Native Nations at 250

America did not begin in 1776. The thirteen colonies that had been settled by the British starting in 1607, and that declared their collective independence to form a new nation in 1776, had already been home to hundreds of tribes and nations for more than fifteen thousand years— peoples with their own cultures and sacred traditions, trade networks, and governing structures. For Native Americans, the Semiquincentennial is therefore a layered moment, and an invitation to tell their story.