Native American history before Euros arrived-what were the biggest/powerful tribes and where did they live?

Question

I'm researching Native American history and would like to know more about what tribes where most populous and powerful before the arrival of Europeans and which regions they controlled. I've looked all over, but it's not an easy anser to find. First I was awed by the sheer number of tribes, and of course the ones you've most likely heard of aren't necessarily the most historically significant. This is of course all complicated by the fact that "tribe" seems to have multiple definitions as sometimes many smaller unafilluiated groups are considered a "tribe" because of cultural or linguistic similarities. Then most available history focuses more post-european conquest! Even any info on the first tribes Europeans met and their relative size/territory at the time would be great!

Any help would be unimaginably appreciated. Thanks soo much for even taking the time to read through. If I happen to get an expert, any research suggestions would be worth my true eternal gratitude.

Thanks all

Answer 1

geee this is tough.  u r right.  there is a dearth of literature / research on pre-white man days!  true, the tribes are just too many and i doubt there was one single humongous one.  there's no hegemonic or territorial agggrandizement for each tribe to do so - unlike what was happening in europe.  greed is probably not in their vocab.

they live throughout east west north south and there was  peace and harmony.  those 'red indians' shouting and killing white men were all john wayne's imagination.

how history can be so distorted is beyond our comprehension.  

many yrs ago, i tried looking for such info but none. truly i encourage u to start this research and capture for posterity its true essence.  the elders in the remaining tribes is a good start.

start with this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7cylfQtk...

Answer 2

The biggest problem is the lack of written evidence prior to the arrival of the Europeans.  A complete history of the Americas will never be known.  Archaeological sites can give us an general view, but seldom provide daily details of the peoples of the New World.  I live near Cahokia mounds.

Most web sites are more interested in preserving what little that is known than to try to piece together any overall picture of what life might have been like.  Modern descendants of the indigenous peoples tend to down play the sometimes constant conflicts between tribes before the arrival of the Europeans.  This is usually called the Pre-Columbian period (prior to the sighting by Christophe Columbus).

The huge list of languages used is another problem when trying to gather information.  One tribe might have 20 or more different names depending upon who is telling the story.  This, and the Europeans attempt to destroy the local culture and languages, makes gathering data difficult.