Profile America: Our Native Land

Profile America — Wednesday, November 30.

As American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month concludes, it’s worth noting that much of the U.S. population lives in states and towns with names derived from those originally given them by America’s first peoples. In fact, 26 states have such names—from Alabama and Alaska to Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming, to name just a few. Many towns, such as Malibu, Manhattan, and Pensacola have names based on American Indian words, as well as the Mississippi river, Lake Tahoe, the Chesapeake Bay, and Niagara Falls. The sources of these names endure, as among today’s 2.4 million American Indians and Alaska natives five years old and over, almost 27 percent speak a language other than English at home.

You can find more facts about America’s people, places and economy from the American Community Survey here.

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