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When talking about Indian cultures, keep in mind that the Indians in what is now the United States were a diverse selection of cultures, which included nomads from the Great Plains in the Midwest, Indian settlements in the West, and many Indian tribes in the East.  Among the Eastern tribes there were quasi-governmental systems with formal treaties.  Most tribes did not have a formal monetary systems, but the Cherokee and the Iroquois Nations did have business transactions.  None of the tribes of the North American continent had any formal writing systems. The Indians did introduce [[tobacco]] and [[corn]] to Europeans, which became widely popular back in Europe.  Europeans also brought new things to the Indians, such as horses and guns.

When talking about Indian cultures, keep in mind that the Indians in what is now the United States were a diverse selection of cultures, which included nomads from the Great Plains in the Midwest, Indian settlements in the West, and many Indian tribes in the East.  Among the Eastern tribes there were quasi-governmental systems with formal treaties.  Most tribes did not have a formal monetary systems, but the Cherokee and the Iroquois Nations did have business transactions.  None of the tribes of the North American continent had any formal writing systems. The Indians did introduce [[tobacco]] and [[corn]] to Europeans, which became widely popular back in Europe.  Europeans also brought new things to the Indians, such as horses and guns.

Modern historians claim that the Viking [[Leif Ericson]] established a "Vinland" colony around A.D. 1000 on the island now known as [[Newfoundland]], in the far east of Canada.  There is limited physical evidence of the colony and it is not known what eventually happened to it. The colony, if it did exist, did not last long, and there is no sign of any Viking colony in what is now the United States.<ref>"People have been looking hard for hundreds of years and there is no archaeological evidence in [New England]— it's certainly possible, the Vikings were incredible boat handlers — '''but there is no evidence'''," observed one university history professor.[http://farshores.org/a04viki.htm]</ref>

The Viking [[Leif Ericson]] may have established a "Vinland" colony around A.D. 1000 on the island now known as [[Newfoundland]], in an eastern part of Canada.  Historians think this Viking colony existed in Canada, but it did not last long and there is no sign of any Viking colony in what is now the United States.<ref>"People have been looking hard for hundreds of years and there is no archaeological evidence in [New England] — it's certainly possible, the Vikings were incredible boat handlers — '''but there is no evidence'''," observed one history professor.[http://farshores.org/a04viki.htm]</ref>

Indian Americans renowned for their achievements after the pre-Columbian period (and after 1600) include Squanto (a man who was an essential interpreter for Captain John Smith starting in 1614), Pocahontas (a woman who married the English settler John Rolfe in 1614 at the Jamestown settlement), Sacagawea (a female guide hired for the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804), Tecumseh (a man who organized an Indian confederacy in the Ohio territory in the early 1800s and fought on the losing side of the British in the War of 1812), Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse (male warriors defeated and massacred Colonel George Custer’s army at the Battle of Little Bighorn in what is now South Dakota), Geronimo (an Apache warrior in what is now Arizona), Jim Thorpe (a phenomenal Olympic and professional athlete in the early 1900s), and Maria Tallchief (a tremendous ballerina).

Indian Americans renowned for their achievements after the pre-Columbian period (and after 1600) include Squanto (a man who was an essential interpreter for Captain John Smith starting in 1614), Pocahontas (a woman who married the English settler John Rolfe in 1614 at the Jamestown settlement), Sacagawea (a female guide hired for the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804), Tecumseh (a man who organized an Indian confederacy in the Ohio territory in the early 1800s and fought on the losing side of the British in the War of 1812), Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse (male warriors defeated and massacred Colonel George Custer’s army at the Battle of Little Bighorn in what is now South Dakota), Geronimo (an Apache warrior in what is now Arizona), Jim Thorpe (a phenomenal Olympic and professional athlete in the early 1900s), and Maria Tallchief (a tremendous ballerina).