Transformation of Indigenous North America: An Epic Journey of Adaptation

Much has been written on the pre-Columbian cultures in the Americas, both in scholarly and trade mediums leading to a number of narratives and stereotypes of the widely diverse Indigenous peoples that occupied these lands prior to colonization, views often depicted in the media. English-language references to North American Indians often focus on those tribes residing in what is now the United States and those tribes that resided close to the U.S.’s northern and southern borders. This is understandable given that U.S. Indian policies have greatly affected both Canadian policies and those border tribes situated along the U.S.–Mexico border. Absent is serious mention of the contributions of Mesoamerican Indigenous peoples except in Spanish-language publications, many of which are limited in their distribution within the United States and Canada. Moreover, these narratives, as well as those depicting Indian cultures post-White contact, often do not adequately address the major adaptations that resulted from Euro-American contact from the colonial era to the present.