Narragansett, Native American people of the Algonquian language family and of the Eastern Woodlands culture area. The Naragansett originally occupied most of the territory along the western shore of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, and claimed dominion over several smaller peoples of the interior and the neighbouring islands, including Long Island, New York. They were one of the largest and strongest of the New England indigenous peoples. Their economy was based on maize as a staple food, fishing, and hunting. They were expert in canoeing and swimming. Tobacco was grown for smoking and for medicinal use. They lived by the sea in summer and inland in winter, building wigwams of skins, mats, or bark, supported on poles. In the latter part of the 17th century, the Narragansett took part in King Philip's War (that of Philip, chief of the Wampanoag people) against the British colonists. They suffered extremely heavy losses in the fighting and never regained their former strength. A number of the Narragansett people merged with other indigenous groups; the rest intermarried with European settlers.

Натчес, Native North American people of the Muskogean language family and of the South-east culture area. The Natchez once lived along the lower Mississippi River, near present-day Natchez, Mississippi. They were the largest and most unified indigenous tribe of the region, with some 5,000 people in the mid-1600s.

The Natchez were well established in their villages between the Yazoo and Pearl rivers when the French set up a trading post in 1713. French-Natchez relations soon deteriorated, and war ensued. In 1729 the French, together with theChoctaw, drove the Natchez from the region. Some joined the Creek, Cherokee, and Chickasaw and became assimilated; others were captured by the French and sold into slavery.

The Natchez were sun worshipers and kept a perpetual fire burning in their temples. In their religion, their customs, and their dependence on the cultivation of maize for food, they were like the Creek, Choctaw, and other people of the Mexican Gulf. The Natchez, however, had rigid class distinctions, including a noble class of three ranks: Great Suns, Suns, and Honoured Men. Unlike other chiefs, the Natchez Great Sun had autocratic powers over his subjects. The Natchez are now considered extinct.

Навахо, Native American people of the Athabascan language family and of the South-west culture area. The Navajo live on reservations in north-eastern Arizona and contiguous parts of New Mexico and Utah. They are closely related to the Apache and originally emigrated from areas to the north. It is thought that they settled in the south-west during the 16th century. By the 17th century the Navajo had become a pastoral people, with an economy based largely on herding and hunting.

History
The Navajo came into conflict with the Spanish colonists and the Mexicans in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Their contact with the Spanish was limited but important; the Spanish introduced horses, sheep, and goats, which became a vital part of the Navajo economy.

In 1846 the Navajo made their first treaty with the United States government, but disagreements with American troops led to hostilities by 1849. The Navajo engaged in persistent warfare with the Americans until 1863. In that year US forces under Kit Carson waged an extended campaign against the Navajo, eventually capturing some 8,000 of them. These Native Americans were sent on foot to a reservation at Fort Sumner in New Mexico. This deportation is known in Navajo history as the "Long Walk". On the reservation, the Navajo suffered severe hardships through disease and crop failures, and they were attacked by other Native Americans. A new treaty was signed in 1868, and the surviving Navajo were allowed to go back to a reservation set aside in their former territory, and were provided with sheep and cattle. In return, they agreed to live in peace with the American settlers. In 1884 the reservation was extended to accommodate their increasing herds.

During the late 19th century the Navajo prospered, the population doubled, and additional land was added. Since this was generally poor farming land, few attempts were made by outsiders to encroach on the reservation. Greatly increased livestock holdings presented serious problems of soil erosion and overgrazing. Eventually a livestock-reduction plan was forced on the Navajo by the US government. During World War II many left the reservation to serve in the armed forces or work in cities in war-related jobs.

Customs and Religion
The Navajo are divided into more than 50 clans, and descent is traced through the female line (that is, it is matrilineal). Clan members must marry outside of their own clan. An extended family unit is the basic social unit, with a whole range of responsibilities among relatives. Although modern housing is available on the reservation, many Navajo still build and live in traditional hogans. These are conical houses made out of logs and covered with earth, which have a smoke hole at the top and a short, covered passage for a doorway.

Traditional Navajo religion includes the worship of the winds and watercourses, and of a number of gods who are believed to intervene occasionally in human affairs. These gods are frequently invoked; offerings are made to them, and ceremonial dances are performed in which they are represented by painted and masked men. Songs, chants, prayers, and sand paintings also form part of the complicated religious rituals, and a large body of mythology exists.

Contemporary Life
Navajo economy is based on the sustenance provided by herds of sheep and goats, some cattle and horses, and employment in various jobs. The Navajo also make pottery and baskets and are well known for their silver jewellery and fine, durable blankets. By the mid-20th century, oil production and the discovery of rich mineral deposits on reservation lands had greatly enhanced their economy.

The Navajo population is growing at a great rate (from 219,198 according to the 1990 US census); this growth is likely to put considerable pressure on their traditional economy. Their reservation lands total more than 6 million hectares (15 million acres), the largest in the United States. The Navajo also have the greatest income of all Native American peoples in the United States. It is estimated at about US$50 million from oil and gas leases as well as income from mineral and forest resources.

Нез Персе, leading Native American people of the Sahaptan linguistic stock. The Nez Percй formerly occupied a large territory in south-eastern Washington, north-eastern Oregon, and central Idaho. Their name (French, "pierced nose") given by French explorers, derived from the practice of wearing nose pendants.

The Nez Percй economy was based on fishing, especially salmon, and on vegetable staples such as the bulbs of the camas plant, wild roots, and berries. After about 1700 they also kept horses and hunted buffalo. In winter they lived along riverbanks in villages of longhouses built of bark, mats, and skins; in summer they camped in the mountains and in the great upland camas meadows. They practised some weaving and the decorating of buffalo skins with paint and porcupine quills. Their principal religious ceremony was a dance in honour of the Guardian Spirit, their presiding deity. War dances were also performed. The entire people was divided into more than 40 bands, each led by a popularly selected chief. Marriage was generally outside the band or group. In response to the Nez Percй's request for instruction in Christianity, a Protestant mission was established at Lapwai, Idaho, in 1837.

In 1855 the Nez Percй made a treaty with the United States, ceding the greater portion of their territory to the United States government and receiving a reservation that included the Wallowa Valley in Oregon. When gold was discovered in the region, the people were forced to agree to surrender all their lands and to return to a reservation at Lapwai. A band led by Chief Joseph refused to accept the agreement, and, in 1877, he was victorious in a battle with federal troops. Joseph then led his band, which included women and children, on a retreat of more than 1,600 km (about 1,000 mi), and, although pursued by federal troops that greatly outnumbered them, the Native Americans won several engagements. About 50 km (30 mi) from the safety of the Canadian border, however, Joseph and his band were captured. They were sent to the Indian Territory where many soon died. Some of the survivors were later permitted to return to Idaho, where the majority now live on the Nez Percй reservation. Joseph and the remainder were sent to Colville reservation in northern Washington.

Нутка, group of closely related Native American peoples constituting one of the two major divisions of the Wakashan stock, the other being the Kwakiutl. The Nootka inhabit the western coast of Vancouver Island in southern British Columbia, Canada. Traditionally, the Nootka lived in permanent villages of long, rectangular cedar-plank houses, each accommodating several families. Carved and painted totem poles were made from logs and erected in front of the houses as heraldic posts. Cedar was also used to make boxes, and canoes were hollowed out of cedar tree trunks. The principal food of the Nootka was salmon, which was smoked for storage. Whaling was also practised. The Nootka made their clothing from skins and bark or wove it from the hair of dogs and mountain goats. In the past, Nootka religion was celebrated in elaborate winter ceremonies, characterized by the custom of potlatch, in which the host distributed gifts to the guests. The leaders held power through hereditary rank, and prestige depended on displays of wealth and lavish gift giving. Nootka dead were placed in boxes and secured high in trees.

Currently there are 15 Nootka bands (with a total population of approximately 1,600) living on reserve lands in southern British Columbia. Many fish for a living or operate canneries. In recent years, basket-weaving skills and other traditional Nootka crafts have been revived.