Native Americans’ Many Contributions Continue to Shape America
Most of us remember from our American history classes that America was built in large part by European settlers. But many thousands of years before the United States existed, millions of Indigenous people lived throughout the Americas, developing cultures, technologies, agricultural practices, governments, and traditions that continue to influence our lives today. Let’s look at some of these contributions.
Agriculture and Food
Indigenous farmers in the Americas domesticated and cultivated many of the crops that eventually became staples throughout the world. Native peoples contributed a large share of the crops now grown globally, including corn, beans, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, avocados, and cacao. 1
The Wampanoag, or “People of the First Light,” were also critical to the survival of the Plymouth colonists. Indigenous peoples possessed generations of knowledge about local crops, planting techniques, hunting, fishing, and the environment. Wampanoag assistance and food helped the struggling colony survive.
Today, an estimated 35 million people worldwide can trace their ancestry to Mayflower passengers. Without the assistance the colonists received from the Wampanoag, the history of Plymouth Colony—and of many of those families—might have been very different. 2
Medicine
For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples used plants and other natural substances to treat wounds, relieve pain and fever, and address illnesses. Willow bark, for example, contains salicin, a substance chemically related to the compounds that eventually led to modern aspirin. Indigenous peoples were among the cultures that used willow medicinally. Traditional Indigenous knowledge of plants also contributed to the scientific investigation of medicinal substances. 3
Government
The Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy, united several nations under a sophisticated political system long before the United States was founded. Benjamin Franklin and other colonial leaders were familiar with the Confederacy. In 1988, Congress formally acknowledged the contribution of the Iroquois Confederacy and its political system to the development of the United States. 4
Military Service
Native Americans have made extraordinary contributions to America’s armed forces for more than two centuries.
Lieutenant Colonel Ely S. Parker, a Seneca and military secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant, prepared the formal copy of Grant’s surrender terms at Appomattox Court House in 1865. 5 First Sergeant Pascal Poolaw, a Kiowa, earned four Silver Stars during his military career. John Herrington, an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation and a U.S. Navy aviator, became the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space in 2002. 6
Perhaps the best-known example is the Native American Code Talkers. During World War II, Navajo Marines developed an ingenious communications code based on their language. Navajo Code Talkers transmitted vital battlefield messages throughout the Pacific. The Japanese never broke their code. 7
Recreation
Several recreational activities enjoyed today have roots in Indigenous traditions. Lacrosse developed from Native American stick-and-ball games, while canoes and snowshoes were essential Indigenous technologies long before Europeans arrived in North America. 8
Environmental Knowledge
Indigenous peoples did not simply live in the environment; they actively managed it. Native communities developed sophisticated methods for managing forests, grasslands, wildlife, crops, and water.
One important example is controlled burning. Indigenous communities intentionally used carefully managed fires to improve habitat, encourage useful plants, maintain healthy ecosystems, and reduce accumulated vegetation that could fuel larger wildfires. Scientists and government land managers increasingly recognize the value of these traditional practices. 9
Today, there are 575 federally recognized tribes in the United States, each with its own history, traditions, government, and identity. 10
The foods we eat, recreational activities we enjoy, environmental practices we are rediscovering, military traditions we honor, and even aspects of our political history demonstrate the continuing influence of America’s Indigenous peoples.
Native American history is American history.
1 Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian. Educational materials on Native American agriculture and Indigenous foods.
2 General Society of Mayflower Descendants and FamilySearch. Genealogical estimates and records concerning descendants of Mayflower passengers.
3 Smithsonian Institution and National Institutes of Health resources on Indigenous medicinal knowledge and the history of willow bark and salicin.
4 U.S. Congress. House Concurrent Resolution 331, 100th Congress, 1988. Recognition of the contributions of the Iroquois Confederacy to the development of the United States Constitution.
5 National Park Service. “Ely Parker” and “The Surrender Meeting.” Appomattox Court House National Historical Park.
6 National Museum of the American Indian and NASA. Biographical materials on Pascal Poolaw and John Herrington.
7 Naval History and Heritage Command. “Navajo Code Talkers: World War II Fact Sheet”; National Archives, “Semper Fidelis, Code Talkers.”
8 Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian. Resources on Native American games, transportation, and technologies.
9 National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service. Resources on Indigenous fire practices and cultural burning.
10 U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. “Tribal Leaders Directory,” 2026.