Who Lived in America Before the Europeans Arrived? Civics Question 74

The answer is American Indians, also called Native Americans.

Question 74 asks who lived in America before the Europeans arrived. Say “American Indians” or “Native Americans.” Both are accepted. This is a starred question, so it can also appear on the shorter test for applicants who are 65 or older.

Who Was Already Here

People had been living across North America for thousands of years before any European ship reached it. They were not one group. They were hundreds of separate nations, each with its own language, government, territory, and way of life.

Some farmed corn, beans, and squash in permanent towns. Some followed herds across the plains. Some fished the coasts and rivers. Names you may already know, Cherokee, Navajo, Iroquois, Apache, Sioux, Hopi, belong to nations that were here long before 1492 and are still here now.

What Changed After Europeans Arrived

European settlement pushed Native nations off land they had held for generations. Diseases carried across the ocean killed enormous numbers of people who had no protection against them. Treaties were signed and then broken.

Millions of Native Americans live in the United States today, and tribal nations run their own governments.

Why the Officer Asks This

The history section of the test starts before the colonies, because the country’s story does not start with them. The officer is checking that you know the land was settled long before Europeans came to it.

How to Remember the Answer

Both accepted answers carry the word American or Native, and both point at the same idea: the people who were native to this place. If one phrase slips, the other one says the same thing.

What to Say on Test Day

Say “American Indians” or “Native Americans.” One phrase, then stop.

Use one of those two full phrases rather than a single word. Nothing else is needed, and no tribe names are required.