Native American was a general term for humans who were generally agreed to be the original inhabitants of North America. A racial more than a singular cultural identity, Native Americans were further subdivided into tribes or nations. Despite many significant differences between the tribes, some culturally commonalities were apparent, such as a general religious belief in the Great Spirit, and a naming convention that tended to award metaphorical names to people. (PROSE: Peacemaker)
Furthermore, most Native American tribes were in some way defined by their opposition to European Americans. Many groups, such as the Lakota Sioux were often involved in armed conflict against the US Army, particularly as the power of the United States government stretched westward in the 19th century. This diminished Native American culture but did not crush it; Native Americans continued to exist for countless years after. (COMIC: Bad Blood)
The First Doctor said that "Red Indians" had "savage minds". (TV: An Unearthly Child) He later became a legendary figure amongst Native Americans. In his eighth body, he provided counsel to Sitting Bull prior to and after the Battle of Bull Run. (COMIC: Bad Blood) His tenth incarnation was "proud to say [he was] a friend to all tribes", and certainly impressed Walking Crow with his knowledge of the Pawnee tribe. In fact, the Doctor claimed to be generally known to Native Americans as "Rides In Night" — but Walking Crow noted that the Pawnee knew Rides In Night as "Brother of Coyote, the man who defeated the Bad Wolf". (PROSE: Peacemaker)
In the days before european settlement of the United States, Hetocumtek arrived on Earth and set himself up as a god who was infamous for his cruel and destructive nature. Eventually, a "medicine man" managed to trick the alien into a totem pole, trapping him. They buried the totem pole in the Nevada Desert for fear of Hetocumtek's threats that he would one day break free when the totem pole "fell into the hand of man again". (TV: The Curse of Clyde Langer)
The Niantic people lived in New England. They had encountered the Hervoken, which they called Hee-oko. (PROSE: Forever Autumn)
In 2011, Dr Samantha Madigan told Clyde Langer that the most famous Native American curse, called the Curse of Tippecanoe, had been supposedly placed on the American Presidents. (TV: The Curse of Clyde Langer)
