LibGuides: Native American Heritage: Tribes

Regions and Tribes

The Arctic

The indigenous peoples of the North American Arctic include the Eskimo (Inuit and Yupik/Yupiit) and Aleut; their traditional languages are in the Eskimo-Aleut family. Many Alaskan groups prefer to be called Native Alaskans rather than Native Americans; Canada’s Arctic peoples generally prefer the referent Inuit.

The Subarctic

Prominent tribes include the Innu (Montagnais and Naskapi), Cree, Ojibwa, Chipewyan, Beaver, Slave, Carrier, Gwich’in, Tanaina, and Deg Xinag (Ingalik). Their traditional languages are in the Athabaskan and Algonquian families.

The Northeast

Prominent tribes include the Algonquin, Iroquois, Huron, Wampanoag, Mohican, Mohegan, Ojibwa, Ho-chunk (Winnebago), Sauk, Fox, and Illinois. The traditional languages of the Northeast are largely of the Iroquoian and Algonquian language families.

The Southeast

Perhaps the best-known indigenous peoples originally from this region are the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole, sometimes referred to as the Five Civilized Tribes. Other prominent tribes included the Natchez, Caddo, Apalachee, Timucua, and Guale. Traditionally, most tribes in the Southeast spoke Muskogean languages; there were also some Siouan language speakers and one Iroquoian-speaking group, the Cherokee.

The Plains

The indigenous peoples of the Plains include speakers of Siouan, Algonquian, Uto-Aztecan, Caddoan, Athabaskan, Kiowa-Tanoan, and Michif languages. Plains peoples also invented a sign language to represent common objects or concepts such as “buffalo” or “exchange.”

The Southwest

Best known among the agriculturists are the Pueblo Indians, including the Zuni and Hopi. The Yumans, Pima, and Tohono O’odham (Papago) engaged in both farming and foraging, relying on each to the extent the environment would allow. The Navajo and the many Apache groups usually engaged in some combination of agriculture, foraging, and the raiding of other groups.

The Great Basin

The Great Basin is home to the Washoe, speakers of a Hokan language, and a number of tribes speaking Numic languages (a division of the Uto-Aztecan language family). These include the Mono, Paiute, Bannock, Shoshone, Ute, and Gosiute.

California

California includes representatives of some 20 language families, including Uto-Aztecan, Penutian, Yokutsan, and Athabaskan; American linguist Edward Sapir described California’s languages as being more diverse than those found in all of Europe. Prominent tribes, many with a language named for them, include the Hupa, Yurok, Pomo, Yuki, Wintun, Maidu, and Yana.

The Northwest Coast

This culture area is home to peoples speaking Athabaskan, Tshimshianic, Salishan, and other languages. Prominent tribes include the Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Kwakiutl, Bella Coola, Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka), Coast Salish, and Chinook.

The Plateau

Most of the languages spoken in this culture area belong to the Salishan, Sahaptin, Kutenai, and Modoc and Klamath families. Tribes include the Salish, Flathead, Nez Percé, Yakama, Kutenai, Modoc and Klamath, Spokan, Kalispel, Pend d’Oreille, Coeur d’Alene, Walla Walla, and Umatilla.

Native American Culture Areas

Tribal Organization Information

Tribal Organizations

Regional Intertribal Organizations

Affiliated Tribes of the Northwest Indians	www.atnitribes.org
Alliance of Colonial Era Tribes (ACET)	www.ACET-Online.org
Alaska Federation of Natives	www.nativefederation.org
Alaska Inter-Tribal Council	www.aitc.org
All Indian Pueblo Council	www.20pueblos.org
California Association of Tribal Governments	www.catg.us
California Tribal Business Alliance	www.caltba.org
Council of Confederated Chilocco Tribes	www.chiloccotribes.org
Eight Tribes Intertribal Council
Great Lakes Intertribal Council	www.glitc.org
Great Plains Tribal Chairman's Association
Intertribal Council of Arizona	www.itcaonline.com
Intertribal Council of California	www.itccinc.org
Intertribal Council of Michigan, Inc.	www.itcmi.org
Intertribal Council of Nevada	www.itcn.org
Intertribal Council of Northeast Oklahoma
Intertribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes
Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes	www.m-a-s-t.org
Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leader's Council	www.mtwytlc.com
Southern California Tribal Chairmen's Association	www.sctca.net
Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations	www.tasin.org
United South and Eastern Tribes	www.usetinc.org
United Tribes of Michigan	www.unitedtribesofmichigan.org
United Tribes of North Dakota	www.uttc.edu

National Indian Organizations

American Indian Alaska Native Employee Association	www.aianea.com
American Indian Business Leaders	www.aibl.org
American Indian College Fund	www.collegefund.org
American Indian Higher Education Consortium	www.aihec.org
American Indian Science and Engineering Society	www.aises.org
American Indian Society	www.aisdc.org
Americans for Indian Opportunity	www.aio.org
Association on American Indian Affairs	www.indian-affairs.org
Center for Indigenous Law, Governance & Citizenship
Center for Native American Youth	www.cnay.org
Center for World Indigenous Studies	www.cwis.org
Council for Hawaiian Advancement	www.hawaiiancouncil.org
Council for Tribal Employment Rights	www.ctertero.org
Council of Energy Resource Tribes	www.certredearth.com
Council of Large Land Base Tribes
First Nations Development Institute	www.firstnations.org
First Nations Oweesta Corporation	www.oweesta.org
First Peoples Fund	www.firstpeoplesfund.org

Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development	www.hks.harvard.edu/hpaied
Honoring Contributions in the Governance of Native Nations	www.hks.harvard.edu/hpaied
Indian Land Tenure Foundation	www.iltf.org
Indian Land Working Group	www.indianlandworkinggroup.wordpress.com
Indian Law Resource Center	www.indianlaw.org
Indian Nations Conservation Alliance	www.inca-tcd.org
Institute for Indian Estate Planning and Probate	www.indianwills.org
Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals	www.nau.edu/itep
Intertribal Agriculture Council	www.indianaglink.com
InterTribal Buffalo Council	www.itbcbison.com
Intertribal Council on Utility Policy	www.intertribalcoup.org
Intertribal Tax Alliance	www.indiantax.org
Intertribal Timber Council	www.itcnet.org
Intertribal Transportation Association
Intertribal Trust Fund Monitoring Association	www.itmatrustfunds.org
National American Indian Court Judges Association	www.naicja.org
National American Indian Housing Council	www.naihc.net

National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers	www.nathpo.org
National Caucus of Native American Legislators	www.nativeamericanlegislators.org
National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development	www.ncaied.org
National Congress of American Indians	www.ncai.org
National Council of Urban Indian Health	www.ncuih.org
National Indian Business Association	www.nibanetwork.org
National Indian Child Welfare Association	www.nicwa.org
National Indian Council on Aging	www.nicoa.org
National Indian Education Association	www.niea.org
National Indian Gaming Association	www.niga.org
National Indian Health Board	www.nihb.org
National Indian Justice Center	www.nijc.org
National Native American AIDS Prevention Center	www.nnaapc.org
National Native American Bar Association	www.nativeamericanbar.org
National Native American EMS Association	www.nnaemsa.org
National Tribal Air Association	www.ntaatribalair.org
National Tribal Environmental Council	www.ntec.org
Native American Boys and Girls Club of America	www.naclubs.org
Native American Contractors Association	www.nativecontractors.org
Native American Finance Officers Association	www.nafoa.org

Native American Fish & Wildlife Society	www.nafws.org
Native American Journalists Association	www.naja.com
Native American Public Telecommunications	www.nativetelecom.org
Native American Rights Fund	www.narf.org
Native Americans in Philanthropy	www.nativephilanthropy.org
Native Arts and Culture Foundation	www.nativeartsandcultures.org
Native Community Development Financial Institutions Network
Native Nations Institute	www.nni.arizona.edu
Native Nations Law and Policy Center
Native Public Media	www.nativepublicmedia.org
Native Workplace	www.nativeworkplace.com
Self-Governance Communication and Outreach Consortium	www.tribalselfgov.org
Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development, Inc.	www.7genfund.org
Society of American Indian Government Employees	www.saige.org
The Institute for Tribal Government-The Hatfield School of Government	www.tribalgov.pdx.edu
Tribal Child Care Technical Assistance Center	www.nccic.org/tribal
Tribal Law and Policy Institute	www.tlpi.org
United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc. (Unity)	www.unityinc.org
Women Empowering Women for Indian Nations - WEWIN	www.wewin04.org