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On the 2010 census 0.9 percent of the U.S. population identified themselves
as being Native American (or Alaskan Native).[1] No consensus exists on how
many native people lived in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus, but
extensive research has been, and continues to be conducted.[2][3] An
estimated 15 to 20 million natives lived in North America prior to the
arrival of Columbus.[4]
As the direct result of infectious diseases, wars between tribes, wars with
Europeans, migration to Canada and Mexico, declining birth rates, and of
assimilation, the numbers of Native Americans dropped to below one million
in the 19th century. Scholars believe that the overwhelming main causes were
new infectious diseases carried by European explorers and traders. Native
Americans had no acquired immunity to such diseases, which had been chronic
in Eurasian populations for over five centuries.[5] For instance, some
estimates indicate case fatality rates of 80–90% in Native American
populations during smallpox epidemics.[6]
The U.S. Bureau of the Census (1894) provided an estimate of deaths due
specifically to war during the 57 years between 1789 and 1846:
The Indian wars under the government of the United States have been more
than 40 in number. They have cost the lives of about 19,000 white men, women
and children, including those killed in individual combats, and the lives
of about 30,000 Indians. The actual number of killed and wounded Indians
must be very much higher than the number given... Fifty percent additional
would be a safe estimate...[7] |
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