There were hundreds of different tribes native to both North and South America. Historically we have called these Native peoples Indians by mistake - Columbus thought he had reached the Continent of India. Today we use the term American Indian because that is the term used in the Constitution.
Indian tribes call themselves by many names.
They might be known by both an English name and a name in their tribal language. There are over five hundred and fifty American Indian tribes that have tribal governments that are recognized by the United States in a government to government relationship. There are also approximately 300 federal Indian reservations in the United States. On an Indian reservation the tribal government performs many of the same functions that State governments do. There are tribal court systems, departments of justice and police forces on most reservations.