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Indian-Tribes.org

Native American Tribes Photographs and Images

By James T. West

Indian-Tribes.org is an great source for photographs and images of the Native Indian Tribes of  North America. This website is first and foremost an educational source to learn about the original inhabitants of the North American Continent.  As everyone knows, the word "Indian" has different definitions (strictly speaking, it refers to the  inhabitants of the Indian Subcontinent in  Asia),  but  here refers to the  indigenous people of the  Americas. In fact, the word "Indian" is a legal term defined by the US government to refer to the aboriginal inhabitants of the United States of America.  So called Indian Tribes that are recognized by the US Government possess special rights and in some cases "Indian Tribal sovereignty" somewhat akin to being a "dependent nation" or "semi-sovereign country," depending upon the treaties signed by the individual Indian Tribes and their specific history. 

Perhaps the most famous Indian Tribes of North America are the "Plains Indians," specifically the Crow, Lakota-Sioux, Cheyenne, and Blackfoot Indian Tribes.  Equally interesting and famous are the Indian Tribes of the Southwestern US, the Navaho, Hopi (Pueblo), and Apache Indian Tribes.  From a historic perspective, the Indian Tribes of the Eastern Woodlands who originally made first contact with colonizing Europeans are presented, for example the Mohawk and Cherokee Indian Tribes. 

It is important to understand the origins and relationships between the various Indian Tribes, and the language and linguistic family of their native tongues often reveals these associations between them.  For example, the Cherokee, Mohawk, Cheyenne, and Blackfoot Indian Tribes all speak languages in the Algonquin linguistic family, sharing similar origins (East Woodlands) and cultural characteristics.  Similarly, the Navajo and Apache tribes speak Na Dene languages (Southern Athabaskan) related to tribes from the Subartic region of Canada and Alaska were they are thought to have originated.  The Hopi (Pueblo Indians) speak a tongue in the Uto-Aztecan language family, and incredibly, have ties to the Aztecs of Mexico who originally came from the desert area near the Southwest United States.  In addition, language is important because it is intimately related to the culture of these indigenous peoples.  In fact, some anthropologists and linguists say that the key to preserving a native culture is to preserve its native language. 

The term "Indian Tribe" is used here with the utmost respect of these indigenous North Americans.  However, some activists prefer the term "Amerindian" which is awkward and rarely used.  Other terms such as "aborigines" generally refer to indigenous people of Australia.  Terms such as "Native People" or "Native American" are favored by some, but can be ambiguous in that legally speaking, all those born in America are in a very real sense Native Americans.  To add to the confusion, in Canada the phrase "First Nations" is used to define tribal groups in Canada. In line with the accepted use by the general public, we refer to the original people of the Americas as "Indian Tribes."

If you are interested in photos and images of the Indian Tribes from South America rather than North America, visit Amazon-Tribes.com and Amazon-Indians.org where you can see some outstanding images of the Huaorani, Korubo, Matis, Bora, Shipibo and other Indian Tribes of the Amazon Rainforest. Additional Internet resources with pictures and photographs of Amazonian Indian Tribes can be found at Amazonz.info (Indian Tribes from the Xingu Region of Brazil) and Matses.info (an Indian Tribe from the border of Brazil with Peru).  For photographs and images of the Indians of the Andes Mountains of South America, check out, Camino-Inca.info and IncaTrails.org.  For African Tribes, African-Tribe.com is the premier website exhibiting photographic galleries of the indigenous people of Sub-Saharan Africa.  To learn how you can help with the conservation of the Amazon Rainforest and the Indian Tribes there, please visit Friends of the Amazon.
 

For more information, please contact info(at)indian-tribes.org

 

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