Map of U.S. Shows Indigenous Names and Location Before European Contact

In 2012 self-taught mapmaker Aaron Carapella, a part Cherokee Indian, created a map that shows the Tribal nations of the U.S. prior to European contact circa 1490. The map of the contiguous United States displays the original native tribal names of roughly 595 tribes, and of that, 150 tribes are without descendants. Without descendants means that there is no one known to be alive from that tribe and are believed to be extinct. It is the first indigenous map of its kind.



Carapella has also made maps of indigenous tribes of Canada and Mexico with their original names.

Carapella's site

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