Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums
This post is being shared in response to a wave of ignorant and dismissive comments attempting to belittle Indigenous peoples by claiming that Native societies were primitive, lacked technology, or lived in constant warfare until Europeans arrived.
These statements are false and attempt to erase thousands of years of intelligence, innovation, and cultural sophistication that thrived across the Americas.
We will not let ignorance stand. If you come on this page and post nonsense, expect to be schooled.
For the record:
Long before European contact, Indigenous nations were building cities, governing vast territories, and developing technologies suited perfectly to their environments.
In the Great Lakes region, Native peoples mined and shaped copper into tools and weapons as early as 8000 BCE. Their accomplishments are among the oldest known examples of metalworking anywhere on Earth.
In the Mississippi Valley, cities like Cahokia rose to prominence with complex urban planning, monumental architecture, and diplomatic trade networks that connected the continent.
In the Southwest, ancestral Pueblo peoples engineered irrigation canals and masonry structures that remain standing centuries later.
Indigenous astronomers, mathematicians, and metallurgists charted the stars, developed calendars, and created alloys long before European nations formed.
Equally advanced was Indigenous knowledge of medicine. Native healers developed treatments derived from plants, minerals, and ceremony, creating medical systems based on observation, experimentation, and spiritual balance. Many of these remedies, for example quinine for malaria, willow bark for pain relief, and curare for surgery, later informed Western medicine.
Healing was holistic, addressing body, mind, and spirit, and guided by a deep understanding of ecology and human well-being.
Contrary to racist portrayals, Indigenous societies were not defined by constant war. Many nations maintained peace through systems of diplomacy, trade, and intertribal alliances that lasted for generations. Conflict occurred, as it has in every part of the world, but it did not define Indigenous life.
Relationships with the land and neighboring nations were guided by balance, reciprocity, and respect.
The absence of wheels or horses does not indicate a lack of intelligence. The wheel was understood but unnecessary.
Indigenous technologies were not lesser. They were perfectly adapted to place, community, and sustainability.
Native ingenuity has always been present. It is found in the copper mined ten millennia ago, in the cities that flourished before London existed, and in the knowledge systems that continue to guide Native communities today.
The truth is clear: Indigenous peoples were not waiting for civilization to arrive. Civilization was already here.
The Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums is a national non-profit organization that supports tribal archives, libraries, and museums by providing culturally relevant programs and services.
This op-ed was republished with permission from the organization’s Facebook post on November 10, 2025.
This opinion-editorial essay does not reflect the views of ICT; voices in our opinion section represent a variety of reader points of view. If you would like to contribute an essay to ICT, email opinion@ictnews.org and jourdan@ictnews.org.