woodlands | Old Northwest | Sauk (Sac) | 6,500 | 1786 | Wisconsin Hist. Coll., XII | ||
| 107 | NE Woodlands | Old Northwest | Potawatomi | 6,500 | 1829 | Peter Buell Porter & McKenney | ||
| 108 | NE Woodlands | Old Northwest | Meskwaki (Fox) | 6,400 | 1835 | Cutting Marsh[97] in Wisconsin Hist. Coll., XV | ||
| 109 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Acoma Pueblo | 6,000 | 1584 | 1+ | 500+ houses | Antonio de Espejo |
| 110 | NE Woodlands | Old Northwest | Wea | 6,000 | 1718 | 5 | (1,200 warriors) | N. Y. Col. Dcts., IX |
| 111 | SE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Quapaw (Arkansa) | 6,000 | 1541 | 4+ | Fidalgo D'Elvas[98] | |
| 112 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Yakama | 6,000 | 1857 | (1,200 warriors) | A. N. Armstrong[99] | |
| 113 | NE Woodlands | Middle Colonies | Montauk | 6,000 | 1600 | 20 | J. R. Swanton | |
| 114 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Alsea, Siuslaw, Yaquina and Luckton | 6,000 | 1780 | 110 | (tribes of Yakonan language family) | James Mooney and James Owen Dorsey |
| 115 | NE Woodlands | Old Northwest | Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) | 5,800 | 1818 | Jedidiah Morse | ||
| 116 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Rogue River Indians (Tututni tribes) | 5,600 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 117 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Kutenai (Ktunaxa) | 5,600 | 1820 | Jedidiah Morse | ||
| 118 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Quechan (Yuma) | 5,500 | 1775–1855 | A. F. Bandelier, Ten Kate | ||
| 119 | Subarctic & Arctic | Quebec, Canada | Innu and Naskapi | 5,500 | 1600 | 17+ | James Mooney and J. R. Swanton | |
| 120 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Kiowa | 5,450 | 1805–1807 | Z. M. Pike | ||
| 121 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Palouse (Palus) | 5,400 | 1780 | James Mooney and J. R. Swanton | ||
| 122 | NE Woodlands | Middle Colonies | Susquehanna (Conestoga) | 5,000 | 1600 | 20+ | James Mooney and J. R. Swanton | |
| 123 | NE Woodlands | New England | Pocumtuk | 5,000 | 1600 | Pocumtuc History[100] | ||
| 124 | Northwest Plateau | British Columbia, Canada | Nlaka'pamux | 5,000 | 1858 | James Teit[101] & A. C. Anderson | ||
| 125 | Northwest Plateau | British Columbia, Canada | Dakelh (Carrier) | 5,000 | 1835 | A. C. Anderson and J. Mooney | ||
| 126 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Klikitat (Klickitat) | 5,000 | 1829 | (1,000 warriors under chief Casanow) | Paul Kane | |
| 127 | SE Woodlands | Texas Annexation | Hasinai confederacy | 5,000 | 1716 | Herbert Eugene Bolton | ||
| 128 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Makah | 5,000+ | 1805 | (more than 1,000 warriors) | John R. Jewitt | |
| 129 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Yuchi (Euchee also known as Chisca) | 5,000 – 2,500 (in 1777) | 1550 | (at least 500 warriors in year 1777) | William Bartram & Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | |
| 130 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Halyikwamai | 5,000 | 1605 | Juan de Oñate | ||
| 131 | Subarctic & Arctic | District of Mackenzie, Canada | District of Mackenzie Inuit | 4,800 | 1670 | James Mooney | ||
| 132 | Northwest Plateau | British Columbia, Canada | Chilcotin (Tsilkotin) | 4,600 | 1793 | (by 1888 population was 10% of 1793 level) | A. G. Morice and HBC employees | |
| 133 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Chopunnish | 4,300 | 1806 | Extinct native American tribes of North America[103] | ||
| 134 | NE Woodlands | Middle Colonies | Honniasont | 4,000+ | 1662 | (800+ warriors) | John R. Swanton[104] | |
| 135 | NE Woodlands | New England | Niantic | 4,000 | 1500 | Capers Jones[105] | ||
| 136 | SE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Chitimacha | 4,000 | 1699 | 300+ cabins and 800 warriors | Benard de La Harpe | |
| 137 | Northwest Plateau | British Columbia, Canada | Lillooet (Stʼatʼimc) | 4,000 | 1780 | James Mooney and J. Teit[106] | ||
| 138 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Modoc & Klamath | 4,000 | 1868 | Indian Affairs 1868 | ||
| 139 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Weapemeoc (Yeopim) | 4,000 | 1585 | 5+ | (800 warriors) | S. R. Grenville |
| 140 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Sahaptin | 4,000 | 1857 | (Tenino, Tygh, Wyam, John Day, Tilquni) | A. N. Armstrong[99] | |
| 141 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Guale | 4,000 | 1650 | J. R. Swanton | ||
| 142 | Subarctic & Arctic | Canada | Kutchin (Loucheux) | 4,000 | 1871 | Censuses of Canada, 1665 to 1871[107] | ||
| 143 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Skitswish | 4,000 | 1800 | James Teit | ||
| 144 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Wappatoo tribes | 3,600 | 1780 | James Mooney[108] | ||
| 145 | Subarctic & Arctic | Nunatsiavut, Labrador, Canada | Labrador Inuit | 3,600 | 1600 | J. Mooney & Kroeber[109] | ||
| 146 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Nisqually | 3,600 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 147 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Chowanoc | 3,500+ | 1585 | 5 | (1585: 700 warriors just in one of five towns) | Carolina – The Native Americans[102] |
| 148 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Acolapissa | 3,500 | 1600 | 120+ cabins | Acolapissa History[110] | |
| 149 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Colville | 3,500 | 1806 | Isaac Ingalls Stevens | ||
| 150 | Northwest Plateau | British Columbia, Canada | Babine (Witsuwitʼen) | 3,500 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 151 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Havasupai and Tonto Apaches | 3,500 | 1854 | Amiel Weeks Whipple | ||
| 152 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Plains Apache (Kiowa-Apache) | 3,375 | 1818 | Jedidiah Morse | ||
| 153 | Subarctic & Arctic | British Columbia, Canada | Sekani (Tse'khene) | 3,200 | 1780 | James Mooney and Sekani Indians of Canada[111] | ||
| 154 | Subarctic & Arctic | Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada | Beothuk | 3,050 | 1500 | Ralph T. Pastore, Leslie Upton[112] | ||
| 155 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Alabama (Alibamu) | 3,000 | 1764 | 6 | (600 warriors) | Henry Bouquet |
| 156 | NE Woodlands | New England | Nantucket | 3,000 | 1660 | 10 | J. Barber in J. Chase and J. R. Swanton | |
| 157 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Nottoway | 3,000 | 1586 | (600 warriors) | R. Lane in Hakluyt, VIII | |
| 158 | Great Plains | Texas Annexation | Tonkawa | 3,000 | 1814 | (600 warriors) | John F. Schermerhorn | |
| 159 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Wallawalla (Walula) | 3,000 | 1848 | Miss A. J. Allen[113] | ||
| 160 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Spokan (Spokane) | 3,000 | 1848 | Joseph L. Meek | ||
| 161 | Northwest Plateau | British Columbia, Canada | Okinagan (Syilx) | 3,000 | 1780 | Also spelled Okanagan | James Teit | |
| 162 | NE Woodlands | Ontario, Canada | Nipissing | 3,000 | 1764 | (600 warriors) | Th. Hutchins in H. R. Schoolcraft | |
| 163 | NE Woodlands | New England | Shawomets and Cowsetts (Cowesets) | 3,000 | 1500 | Capers Jones[105] | ||
| 164 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Halchidhoma | 3,000 | 1799 | 8 | (according to Juan de Onate – 8 towns in 1604) | J. Cortez |
| 165 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Piipaash (Maricopa) | 3,000 | 1799 | J. Cortez and Francisco Garcés | ||
| 166 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Taposa and Ibitoupa | 3,000 | 1699 | Baudry de Lozieres | ||
| 167 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Multnomah | 3,000 | 1830 | (decimated by epidemics in 1830s) | Hall J. Kelley | |
| 168 | Subarctic & Arctic | District of Keewatin, Canada | District of Keewatin Inuit | 3,000 | 1670 | James Mooney | ||
| 169 | SE Woodlands | Spanish Florida | Potano | 3,000 | 1650 | James Mooney | ||
| 170 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Cocopah | 3,000 | 1775 | 9 | Francisco Garcés and de Oñate | |
| 171 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Kalapuya tribes | 3,000 | 1780 | Eight tribes or bands | James Mooney | |
| 172 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Cajuenche (Cawina) | 3,000 | 1680 | James Mooney | ||
| 173 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Pueblo Picuris | 3,000 | 1680 | 1+ | Agustín de Vetancurt | |
| 174 | NE Woodlands | New England | Martha's Vineyard Wampanoag (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, Aquinnah) | 3,000 | 1642 | 8 | Lloyd C. M. Hare and J. R. Swanton | |
| 175 | NE Woodlands | Old Northwest | Kickapoo | 3,000 | 1759 | J. R. Swanton | ||
| 176 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Watlala | 2,800 | 1805 | Lewis and Clark | ||
| 177 | Southwest | Texas Annexation | Karankawa | 2,800 | 1690 | James Mooney | ||
| 178 | NE Woodlands | Acadia, Canada | Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) | 2,750 | 1764 | (550 warriors) | Th. Hutchins in H. R. Schoolcraft | |
| 179 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Heiltsuk (Bellabella) and Haisla | 2,700 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 180 | NE Woodlands | New England | Mohegan | 2,500 | 1680 | 21 | (500 warriors) | Mass. Hist. Coll. and J. R. Swanton |
| 181 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Clackamas | 2,500 | 1780 | 11 | James Mooney | |
| 182 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Yavapai | 2,500 | 1869 | J. Ross Browne | ||
| 183 | NE Woodlands | New England | Nipmuc | 2,500 | 1500 | 29 | Capers Jones[105] and J. R. Swanton | |
| 184 | Subarctic & Arctic | Northwest Territories, Canada | Inuvialuit | 2,500 | 1850 | Jessica M. Shadian, Mark Nuttall | ||
| 185 | NE Woodlands | Middle Colonies | Manhasset (Manhanset) | 2,500 | 1500 | (500+ warriors) | E. M. Ruttenber | |
| 186 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Snohomish | 2,500 | 1844 | Duflot de Mofras | ||
| 187 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Mosopelea (Ofo), Koroa, and Tioux (Tiou) | 2,450 | 1700 | J. R. Swanton | ||
| 188 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Cowlitz | 2,400 | 1822 | 3 | Jedidiah Morse | |
| 189 | NE Woodlands | New England | Penobscot | 2,250 | 1702 | 14 | (450 warriors) | N. H. Hist. Coll., I and J. R. Swanton |
| 190 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Tunica | 2,250 | 1698 | 7 | 260 cabins and 450 warriors | J. G. Shea and J. R. Swanton |
| 191 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Kalispel | 2,250 | 1835–1850 | (450 warriors) | HBC agents & Joseph Lane | |
| 192 | Great Plains | Alberta, Canada | Sarcee (Tsuutʼina) | 2,200 | 1832 | 220 tents, on average 10 people per tent | George Catlin and John Maclean | |
| 193 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Tillamook | 2,200 | 1820 | 10 | Jedidiah Morse | |
| 194 | Subarctic & Arctic | Yukon, Canada | Yukon Inuit | 2,200 | 1670 | James Mooney | ||
| 195 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Tapanash (Eneeshur) including Skinpah | 2,200 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 196 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Yazoo | 2,000+ | 1700 | Dumont de Montigny | ||
| 197 | Subarctic & Arctic | British Columbia, Canada | Nahani and Tahltan in British Columbia | 2,000 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 198 | NE Woodlands | New England | Nauset | 2,000 | 1600 | 24 | W. M. Denevan[85] & J. R. Swanton | |
| 199 | NE Woodlands | Middle Colonies | Wenro | 2,000 | 1600 | J. N. B. Hewitt | ||
| 200 | Subarctic & Arctic | District of Mackenzie, Canada | Awokanak (Slavey, Etchaottine) | 2,000 | 1857 | Emile Petitot | ||
| 201 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Hualapai (Walapai) | 2,000 | 1869 | J. Ross Browne | ||
| 202 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Cayuse | 2,000 | 1835 | Samuel Parker | ||
| 203 | Northwest Plateau | British Columbia, Canada | Sinixt (Senijextee) | 2,000+ | 1780 | 20+ | James Teit | |
| 204 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Nuxalk (Bellacoola) | 2,000 | 1835 | Wilson Duff | ||
| 205 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Quatsino | 2,000 | 1839 | HBC Indian Census 1839 | ||
| 206 | Great Plains | Saskatchewan, Canada | Fall Indians (Alannar) | 2,000 | 1804 | Extinct Native American tribes of North America[103] | ||
| 207 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Samish | 2,000+ | 1845 | Edmund Clare Fitzhugh | ||
| 208 | Subarctic & Arctic | District of Athabasca, Canada | Etheneldeli | 2,000 | 1875 | Émile Petitot | ||
| 209 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Klallam | 2,000 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 210 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Chakchiuma | 2,000 | 1702 | 400 families in 1702 | Bienville | |
| 211 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Coos and Miluk | 2,000 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 212 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Qnigyuma (Jalliquamay) | 2,000 | 1680 | James Mooney | ||
| 213 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Cusabo and Cusso | 1,900 | 1600 | (Cusabo 1,300 and Cusso 600) | James Mooney & Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | |
| 214 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Chimnapum (Chamnapum) | 1,860 | 1805 | 42 lodges | Lewis and Clark | |
| 215 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Wanapum (Wanapam) | 1,800 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 216 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Squamish (Squawmish) | 1,800 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 217 | Subarctic & Arctic | Nunavik, Quebec, Canada | Nunavik Inuit | 1,800 | 1600 | James Mooney | ||
| 218 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Houma | 1,750 | 1699 | 140 cabins and 350 warriors | Pierre d'Iberville | |
| 219 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Shahala | 1,700 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 220 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Sanpoil | 1,700 | 1780 | 45+ houses | Verne F. Ray and George Gibbs | |
| 221 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Coquille | 1,650 | 1800 | 33 | James Owen Dorsey | |
| 222 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Wateree (Guatari) | 1,600 | 1600 | James Mooney & Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | ||
| 223 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Tlatskanai | 1,600 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 224 | NE Woodlands | New England | Passamaquoddy | 1,600 | 1690 | 320 warriors | Wendell | |
| 225 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Westo and Stono | 1,600 | 1600 | James Mooney | ||
| 226 | Subarctic & Arctic | District of Mackenzie, Canada | Dogrib (Tlicho) | 1,500 | 1875 | Emile Petitot | ||
| 227 | SE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Attacapa (Atakapa) | 1,500 | 1650 | James Mooney | ||
| 228 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Otoe | 1,500 | 1815 | (300 warriors) | William Clark | |
| 229 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Wasco | 1,500 | 1838 | G. Hines | ||
| 230 | Subarctic & Arctic | Yukon, Canada | Hankutchin | 1,500 | 1851 | (three subdivisions x 100 warriors each) | John Richardson | |
| 231 | NE Woodlands | New England | Podunk | 1,500+ | 1675 | (300 warriors fought in King Philip's War) | E. Stiles | |
| 232 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Saponi | 1,500 | 1600 | 2 | Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | |
| 233 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Waxhaw and Sugeree | 1,500 | 1600 | 2 | James Mooney & Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | |
| 234 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Manahoac | 1,500 | 1600 | James Mooney | ||
| 235 | Great Basin | Mexican Cession | Washo | 1,500 | 1800 | A. L. Kroeber | ||
| 236 | SE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Bayogoula, Mugulasha and Quinipissa | 1,500 | 1650 | James Mooney | ||
| 237 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Tohome | 1,500 | 1700 | 300 warriors | Pierre d'Iberville | |
| 238 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Siletz, Nestucca, Salmon River tribe | 1,500 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 239 | Subarctic & Arctic | District of Mackenzie, Canada | Mauvais Monde (Etquaotinne) | 1,500 | 1871 | Also spelled Tsethaottine | Censuses of Canada, 1665 to 1871[107] | |
| 240 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Taensa | 1,500 | 1700 | 120 cabins and 300 warriors | Pierre d'Iberville | |
| 241 | SE Woodlands | Spanish Florida | Chatot | 1,500 | 1674 | J. R. Swanton | ||
| 242 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Wishram | 1,500 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 243 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Lummi | 1,300 | 1862 | Myron Eells | ||
| 244 | Subarctic & Arctic | Alberta, Canada | Beaver (Tsattine) | 1,250 | 1670 | Also known as Dane-zaa | James Mooney | |
| 245 | Subarctic & Arctic | District of Keewatin, Canada | Caribou-Eaters | 1,250 | 1670 | James Mooney | ||
| 246 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Monacan | 1,200 | 1600 | James Mooney | ||
| 247 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Tutelo | 1,200 | 1600 | Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | ||
| 248 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Occaneechi | 1,200 | 1600 | James Mooney | ||
| 249 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Cheraw | 1,200 | 1600 | James Mooney | ||
| 250 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Machapunga | 1,200 | 1600 | 3 | Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | |
| 251 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Quinaielt | 1,200 | 1805 | 70 houses | Lewis and Clark | |
| 252 | SE Woodlands | Texas Annexation | Arkokisa (Akokisa) | 1,200 | 1746 | 5 | 300 families in 5 rancherias | H. E. Bolton |
| 253 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Kuitsh | 1,200 | 1820 | 21 | Jedidiah Morse and James Owen Dorsey | |
| 254 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Secotan | 1,200 | 1600 | Maurice A. Mook[114] | ||
| 255 | Subarctic & Arctic | Yukon, Canada | Tutchone | 1,100 | 1910 | Frederick Webb Hodge | ||
| 256 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Waccamaw | 1,050 | 1715 | 6 | 210 warriors | W. J. Rivers |
| 257 | SE Woodlands | Spanish Florida | Guarugunve & Cuchiyaga | 1,040 | 1570 | (they inhabited Florida Keys) | Lopez de Velasco | |
| 258 | Subarctic & Arctic | District of Mackenzie, Canada | Hare (Kawchottine) | 1,000+ | 1850 | Ludwik Krzywicki | ||
| 259 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Pamlico (Pomouik) and Bear River | 1,000 | 1600 | James Mooney & Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | ||
| 260 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Neusiok & Coree | 1,000 | 1600 | 5 | James Mooney | |
| 261 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Cape Fear Indians | 1,000 | 1600 | James Mooney | ||
| 262 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Santee | 1,000 | 1600 | 2+ | James Mooney & Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | |
| 263 | Great Plains | Texas Annexation | Bidai | 1,000+ | 1745 | 7 | (200+ warriors) | Athanase de Mezieres |
| 264 | SE Woodlands | Spanish Florida | Ais & Tekesta | 1,000 | 1650 | 6+ | J. R. Swanton & James Mooney | |
| 265 | SE Woodlands | Spanish Florida | Jeaga & Mayaimi | 1,000 | 1650 | 5+ | J. R. Swanton & James Mooney | |
| 266 | SE Woodlands | Spanish Florida | Tocobaga | 1,000 | 1650 | James Mooney | ||
| 267 | SE Woodlands | Spanish Florida | Yustaga | 1,000 | 1650 | James Mooney | ||
| 268 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Biloxi/Pascagoula/Moctobi | 1,000 | 1650 | 4 | James Mooney | |
| 269 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Moratoc | 1,000 | 1600 | Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | ||
| 270 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Edisto | 1,000 | 1600 | James Mooney & Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | ||
| 271 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Sechelt | 1,000 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 272 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Wahowpum | 1,000 | 1844 | Crawford in G. Wilkes | ||
| 273 | SE Woodlands | Texas Annexation | Yojuane, Deadose | 1,000 | 1745 | H. E. Bolton | ||
| 274 | SE Woodlands | Texas Annexation | Mayeye | 1,000 | 1805 | 200 warriors | J. Sibley | |
| 275 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Dulchioni | 1,000 | 1712 | 200 warriors | Andre Penicaut | |
| 276 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Manso | 1,000 | 1668 | Agustín de Vetancurt | ||
| 277 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Quinault | 1,000 | 1805 | Includes 200 Calasthocle | Lewis and Clark | |
| 278 | SE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Okelousa | 950 | 1650 | Not to be confused with Opelousa | James Mooney | |
| 279 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Cushook | 900 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 280 | SE Woodlands | Texas Annexation | Aranama | 870+ | 1778 | Athanase de Mezieres | ||
| 281 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Sewee | 800+ | 1600 | James Mooney & Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | ||
| 282 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Congaree | 800 | 1600 | James Mooney | ||
| 283 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Sissipahaw | 800 | 1600 | 1 | James Mooney & Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | |
| 284 | NE Woodlands | New England | Paugussett | 800 | 1600 | C. Thomas in F. W. Hodge | ||
| 285 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Smacksop | 800 | 1805 | 24 houses | Lewis and Clark | |
| 286 | Subarctic & Arctic | Yukon, Canada | Nahani of Yukon | 800 | 1670 | James Mooney | ||
| 287 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Methow | 800 | 1780 | Robert H. Ruby[115] and J. Mooney | ||
| 288 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Snoqualmie | 750 | 1862 | Indian Affairs 1862 | ||
| 289 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Coushatta (Koasati) | 750 | 1760 | John R. Swanton | ||
| 290 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Kaskinampo | 750 | 1700 | 150 warriors | Bienville | |
| 291 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Meherrin | 700 | 1600 | James Mooney | ||
| 292 | Subarctic & Arctic | Ontario, Canada | Abittibi | 700 | 1736 | (140 warriors) | Michel de La Chauvignerie | |
| 293 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Quileute | 650 | 1868 | W. B. Gosnell | ||
| 294 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Skaquamish | 650 | 1862 | Indian Affairs 1862 | ||
| 295 | SE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Appalousa (Opelousa) | 650 | 1715 | 130 warriors, 52 cabins | Baudry de Lozieres | |
| 296 | Subarctic & Arctic | Northwest Territories, Canada | Yellowknives | 600+ | 1877 | 70+ tents | Emile Petitot | |
| 297 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Etiwaw (also Etiwan) | 600 | 1600 | James Mooney & Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | ||
| 298 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Woccon | 600 | 1701 | 2 | (120 warriors) | John Lawson, "History of Carolina" |
| 299 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Peedee (Pedee) | 600 | 1600 | 1 | James Mooney & Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | |
| 300 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Keyauwee | 600 | 1600 | James Mooney & Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | ||
| 301 | Southwest | Mexican Cession | Sobaipuri | 600 | 1680 | James Mooney | ||
| 302 | NE Woodlands | New England | Quinnipiac | 550 | 1730 | John William De Forest | ||
| 303 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Apalachicola | 525 | 1738 | 2 | (105 warriors in two towns) | John R. Swanton |
| 304 | NE Woodlands | New England | Manisses | 500 | 1500 | Capers Jones[105] | ||
| 305 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Takelma and Latgawa | 500 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 306 | NE Woodlands | New England | Tunxis | 500 | 1600 | (100 warriors) | John William De Forest | |
| 307 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Chiaha in South Carolina | 500 | 1600 | Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | ||
| 308 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Hatteras | 500 | 1600 | Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | ||
| 309 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Eno | 500 | 1600 | 1 | James Mooney & Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | |
| 310 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Shakori | 500 | 1600 | James Mooney & Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | ||
| 311 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Adshusheer | 500 | 1600 | James Mooney & Carolina – The Native Americans[102] | ||
| 312 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Twana | 500 | 1841 | Myron Eells | ||
| 313 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Chetco | 500 | 1800 | 9 | 42 houses in 9 villages | James Owen Dorsey and Ludwik Krzywicki |
| 314 | SE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Cahinnio | 500+ | 1687 | 1 | 100 cabins in one village | Ludwik Krzywicki |
| 315 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Shasta Costa | 500+ | 1750 | 33 | 33 small hamlets | James Owen Dorsey and Ludwik Krzywicki |
| 316 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Patuxent | 500 | 1600 | 100 warriors | William Strachey and John Smith | |
| 317 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Mattapanient | 500 | 1600 | 100 warriors | William Strachey and John Smith | |
| 318 | NE Woodlands | Quebec, Canada | Atikamekw (Attikamegue) | 500+ | 1647 | over 30 canoes | Ludwik Krzywicki | |
| 319 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Wicocomoco | 500 | 1600 | 100 warriors | John Smith | |
| 320 | Northwest Plateau | British Columbia, Canada | Tsetsaut (Tsesaut) | 500 | 1835 | Ludwik Krzywicki and John R. Swanton | ||
| 321 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Tocwogh | 500 | 1600 | 100 warriors | John Smith | |
| 322 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Sutaio | 500 | 1829 | 100 warriors | Peter Buell Porter | |
| 323 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Musqueam | 500 | 1780 | Ludwik Krzywicki | ||
| 324 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Moyawance | 500 | 1600 | 100 warriors | John Smith | |
| 325 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Quaitso | 500 | 1830 | Hall J. Kelley | ||
| 326 | Subarctic & Arctic | British Columbia, Canada | Strongbow | 500 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 327 | SE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Adai | 500 | 1718 | 100 warriors | Bienville | |
| 328 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Topinish | 450 | 1839 | HBC Indian Census 1839 | ||
| 329 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Nooksak | 450 | 1854 | Isaac Ingalls Stevens | ||
| 330 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Kathlamet (Cathlamet) | 450 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 331 | Subarctic & Arctic | British Columbia, Canada | Ettchaottine | 435 | 1858 | F. W. Hodge | ||
| 332 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Skaddal | 400 | 1847 | W. Robertson | ||
| 333 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Luckton | 400 | 1830 | Hall J. Kelley | ||
| 334 | NE Woodlands | New England | Wangunk | 400 | 1600 | James Mooney | ||
| 335 | SE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Avoyel | 400 | 1698 | 32 cabins (and 80 warriors) | J. R. Swanton | |
| 336 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Chimakum | 400 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 337 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Squaxon | 375 | 1857 | John Ross Browne | ||
| 338 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Kwantlen | 375+ | 1839 | HBC Indian Census 1839 | ||
| 339 | Great Basin | Mexican Cession | Chemehuevi | 355 | 1910 | 1910 Census | ||
| 340 | SE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Ouachita | 350 | 1700 | 1 | 70 warriors | Bienville |
| 341 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Pilalt (Cheam) | 304 | 1839 | HBC Indian Census 1839 | ||
| 342 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Saukaulutucks | 300 | 1860 | R. Mayne | ||
| 343 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Chehalis and Kwaiailk | 300 | 1850 | Joseph Lane | ||
| 344 | Great Plains | Louisiana Purchase | Amahami | 300 | 1811 | H. M. Brackenridge | ||
| 345 | Subarctic & Arctic | Nunavut, Canada | Southampton Island Inuit | 300 | 1670 | James Mooney | ||
| 346 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Clatsop | 300 | 1806 | Lewis and Clark | ||
| 347 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Charcowah | 300 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 348 | Subarctic & Arctic | District of Mackenzie, Canada | Sheep (Esbataottine) | 300 | 1670 | James Mooney | ||
| 349 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Semiahmoo | 300 | 1843 | John R. Swanton | ||
| 350 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Tawasa | 300 | 1792 | John R. Swanton | ||
| 351 | SE Woodlands | Spanish Florida | Amacano, Chine, Caparaz | 300 | 1674 | John R. Swanton | ||
| 352 | NE Woodlands | Middle Colonies | Ozinies | 255 | 1608 | They lived in Delaware and Maryland | Maryland at a glance: Native Americans[116] | |
| 353 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Umatilla | 250 | 1858 | Indian Affairs 1858 | ||
| 354 | SE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Washa | 250 | 1715 | 50 warriors | Baudry de Lozieres | |
| 355 | Subarctic & Arctic | District of Mackenzie, Canada | Nahani in District of Mackenzie | 250 | 1906 | John R. Swanton | ||
| 356 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Naniaba | 250 | 1730 | 50 warriors | Regis de Rouillet | |
| 357 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Squannaroo | 240 | 1847 | W. Robertson | ||
| 358 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Molala | 240 | 1857 | J. W. P. Huntington | ||
| 359 | SE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Nacisi | 230 | 1700 | 23 houses | Bienville | |
| 360 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Secowocomoco | 200 | 1600 | 40 warriors | John Smith | |
| 361 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Copalis | 200 | 1805 | 10 houses | Lewis and Clark | |
| 362 | NE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Ahwajiaway | 200 | 1805 | Extinct Native American tribes of North America[103] | ||
| 363 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Kwalhioqua | 200 | 1780 | James Mooney | ||
| 364 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Juntata | 200 | 1648 | 40 warriors | R. Evelin | |
| 365 | SE Woodlands | Louisiana Purchase | Chawasha | 200 | 1715 | 40 warriors | Baudry de Lozieres | |
| 366 | SE Woodlands | Southern Colonies | Winyaw | 180 | 1715 | 1 | (36 warriors and one village) | Carolina – The Native Americans[102] |
| 367 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Nanoose | 159 | 1839 | HBC Indian Census 1839 | ||
| 368 | NE Woodlands | Ontario, Canada | Totontaratonhronon | 150 | 1640 | 15 houses | J. Lalemant | |
| 369 | Northwest Plateau | British Columbia, Canada | Nicola Athapaskans (Stuichamukh) | 150 | 1780 | 3 | Also spelled Stuwihamuq | Franz Boas & J. Mooney |
| 370 | Northwest Coast | British Columbia, Canada | Sumas | 132 | 1895 | 3 | Canadian Indian Affairs | |
| 371 | Northwest Plateau | Oregon Country | Wiam | 130 | 1850 | Joseph Lane | ||
| 372 | SE Woodlands | Texas Annexation | Cujane | 100 | 1750 | H. E. Bolton | ||
| 373 | Northwest Coast | Oregon Country | Hoh | 100 | 1875 | Indian Affairs 1875 | ||
| 374 | NE Woodlands | Old Northwest | Noquet | 100 | 1721 | N. Y. Col. Dcts., VI. 622 | ||
| 375 | SE Woodlands | Spanish Florida | Pensacola | 100 | 1725 | 20 warriors | Bienville | |
| 376 | SE Woodlands | Old Southwest | Choula | 40 | 1722 | Benard de La Harpe | ||
| 377 | California | Mexican Cession | California Native tribes | 340,000 | 1769 | Cook, Jones & Codding,[117] Field[118] | ||
| 378 | Subarctic & Arctic | Alaska | Alaska Native tribes | 93,800 | 1750 | Steve Langdon[119] |
The total peak population size only for the tribes listed in this table is 3,529,240 in the US and Canada (including 507,675 in Canada). This number is very similar to Snow's estimate for the US and Canada[46] and to Alchon's, Denevan's and Milner's estimates.[45][47][50]
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Genetic diversity and population structure in the American land mass using DNA micro-satellite markers (genotype) sampled from North, Central, and South America have been analyzed against similar data available from other Indigenous populations worldwide.[120][121] The Amerindian populations show a lower genetic diversity than populations from other continental regions.[121] Decreasing genetic diversity with increasing geographic distance from the Bering Strait can be seen, as well as a decreasing genetic similarity to Siberian populations from Alaska (genetic entry point).[120][121] A higher level of diversity and lower level of population structure in western South America compared to eastern South America is observed.[120][121] A relative lack of differentiation between Mesoamerican and Andean populations is a scenario that implies coastal routes were easier than inland routes for migrating peoples (Paleo-Indians) to traverse.[120] The overall pattern that is emerging suggests that the Americas were recently colonized by a small number of individuals (effective size of about 70–250), and then they grew by a factor of 10 over 800–1,000 years.[122][123] The data also show that there have been genetic exchanges between Asia, the Arctic and Greenland since the initial peopling of the Americas.[123][124] A new study in early 2018 suggests that the effective population size of the original founding population of Native Americans was about 250 people.[125][126]
Early explanations for the population decline of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas include the brutal practices of the Spanish conquistadores, as recorded by the Spaniards themselves, such as the encomienda system, which was ostensibly set up to protect people from warring tribes as well as to teach them the Spanish language and the Catholic religion, but in practice was tantamount to serfdom and slavery.[127] The most notable account was that of the Dominican friar Bartolomé de las Casas, whose writings vividly depict Spanish atrocities committed in particular against the Taínos.[128] The second European explanation was a perceived divine approval, in which God removed the Indigenous peoples as part of His "divine plan" to make way for a new Christian civilization. Many Native Americans viewed their troubles in a religious framework within their own belief systems.[129]
According to later academics such as Noble David Cook, a community of scholars began "quietly accumulating piece by piece data on early epidemics in the Americas and their relation to the subjugation of native peoples." Scholars like Cook believe that widespread epidemic disease, to which the Indigenous peoples had no prior exposure or resistance, was the primary cause of the massive population decline of the Native Americans.[130] One of the most devastating diseases was smallpox, but other deadly diseases included typhus, measles, influenza, bubonic plague, cholera, malaria, tuberculosis, mumps, yellow fever, and pertussis, which were chronic in Eurasia.[131]
However, recently scholars have studied the link between physical colonial violence such as warfare, displacement, and enslavement, and the proliferation of disease among Native populations.[4][132][133] For example, according to Coquille scholar Dina Gilio-Whitaker, "In recent decades, however, researchers challenge the idea that disease is solely responsible for the rapid Indigenous population decline. The research identifies other aspects of European contact that had profoundly negative impacts on Native peoples' ability to survive foreign invasion: war, massacres, enslavement, overwork, deportation, the loss of will to live or reproduce, malnutrition and starvation from the breakdown of trade networks, and the loss of subsistence food production due to land loss."[134]
Further, Andrés Reséndez of the University of California, Davis points out that, even though the Spanish were aware of deadly diseases such as smallpox, there is no mention of them in the New World until 1519, implying that, until that date, epidemic disease played no significant part in the depopulation of the Antilles. The practices of forced labor, brutal punishment, and inadequate necessities of life, were the initial and major reasons for depopulation.[135] Jason Hickel estimates that a third of Arawak workers died every six months from forced labor in these mines.[136] In this way, "slavery has emerged as a major killer" of the Indigenous populations of the Caribbean between 1492 and 1550, as it set the conditions for diseases such as smallpox, influenza, and malaria to flourish.[135] Unlike the populations of Europe who rebounded following the Black Death, no such rebound occurred for the Indigenous populations.[135]
Similarly, historian Jeffrey Ostler at the University of Oregon has argued that population collapses in North America throughout colonization were not due mainly to lack of Native immunity to European disease. Instead, he claims that "When severe epidemics did hit, it was often less because Native bodies lacked immunity than because European colonialism disrupted Native communities and damaged their resources, making them more vulnerable to pathogens." In specific regard to Spanish colonization of northern Florida and southeastern Georgia, Native peoples there "were subject to forced labor and, because of poor living conditions and malnutrition, succumbed to wave after wave of unidentifiable diseases." Further, in relation to British colonization in the Northeast, Algonquian speaking tribes in Virginia and Maryland "suffered from a variety of diseases, including malaria, typhus, and possibly smallpox." These diseases were not solely a case of Native susceptibility, however, because "as colonists took their resources, Native communities were subject to malnutrition, starvation, and social stress, all making people more vulnerable to pathogens. Repeated epidemics created additional trauma and population loss, which in turn disrupted the provision of healthcare." Such conditions would continue, alongside rampant disease in Native communities, throughout colonization, the formation of the United States, and multiple forced removals, as Ostler explains that many scholars "have yet to come to grips with how U.S. expansion created conditions that made Native communities acutely vulnerable to pathogens and how severely disease impacted them. ... Historians continue to ignore the catastrophic impact of disease and its relationship to U.S. policy and action even when it is right before their eyes."[6]
Historian David Stannard says that by "focusing almost entirely on disease ... contemporary authors increasingly have created the impression that the eradication of those tens of millions of people was inadvertent—a sad, but both inevitable and "unintended consequence" of human migration and progress," and asserts that their destruction "was neither inadvertent nor inevitable," but the result of microbial pestilence and purposeful genocide working in tandem.[137] He also wrote:[138]
...Despite frequent undocumented assertions that disease was responsible for the great majority of indigenous deaths in the Americas, there does not exist a single scholarly work that even pretends to demonstrate this claim on the basis of solid evidence. And that is because there is no such evidence, anywhere. The supposed truism that more native people died from disease than from direct face-to-face killing or from gross mistreatment or other concomitant derivatives of that brutality such as starvation, exposure, exhaustion, or despair is nothing more than a scholarly article of faith...
In contrast, historian Russel Thornton has pointed out that there were disastrous epidemics and population losses during the first half of the sixteenth century "resulting from incidental contact, or even without direct contact, as disease spread from one American Indian tribe to another."[139] Thornton has also challenged higher Indigenous population estimates, which are based on the Malthusian assumption that "populations tend to increase to, and beyond, the limits of the food available to them at any particular level of technology."[140]
The European colonization of the Americas resulted in the deaths of so many people it contributed to climatic change and temporary global cooling, according to scientists from University College London.[141][142] A century after the arrival of Christopher Columbus, some 90% of Indigenous Americans had perished from "wave after wave of disease", along with mass slavery and war, in what researchers have described as the "great dying".[143] According to one of the researchers, UCL Geography Professor Mark Maslin, the large death toll also boosted the economies of Europe: "the depopulation of the Americas may have inadvertently allowed the Europeans to dominate the world. It also allowed for the Industrial Revolution and for Europeans to continue that domination."[144]
When Old World diseases were first carried to the Americas at the end of the fifteenth century, they spread throughout the southern and northern hemispheres, leaving the Indigenous populations in near ruins.[131][145] No evidence has been discovered that the earliest Spanish colonists and missionaries deliberately attempted to infect the American Natives, and some efforts were made to limit the devastating effects of disease before it killed off what remained of their labor force (compelled to work under the encomienda system).[131][145] The cattle introduced by the Spanish contaminated various water reserves which Native Americans dug in the fields to accumulate rainwater. In response, the Franciscans and Dominicans created public fountains and aqueducts to guarantee access to drinking water.[21] But when the Franciscans lost their privileges in 1572, many of these fountains were no longer guarded and so deliberate well poisoning may have happened.[21] Although no proof of such poisoning has been found, some historians believe the decrease of the population correlates with the end of religious orders' control of the water.[21]
In following centuries, accusations and discussions of biological warfare were common. Well-documented accounts of incidents involving both threats and acts of deliberate infection are very rare, but may have occurred more frequently than scholars have previously acknowledged.[146][147] Many of the instances likely went unreported, and it is possible that documents relating to such acts were deliberately destroyed,[147] or sanitized.[148][149] By the middle of the 18th century, colonists had the knowledge and technology to attempt biological warfare with the smallpox virus. They well understood the concept of quarantine, and that contact with the sick could infect the healthy with smallpox, and those who survived the illness would not be infected again. Whether the threats were carried out, or how effective individual attempts were, is uncertain.[131][147][148]
One such threat was delivered by fur trader James McDougall, who is quoted as saying to a gathering of local chiefs, "You know the smallpox. Listen: I am the smallpox chief. In this bottle I have it confined. All I have to do is to pull the cork, send it forth among you, and you are dead men. But this is for my enemies and not my friends."[150] Likewise, another fur trader threatened Pawnee Indians that if they didn't agree to certain conditions, "he would let the smallpox out of a bottle and destroy them." The Reverend Isaac McCoy was quoted in his History of Baptist Indian Missions as saying that the white men had deliberately spread smallpox among the Indians of the southwest, including the Pawnee tribe, and the havoc it made was reported to General Clark and the Secretary of War.[150][151] Artist and writer George Catlin observed that Native Americans were also suspicious of vaccination, "They see white men urging the operation so earnestly they decide that it must be some new mode or trick of the pale face by which they hope to gain some new advantage over them."[152] So great was the distrust of the settlers that the Mandan chief Four Bears denounced the white man, whom he had previously treated as brothers, for deliberately bringing the disease to his people.[153][154][155]
During the siege of British-held Fort Pitt in the Seven Years' War, Colonel Henry Bouquet ordered his men to take smallpox-infested blankets from their hospital and gave them as gifts to two neutral Lenape Indian dignitaries during a peace settlement negotiation, according to the entry in the Captain's ledger, "To convey the Smallpox to the Indians".[148][156][157] In the following weeks, Sir Jeffrey Amherst conspired with Bouquet to "Extirpate this Execreble Race" of Native Americans, writing, "Could it not be contrived to send the small pox among the disaffected tribes of Indians? We must on this occasion use every stratagem in our power to reduce them." His Colonel agreed to try.[147][156]
Most scholars have asserted that the 1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic was "started among the tribes of the upper Missouri River by failure to quarantine steamboats on the river",[150] and Captain Pratt of the St. Peter "was guilty of contributing to the deaths of thousands of innocent people. The law calls his offense criminal negligence. Yet in light of all the deaths, the almost complete annihilation of the Mandans, and the terrible suffering the region endured, the label criminal negligence is benign, hardly befitting an action that had such horrendous consequences."[154] However, some sources attribute the 1836–40 epidemic to the deliberate communication of smallpox to Native Americans, with historian Ann F. Ramenofsky writing, "Variola Major can be transmitted through contaminated articles such as clothing or blankets. In the nineteenth century, the U. S. Army sent contaminated blankets to Native Americans, especially Plains groups, to control the Indian problem."[158] In Brazil, well into the 20th century, deliberate infection attacks continued as Brazilian settlers and miners transported infections intentionally to the Native groups whose lands they coveted.[145]
After Edward Jenner's 1796 demonstration that the smallpox vaccination worked, the technique became better known and smallpox became less deadly in the United States and elsewhere. Many colonists and Natives were vaccinated, although, in some cases, officials tried to vaccinate Natives only to discover that the disease was too widespread to stop. At other times, trade demands led to broken quarantines. In other cases, Natives refused vaccination because of suspicion of whites. The first international healthcare expedition in history was the Balmis Expedition which had the aim of vaccinating Indigenous peoples against smallpox all along the Spanish Empire in 1803. In 1831, government officials vaccinated the Yankton Dakota at Sioux Agency. The Santee Sioux refused vaccination and many died.[36]
While epidemic disease was a leading factor of the population decline of the American Indigenous peoples after 1492, there were other contributing factors, all of them related to European contact and colonization. One of these factors was warfare. According to demographer Russell Thornton, although many people died in wars over the centuries, and war sometimes contributed to the near extinction of certain tribes, warfare and death by other violent means was a comparatively minor cause of overall Native population decline.[159]
From the U.S. Bureau of the Census in 1894, wars between the government and the Indigenous peoples ranged over 40 in number over the previous 100 years. These wars cost the lives of approximately 19,000 white people, and the lives of about 30,000 Indians, including men, women, and children. They safely estimated that the number of Native people who were killed or wounded was actually around fifty percent more than what was recorded.[160]
There is some disagreement among scholars about how widespread warfare was in pre-Columbian America,[161] but there is general agreement that war became deadlier after the arrival of the Europeans and their firearms.[citation needed] The South or Central American infrastructure allowed for thousands of European conquistadors and tens of thousands of their Indian auxiliaries to attack the dominant Indigenous civilization. Empires such as the Incas depended on a highly centralized administration for the distribution of resources. Disruption caused by the war and the colonization hampered the traditional economy, and possibly led to shortages of food and materials.[162] Across the western hemisphere, war with various Native American civilizations constituted alliances based out of both necessity or economic prosperity and, resulted in mass-scale intertribal warfare.[163] European colonization in the North American continent also contributed to a number of wars between Native Americans, who fought over which of them should have first access to new technology and weaponry—like in the Beaver Wars.[164]
According to the Cambridge World History, the Oxford Handbook of Genocide Studies, and the Cambridge World History of Genocide, colonial policies in some cases included the deliberate genocide of indigenous peoples in North America.[165][166][167] According to the Cambridge World History of Genocide, Spanish colonization of the Americas also included genocidal massacres.[168]
According to Adam Jones, genocidal methods included the following:
- Genocidal massacres
- Biological warfare, using pathogens (especially smallpox and plague) to which the indigenous peoples had no resistance
- Spreading of disease via the 'reduction' of Indians to densely crowded and unhygienic settlements
- Slavery and forced/indentured labor, especially, though not exclusively, in Latin America, in conditions often rivaling those of Nazi concentration camps
- Mass population removals to barren 'reservations,' sometimes involving death marches en route, and generally leading to widespread mortality and population collapse upon arrival
- Deliberate starvation and famine, exacerbated by destruction and occupation of the native land base and food resources
- Forced education of indigenous children in White-run schools ...[169]
Some Spaniards objected to the encomienda system of labor, notably Bartolomé de las Casas, who insisted that the Indigenous people were humans with souls and rights. Because of many revolts and military encounters, Emperor Charles V helped relieve the strain on both the Native laborers and the Spanish vanguards probing the Caribana for military and diplomatic purposes.[170] Later on New Laws were promulgated in Spain in 1542 to protect isolated Native, but the abuses in the Americas were never entirely or permanently abolished. The Spanish also employed the pre-Columbian draft system called the mita,[171] and treated their subjects as something between slaves and serfs. Serfs stayed to work the land; slaves were exported to the mines, where large numbers of them died. In other areas the Spaniards replaced the ruling Aztecs and Incas and divided the conquered lands among themselves ruling as the new feudal lords with often, but unsuccessful lobbying to the viceroys of the Spanish crown to pay Tlaxcalan war demnities. The infamous Bandeirantes from São Paulo, adventurers mostly of mixed Portuguese and Native ancestry, penetrated steadily westward in their search for Indian slaves. Serfdom existed as such in parts of Latin America well into the 19th century, past independence.[172] Historian Andrés Reséndez argues that even though the Spanish were aware of the spread of smallpox, they made no mention of it until 1519, a quarter century after Columbus arrived in Hispaniola.[173] Instead he contends that enslavement in gold and silver mines was the primary reason why the Native American population of Hispaniola dropped so significantly.[172][173] and that even though disease was a factor, the Native population would have rebounded the same way Europeans did following the Black Death if it were not for the constant enslavement they were subject to.[173] He further contends that enslavement of Native Americans was in fact the primary cause of their depopulation in Spanish territories;[173] that the majority of Indians enslaved were women and children compared to the enslavement of Africans which mostly targeted adult males and in turn they were sold at a 50% to 60% higher price,[174] and that 2,462,000 to 4,985,000 Amerindians were enslaved between Columbus's arrival and 1900.[175][174]
Throughout history, Indigenous people have been subjected to the repeated and forced removal from their land. Beginning in the 1830s, there was the relocation of an estimated 100,000 Indigenous people in the United States called the "Trail of Tears".[180] The tribes affected by this specific removal were the Five Civilized Tribes: The Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole. The treaty of New Echota,[181] was enacted, which stated that the United States "would give Cherokee land west of the Mississippi in exchange for $5,000,000".[180] According to Jeffrey Ostler, "Of the 80,000 Native people who were forced west from 1830 into the 1850s, between 12,000 and 17,000 perished." Ostler states that "the large majority died of interrelated factors of starvation, exposure and disease".[182]
In addition to the removal of the Southern Tribes, there were multiple other removals of Northern Tribes also known as "Trails of Tears." For example, "In the free labor states of the North, federal and state officials, supported by farmers, speculators and business interests, evicted Shawnees, Delawares, Senecas, Potawatomis, Miamis, Wyandots, Ho-Chunks, Ojibwes, Sauks and Meskwakis." These Nations were moved West of the Mississippi into what is now known as Eastern Kansas, and numbered 17,000 on arrival. According to Ostler, "by 1860, their numbers had been cut in half" because of low fertility, high infant mortality, and increased disease caused by conditions such as polluted drinking water, few resources, and social stress.[182]
Ostler also writes that the areas that Northern tribes were removed to were already inhabited: "The areas west of the Mississippi River were home to other Indigenous nations—Osages, Kanzas, Omahas, Ioways, Otoes and Missourias. To make room for thousands of people from the East, the government dispossessed these nations of much their lands." Ostler writes that when Northern Nations were moved onto their landing 1840, "The combined population of these western nations was 9,000 ... 20 years later, it had fallen to 6,000."[182]
On 8 September 2000, the head of the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) formally apologized for the agency's participation in the ethnic cleansing of Western tribes.[183][184][185] In a speech before representatives of Native American peoples in June 2019, California governor Gavin Newsom apologized for the "California Genocide." Newsom said, "That's what it was, a genocide. No other way to describe it. And that's the way it needs to be described in the history books."[186]
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