Hey there! Thanks for writing in.
It sounds like this might be a small circle of folks that you’re around. This isn’t a general opinion that I have ever heard and I asked around a bit.
What it sounds like, is perhaps there might be a couple folks you’re around who have their history backwards.
There is no debate or any argument that Native American tribes originally occupied the Americas. Some tribes who are currently in their original homelands can be traced back 10,000 years, like the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico.
By 3000 BCE (Before the Common Era), ancestors of the Mogollon, Hohokam, and Puebloan peoples of the Southwest (Arizona and New Mexico) develop sophisticated horticultural and agricultural practices that continue to this day, including growing and harvesting several strains of corn, beans, and squash in harsh environments. During this period, not only does the population increase but so does the sophistication of culture, arts, and technology (Native Voices, “3000 BC: Southwestern peoples plant corn, beans, squash; population grows”).[1]
If you’d like to learn more about the timeline of Native peoples in the Americas you can check out:
Take this one step forward and share this with your friends, or those who say the America’s were original homelands of the British or any other colonizer.
Best of luck,
Auntie Manda
[1] Investing in Native Communities: https://nativephilanthropy.candid.org/timeline/era/tribal-independence-era/
