Obviously, the video has some serious issues perhaps the two biggest ones being that native groups did not control much if any land in the original 13 colonies.
The second is that it treats all native groups as one nation or tribe whereas:
The United States federal maintains a government-to-government relationship with the 574 federally recognized Native American Indian tribes and Alaska Native entities.
Nevertheless, it’s still quite shocking to see how much land was lost so quickly.
Timeline
Here is a timeline outlining key events in the loss of Native American lands in the United States:
Early Contact and Initial Treaties (1492–1800)
- 1492: Christopher Columbus arrives in the Americas, marking the beginning of European exploration and eventual colonization.
- 1607: Establishment of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America.
- 1763: Proclamation of 1763 by the British, which attempted to limit colonial expansion west of the Appalachian Mountains, though it was largely ignored by settlers.
- 1783: Treaty of Paris ends the American Revolutionary War, ceding British-controlled lands to the United States, impacting Native American territories.
Expansion and Indian Removal (1800–1850)
- 1803: Louisiana Purchase doubles the size of the United States, leading to increased pressure on Native American lands.
- 1814: Treaty of Fort Jackson ends the Creek War, resulting in the cession of 23 million acres of Creek land to the U.S.
- 1830: Indian Removal Act signed by President Andrew Jackson, leading to the forced relocation of thousands of Native Americans from the southeastern U.S. to west of the Mississippi River.
- 1838–1839: Trail of Tears, the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation and other tribes from their homelands to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), resulting in thousands of deaths.
Reservation Era (1850–1900)
- 1851: Indian Appropriations Act creates the reservation system, confining Native American tribes to specific areas.
- 1864: Long Walk of the Navajo, forced relocation of the Navajo people from their homeland to Bosque Redondo Reservation.
- 1868: Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) establishes the Great Sioux Reservation, including the Black Hills, but is later violated by the U.S. government.
- 1876: Battle of Little Bighorn, where the Sioux and Cheyenne defeat General Custer’s forces, followed by intensified U.S. military actions against Native Americans.
- 1887: Dawes Act (General Allotment Act) aimed at assimilating Native Americans by dividing communal lands into individual plots, with surplus land sold to non-Native settlers.
20th Century Loss and Restoration (1900–2000)
- 1924: Indian Citizenship Act grants U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans, but does not restore lost lands.
- 1934: Indian Reorganization Act (Wheeler-Howard Act) ends allotment and attempts to restore some tribal lands and self-government.
- 1953: Termination Policy seeks to assimilate Native Americans by terminating the recognition of certain tribes, ending federal assistance and trusteeship, and selling tribal lands.
- 1968: Indian Civil Rights Act affirms certain rights but does not address land issues directly.
- 1975: Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act promotes tribal control over education and resource management.
- 1980: United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, where the Supreme Court rules that the U.S. government illegally took the Black Hills from the Sioux, awarding monetary compensation that the Sioux refuse, seeking land restoration instead.
21st Century Efforts and Challenges (2000–Present)
- 2009: Settlement of the Cobell v. Salazar class-action lawsuit, where the U.S. government agrees to pay $3.4 billion to settle claims regarding mismanagement of Indian trust lands and funds.
- 2016: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, highlighting ongoing land and sovereignty issues.
- Present: Various legal battles and negotiations continue over land rights, restoration of tribal lands, and protection of sacred sites.
How many Native Americans died in the United States after contact with Europeans?
Estimating the number of Native Americans who died in what is now the United States following contact with Europeans is challenging due to the lack of precise historical records and the complexities involved in attributing causes of death.
However, historians and researchers have provided estimates based on various sources and methodologies.
Pre-Contact Population Estimates:
- Estimates of the pre-contact Native American population in what is now the contiguous United States vary widely, typically ranging from 2 to 18 million people.
Mortality Estimates:
- It is commonly estimated that the Native American population declined by 80-90% in the centuries following European contact. This decline was primarily due to disease, warfare, displacement, and disruption of social structures.
Causes of Death:
- Diseases:
- The most significant factor in the population decline was the introduction of Old World diseases such as smallpox, influenza, and measles, to which Native Americans had no prior exposure or immunity.
- Warfare and Violence:
- European colonization led to numerous conflicts and wars that resulted in significant Native American casualties.
- Displacement and Starvation:
- Forced relocations, such as the Trail of Tears, and disruption of traditional food sources led to starvation and deaths.
Estimated Death Toll:
- Based on these factors, it is estimated that millions of Native Americans died in the centuries following European contact. Specific estimates often cite numbers between 5 to 15 million deaths, depending on the initial population estimates and the factors considered.
How many Native Americans are there in the US today?
As of 2024, the Native American population in the United States is approximately 6.79 million, which represents about 2.09% of the total U.S. population.
This population includes individuals who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native alone or in combination with other races.
The states with the highest Native American populations include California, Oklahoma, and Arizona.
California has the largest number of Native Americans, with over 757,000 individuals, while Oklahoma and Arizona follow with populations of around 523,000 and 391,000 respectively.
Alaska has the highest proportion of Native Americans relative to its total population, with nearly 20% of its residents identifying as Native American.
The significant growth in the reported Native American population, which nearly doubled from 2010 to 2020, is partly due to changes in census question design and increased efforts to count Native Americans more accurately.
FifteenthLetter says
Since you even admit the map has huge issues, and that Reddit thread has thousands of comments pointing out problems, why publish it anyway and even call it brilliant?