American Indian Contributions
New words, foods, and the hammock are only a few of the many American Indian contributions to our modern society...
English Words Borrowed from Indian Languages
There are around one thousand words found in the English language
that were borrowed from American Indians. Most of these words are nouns.
Here are a few, with dates and origins according to the Merriam Webster's
Collegiate Dictionary:
Names of States
There are twenty-six states with Indigenous-inspired names. The
states are:
Inspired the US Constitution
On Sept 16, 1987, the US Senate passed a resolution that stated
the US Constitution was modeled after the Iroquois Confederacy. Here's
more information about the Iroqouis Confederacy.
Games and Sports
Before 1492, Indigenous people enjoyed many games including Lacrosse,
which was invented by the Iroquois and Huron people. The toboggan is an
invention of the Eastern Algonquians, and the Kayak was created by the
Inuits.
Materials and Accessories
Moccasins, snow shoes, hammocks and cradleboards were created
by American Indians, as was cotton cloth. Indians also used rubber, tar
and fertilizer (fish).
New Foods and Ways of Cooking
Some of the American Indian native plants and foods included
pumpkins, zucchini squash, sweet potatoes, turkey, peanuts, maple syrup,
popcorn and hot chocolate.
Herbs and Medicine
The formulas and ingredients of various medicines were inspired
by American Indians. Some of these include aspirin, echinacea, ipecac,
quinine and some laxatives.
