The Native American tribes and Nations are perceived to be the first people on the continental America. This is a theory that is still under debate, being that the archeological remains of other settlers such as Leif Erickson and the Vikings have been found and have been dated to be older than the Native American's artifacts. Regardless of the contentious debates, the Native Americans are still assumed to be the first people on the continent migrating from Eurasia through the Alaskan bearing straight, during the latter part of 60,000 BC, then split themselves up in various groups, groups that are now referred to as tribes or nations. These distinct nations and tribes, developed distinct cultures, languages and attributes, most likely depending on what part of the continent they settled on. Nations and tribes that settled in the plains developed a horse riding culture, while the nations and tribes that settled in the North East and Southeast developed fishing cultures. Tribes and nations that settled in the cold regions of the Northwest Canada and Subarctic locations, developed ice and cold cultures such as ice fishing, and seal farming.
As time went on, these small tribes and nations started merging through intermarriage and economic quasi hunting and farming deals. During this period of merging, splitting and the formation of what are the now major Native American, the modern European by the name of Cristopher Columbus rediscovered the "forgotten" world in 1492. The most likely tribe of contact were the Lucayan-Arawak, and thus was the start of slavery, mass murders, and the painful future native Americans, would come to call their daily lives. It's good to note that, Christopher Columbus, a Portuguese citizen approached the King of Spain and asked for a ship to sail around the world, and find the shortest route between Europe and India. He did not expect to find a huge landmass, a continent in the pacific.
