Native American tribes have been documented as living in the Americas since at least the 10th millennium BCE. The first recorded European contact with Native Americans occurred in 1492, when Christopher Columbus landed in the Caribbean. In the centuries that followed, European colonization of the Americas led to widespread warfare, disease, and displacement of Native American peoples.
Today, there are over 560 federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States, with a total population of over 5 million. Native Americans live in all 50 states, but the majority live in the western United States. They have their own unique languages, cultures, and traditions, and they play an important role in American society.