Native Nations
An independent educational reference

The land, and the peoples who know it.

Homelands, languages, histories, and living cultures of the Native nations of North America — told plainly, from the ground up.

Explore the map of nations ↓
The Nations of the Great Plains

Where to begin: eight regions

Every region opens onto its peoples
Arctic & SubarcticInuit · Cree · Dene
Northwest CoastTlingit · Haida · Coast Salish
Plateau & Great BasinNez Perce · Shoshone · Ute
CaliforniaChumash · Pomo · Yurok
SouthwestDiné · Hopi · Zuni · Apache
Great PlainsLakota · Cheyenne · Comanche
Northeast WoodlandsHaudenosaunee · Lenape · Anishinaabe
SoutheastCherokee · Muscogee · Choctaw
Map of nations — North America's eight culture areas. Real geography; markers are representative locations. Hover a region to find it.
A nation at a glance

One card, every nation.

Region, language, homeland — every profile opens with the same short, factual card, so the reference stays comparable from nation to nation.

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Lakota
Great Plains
Lakȟóta — one of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, the Seven Council Fires
Region
Great Plains
Language
Lakȟótiyapi · Siouan family
Homeland
Northern plains — the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska
Diné (Navajo)
Southwest
Diné — the largest federally recognized nation by enrollment
Region
Southwest
Language
Diné bizaad · Na-Dené (Athabaskan)
Homeland
the Four Corners — Arizona, New Mexico, Utah
Haudenosaunee
Northeast Woodlands
Haudenosaunee — the Confederacy of Six Nations
Region
Northeast Woodlands
Language
Iroquoian family
Homeland
upstate New York and the eastern Great Lakes
Cherokee
Southeast
Aniyvwiya · ᏣᎳᎩ (Tsalagi) — writers of a syllabary still in use
Region
Southeast
Language
Tsalagi · Iroquoian family
Homeland
the southern Appalachians; today also Oklahoma
Tlingit
Northwest Coast
Lingít — people of the tides and the cedar house
Region
Northwest Coast
Language
Lingít · Na-Dené
Homeland
the southeastern Alaska coast
Hopi
Southwest
Hopi — villages among the oldest continuously inhabited in North America
Region
Southwest
Language
Hopilàvayi · Uto-Aztecan
Homeland
the mesas of northeastern Arizona
Anishinaabe (Ojibwe)
Northeast Woodlands
Anishinaabe — people of the Great Lakes and wild rice
Region
Northeast Woodlands
Language
Anishinaabemowin · Algonquian
Homeland
the Great Lakes region, US and Canada
Comanche
Great Plains
Nʉmʉnʉʉ — the horse nation of the southern plains
Region
Great Plains
Language
Nʉmʉ tekwapʉ · Uto-Aztecan
Homeland
the southern plains — Texas, Oklahoma
Muscogee (Creek)
Southeast
Mvskoke — a confederacy of towns
Region
Southeast
Language
Mvskoke · Muskogean
Homeland
the Southeast; today Oklahoma
Inuit
Arctic & Subarctic
Inuit — people of the Arctic, across three countries
Region
Arctic & Subarctic
Language
Inuktitut · Inuit-Yupik-Unangax̂
Homeland
the Arctic — Alaska, Canada, Greenland

Reading the land

A bison stands with lowered head on a snow-patched prairie field
LAND & LIFE  ·  4 min read

What the Buffalo Meant

Food, shelter, tools and trade — the material foundation of Plains life, its near-destruction, and its return.

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Languages Still Spoken Today
LANGUAGE  ·  3 min read

Languages Still Spoken Today

Hundreds of distinct languages were spoken here. Many still are — and many nations are teaching them anew.

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The Nations of the Great Plains
PEOPLES & NATIONS  ·  3 min read

The Nations of the Great Plains

Who the peoples of the grasslands are, where their homelands lie, and how they're organized today.

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Allies of the work

Organisations working alongside this reference in Native American education and advocacy.

Browse the reference

Peoples & NationsWho the nations are, where their homelands lie, and how they're organized today.4 guides → HistoryA populated continent before 1492 — treaties, upheaval, removal, and resilience.4 guides → Culture & TraditionsFoodways, story, art, and the public celebrations that carry culture forward.4 guides → LanguageThe language families of the continent, and the nations reviving them.4 guides → Land & LifeHomelands and territory, the land's gifts, and living nations today.4 guides → About & SourcesWhat this reference is, how it's written, and where to read further.The colophon →

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