indigenous people of North America

• It is not clear when the first people arrived in North America.
• Some scientists believe that people migrated from Asia to North Africa during the last ice age 20,000 years ago. This would have taken them from a northern area which is now Russia across the Bering Strait, which would have had a shallow valley instead of having water.
• Other scientists also believe that migrations had started as early as 35,000 BCE as evidence of settlements in the Orogrande Cave in New Mexico in the US was discovered, way before the last Ice Age. This suggested that migrations may have happened as early as 40,000 BCE.
• The people who were living in the Americas first before European explorers were known as indigenous people. They are also known as First people in Canada or Native Americans in the US. They were called Indians at first because the European explorers thought that they were in East Indies when they arrived in Americas.
• In 1519 in Mexico, Hernando Cortes - Spanish viceroy - conquered the largest city of the Aztec Empire, Tenochtitlan in North America. After the Spanish conquest, it is now the site of Mexico City, the capital of Mexico.
• When Cortes entered Mexico City, he founded a highly developed civilization. Aztecs had their own written language and highly developed system of city planning, irrigation, temples, and more.

  However, they were not liked by other tribes, which Cortes took to his advantage. He got them to join him in attacking them, and the Aztec chief Montezuma was also imprisoned where he died of disease or poisoning.
• European countries sent their people to North America to live and to grow crops and make products to send to Europe - called settlers.
• Europeans saw the Americas as a place to expand to, and they thought they had the right to use the land and resources as they wanted.
• When the North Americans came in contact with the European settlers, they contracted diseases and died. They lacked immunity with the diseases brought to them by the Europeans.
• Even if the North Americans just used their blankets or clothes, those who used them became ill and died, especially children and elderly people.
• As the settlers arrived in greater numbers, they took over the land where the indigenous people lived. Us troops moved the indigenous people to make land available. They had guns and cannons, while they only had arrows and spears. 350 years later, the indigenous population is very small and relocated to isolated areas called reservations.