It is another common stereotype that all Native Americans are very deeply religious. While this may be true for some, like any religion or race, there are people very devoted to their beliefs and some who are not.
Many believe that all Native Americans are completely harmonized and at one with nature. Many also believe that they are very deeply rooted and educated into their spirituality.
Another stereotype is they get a lot of their money from the government, that they enjoy gambling and that they gain a good sum of their money at casinos as well.
Many believe that Native Americans are lazy and just like to lay around and get drunk all the time. This is a very harmful and untrue stereotype.
Current Situation in the U.S.
Native Americans that still live on reservations today tend to struggle financially. This is because the way of the world has changed so much. Many people claim they get handouts and money from the government (which is where this stereotype comes from) but in reality this is just the government giving back the money that they owe them from stealing their land initially.
Native Americans are also becoming more involved in the political scene. In fact, the first Native American women was just elected Senate, her name is Deb Haaland.
However, there are some tribal limitations. These tribes have the same rules and regulations as the states. For example, they cannot start war, make their own money or engage in foreign affairs.
Today there are 562 federally recognized tribes who have the right to form their own government, to enforce laws, to tax, to establish requirements for membership, to license and regulate activities, to zone and to exclude persons from tribal territories.
Early Experiences in the U.S.
Initially when the European settlers first arrived, the Native Americans tried to peacefully co-exist with them. This was soon to be proven impossible because the Europeans were greedy and arrogant. The Europeans wanted to conquer the land. They also brought many diseases with them when they came to America, killing many Native Americans.
The early Native American settlers used all of their natural resources to their advantages and the best of their abilities. Shortly after their arrival they soon became good fisherman, hunters, farmers and they could even build substantial houses using their natural resources.
Native Americans were already in America long before white settlers came and took over the land. There were about 10-90 million Native Americans already living in the United States before the Europeans.
During the ice age, they traveled by a land bridge to get into America. They trailed form Bering Sound in Serbia to what we now know as Alaska.
Reason for Immigration
Even though the Native Americans were on the land first, the Europeans came over and decided to take their land from them simply out of greed. The Indians were then forced to migrate into reservations. The Trail of Tears is the most well-known and studied occurrences of this type of migration.
The Indians of the Great Plains learned to migrate where the best source of food and resources and make a more permanent living in these areas. All Native Americans lived this lifestyle because they were all primarily hunters and gatherers.
Native Americans tribes were constantly moving around migrating to find better resources and food supplies. What one tribe left the next would be able to use. They all supported each other but continuously moved around for resources to continue to get their needs.
It has been said that Native Americans did not actually immigrate. There were two forms of migrations that took place. These were considered forced and voluntary migrations.
Identification
Native Americans completely relied on the land and their ability to hunt and fish in order to stay alive. They used their resources to the best of their abilities and took advantage of every source they had.
Native Americans are also know for their deep emotional bond with their homeland. They use this to survive and to get everything they need to be able to sustain life.
Native American tribes are a very close knit group. They are very self sufficient as a group, but they do rely on each other for everything they do. This is a big part of what makes them who they are.
Christopher Columbus gave Native Americans the name of "Indian" because he believed that he had landed in the Indies instead of America.
