Test your Native American knowledge

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

November is American Indian Heritage Month. How much do you know about American Indians? If you’re like most Americans – probably not much beyond what you saw in Dances with Wolves.

Test yourself with this quiz. I found it at Newspaper Rock, a very cool blog about Native America and pop culture.

1. How many federally recognized tribes are there in the United States?

2. Who wrote: “The present King of Great Britain…has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers; the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.”

3. Whose portrait is being carved in a mountain taller than Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota?

4. Which American woman has the most school buildings and monuments named after her?

5. Which two “Latin” countries have an indigenous majority?

6. What was actress Maria Cruz’s most famous role?

7. How did Christopher Columbus punish Indians who didn’t pay tribute on time?

8. Which three of the following plants are not Native American in origin? avocados, bananas, blueberries, coffee, papayas, peaches, potatoes, sugarcane, tomatoes, zucchini

9. What was George Washington’s Indian nickname? (Hint: The initials were T.D.)

10. Which ten sports did Native people invent? (Hint: Archery isn’t one of them.)

11. Which US state has the smallest Native population?

12. What were the Indians’ three greatest architectural achievements?

13. When and where was the first treaty signed between Indians and Europeans? (Hint: Name the century and the area of the “New World.”)

You can find the answers here.