Interactive Maps Of Native American Territories

A space where the stories of land and waters are carried by those who walk in ancestral relationship with them. We strive to map Indigenous lands in a way that changes, challenges, and improves the way people see history and the present day. We hope to strengthen the spiritual bonds that people have with the land, its people, and its meaning. We strive to map Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages across the world in a way that goes beyond colonial ways of thinking in order to better represent how Indigenous people want to see themselves. As an Indigenous-led organization, we interconnect Indigenous communities around the world and develop real relationships. We provide educational resources to correct the way that people speak about colonialism and indigeneity, and to encourage territory awareness in everyday speech and action.

The landscape of historical and geographical understanding has been profoundly reshaped by the advent of digital technologies, none more so than interactive mapping. For Native American territories, these sophisticated digital tools represent a paradigm shift, moving beyond static, often colonially-biased representations to dynamic, layered, and Indigenous-centric portrayals of land, history, and sovereignty. These interactive maps serve not merely as geographical references but as powerful instruments for education, research, cultural preservation, and the assertion of Indigenous rights, fundamentally altering how we perceive and engage with the enduring... To fully appreciate the significance of interactive maps, one must first grasp the complex and often tragic history of Native American land tenure. Prior to European contact, North America was a mosaic of diverse Indigenous nations, each with intricate social structures, distinct languages, and sophisticated systems of land use and governance. Territories were often defined by traditional ecological knowledge, seasonal migration patterns, hunting grounds, trade routes, and sacred sites, rather than rigid, linear boundaries.

These lands were not "empty" or "wilderness" but vibrant, managed landscapes deeply intertwined with Indigenous identities and spiritual beliefs. The arrival of European colonizers initiated a protracted period of land dispossession, characterized by a series of events that profoundly altered the Indigenous landscape. European doctrines of discovery, often reinforced by military might, led to the unilateral assertion of sovereignty over vast territories. Treaties, frequently misunderstood, violated, or coercively imposed, further eroded Indigenous land bases. The westward expansion of the United States, fueled by ideologies like Manifest Destiny, culminated in forced removals (such as the infamous Trail of Tears), the establishment of ever-shrinking reservations, and the allotment policies designed... This history created a complex legacy of contested claims, broken promises, and the profound spatial marginalization of Indigenous peoples.

Traditional cartography, for much of history, inadvertently or explicitly reinforced this colonial narrative. Early maps often depicted Indigenous territories as undifferentiated "Indian lands" or simply omitted them, prioritizing the demarcation of colonial claims. Later maps, while showing reservations, often presented them as isolated pockets, failing to convey the historical depth of Indigenous presence or the vast ancestral lands from which tribes had been dispossessed. These static representations lacked the capacity to illustrate the fluidity of pre-colonial boundaries, the dramatic shifts wrought by treaties and removals, or the ongoing, multifaceted connection Indigenous peoples maintain with their traditional territories. This inherent limitation created a critical need for new cartographic tools capable of conveying this complex, dynamic, and often painful history from an Indigenous perspective. Interactive maps address these historical limitations by leveraging Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and web-based technologies to create dynamic, user-driven spatial representations.

At their core, these maps are digital platforms that allow users to actively engage with geographical data, rather than passively viewing a fixed image. Jacquelyne GermainUpdated: November 1, 2023 | Originally Published: October 13, 2022 In 1990, the month of November was officially designated Native American Heritage Month in the United States. “Native American Indians were the original inhabitants of the lands that now constitute the United States of America,” the government resolution read, noting Native peoples’ “essential and unique contribution to our nation.” This November,... Since launching on Native-Land.ca in 2015, the tool has helped people discover the history of the land they inhabit. Created by Victor Temprano and now overseen by Indigenous-led nonprofit Native Land Digital, the map first functioned as a “resource pointed at settlers and non-Indigenous people to, in a not-too-confrontational way, start thinking about...

Ouija Board: The Mysterious Origins of a Cultural Obsession Today, Native Land Digital is focused on improving both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people’s relationships with the lands around them through education. Per a Facebook post, they “hope to strengthen the spiritual bonds that people have with the land, its people and its meaning.” They strive to “create and foster conversations about the history of colonialism,... If you are interested in the Indigenous histories of North America and beyond you may enjoy exploring Native Land, an ongoing interactive mapping project that attempts to outline ancestral Indigenous territories. Here, you will find a colorful map multi-layered with depictions of where different Indigenous peoples historically lived. You can browse the map itself or search for a particular postal code to see whose territories that location falls within, and clicking on a given territory shows the names of the native people(s)...

Check it out! Explore a map of Indigenous territories worldwide, provided by the Native Lands Digital API. Human Geography, Social Studies, World History, Geography This map layer, included in MapMaker's collection, was created by Native Land Digital, a Canadian nonprofit organization that strives to map Indigenous lands. Many Indigenous peoples do not view land, or land ownership, in the same way that non-Indigenous people do. As a result, this map does not look like a parcel map you would find at your local auditor’s office with clear boundaries that meet along a clear border.

Additionally, this map accounts for many different time periods and lists groups together that may not have been contemporaries. This map updates weekly as new territories are added and existing ones are updated as new information is discovered. This map attempts to show a picture of the historic territories of the people who lived there before the period of colonization, a time that for many Indigenous people brought hardships, suffering and genocide. Explore the area where you live now. Who else has lived there? This maps displays US Native lands as Represented by the US Census Bureau, US Bureau of Indian Affairs, and 1978 India Claims Commission.

The first tab displays the 2019 Census Tiger Boundary Files for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Hawaiian Homelands The second tab displays the 2019 Native Land Area Representations from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, the 2019 Tiger Boundary files form the United States Census Bureau as well as the Indian... The third tab displays Land Areas Judicially Established by the 1978 India Claims Commission This page highlights cartography produced by and for Native American or Indigenous peoples. There may be more materials available, whether here in the Northwestern University Libraries' collection or in other libraries, but this is the beginning of an effort to raise awareness and use of these materials. In addition to these materials the collections include many maps and atlases about Native American and Indigenous peoples that are not listed here representing territories, reservations, histories, cultures, languages, and more that have been...

To view these maps, please email govinfo@northwestern.edu and make an appointment. The map cases are locked and located in an unstaffed area of the University Library (Lower Level, Room B190). Carapella, Aaron. Aboriginal First Nations : Our Own Names & Locations. Aaron Carapella, 2013. Government Info Map Collection Lower Level Room B190 G3401.E1 2013 .C37

Carapella, Aaron. Native American Nations : Our Own Names & Locations. Aaron Carapella, 2013. Government Info Map Collection Lower Level Room B190 G3701.E1 2013 .C38 Carapella, Aaron. Proposed Pipelines in Tribal Homelands.

Tribal Nations Maps, 2016. Government Info Map Collection Lower Level Room B190 G3301.P4 2016 .C37 The land beneath our feet holds stories far older and more complex than most modern maps convey. For centuries, North America has been a mosaic of vibrant Indigenous nations, each with distinct languages, cultures, and territories. Yet, the dominant historical narrative often obscures this rich tapestry, reducing vast, dynamic landscapes to empty spaces awaiting European "discovery." Today, a new generation of digital tools, particularly interactive maps, is revolutionizing our understanding... Before the arrival of European powers, the concept of "territory" for Indigenous peoples was often fluid and deeply spiritual, distinct from the rigid, demarcated ownership models introduced by colonizers.

Land was not merely property to be bought and sold; it was a living entity, a sacred trust, inextricably linked to identity, sustenance, and spiritual well-being. Boundaries might be defined by watersheds, mountain ranges, or seasonal hunting grounds, often overlapping or shared through complex diplomatic agreements and reciprocal relationships. Hundreds of distinct nations, from the Iroquois Confederacy in the Northeast to the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest, the vast plains of the Lakota, and the coastal communities of the Pacific Northwest, thrived across... The arrival of Europeans shattered this delicate balance. Initial encounters often involved trade and uneasy alliances, but quickly devolved into conflict driven by resource extraction, land hunger, and the devastating spread of foreign diseases. The 17th and 18th centuries saw the first significant erosion of Indigenous sovereignty as colonial powers asserted claims based on the legally fictitious "doctrine of discovery," which declared lands inhabited by non-Christians as "empty"...

As European settlements expanded, so too did the pressure on Native lands, leading to the forced displacement of entire communities. The 19th century marked a particularly dark chapter, characterized by a systematic federal policy of removal and land cessions. The United States government, for instance, signed over 370 treaties with Native American tribes between 1778 and 1871. These treaties, often negotiated under duress, promised perpetual tribal sovereignty and land rights in exchange for vast territorial concessions. Yet, time and again, these solemn agreements were unilaterally broken, leading to a relentless shrinking of Indigenous homelands. The infamous Indian Removal Act of 1830 epitomized this policy, culminating in the forced relocation of tens of thousands of Native Americans, most notoriously the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole nations, from their...

The establishment of reservations further fragmented tribal territories. These designated lands were typically a fraction of original homelands, often located in undesirable areas, and administered under federal control. The Dawes Act of 1887, aimed at "civilizing" Native Americans, further broke up communal reservation lands into individual allotments, with "surplus" land sold off to non-Native settlers, resulting in a staggering loss of over... A screenshot of a portion of the interactive map from Native Land Digital shows which Native territories have inhabited different regions of the Americas, based on a variety of historical and Indigenous sources. Native Land Digital/Screenshot by NPR hide caption A screenshot of a portion of the interactive map from Native Land Digital shows which Native territories have inhabited different regions of the Americas, based on a variety of historical and Indigenous sources.

President Biden became the first president to officially recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day in 2021, and did so again this year. It falls on the same day as Columbus Day, which was established by Italian American groups to celebrate their heritage and to acknowledge the mistreatment of the immigrant group in the U.S. Indigenous Peoples' Day is a time of reflection, recognition and celebration of the role Native people have played in U.S. history, as NPR has reported. One way to mark the day — and to learn about Indigenous history year-round — is to learn which Native lands you live on. Acknowledging an area's original inhabitants and stewards is a valuable process, albeit a complex one, as the National Museum of the American Indian explains.

The museum suggests reaching out to local Indigenous communities for guidance involving formal land acknowledgements, which can be offered at the start of public and private gatherings. The Native Land Digital interactive map shows which Indigenous lands you live on in the Americas and in other parts of the world. Users can click on labels or enter their city, state or zip code and see which Indigenous peoples lived in that specific area. A disclaimer reminds users that the maps do not represent or intend to represent official or legal boundaries of any Indigenous nations. Instead it is a general overview. Accompanying the interactive map is a useful teacher’s guide that provide suggestions on how to use the map in the classroom and a number of lessons that utilize the map and cover other topics...

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