North America

Canada

Generally referred to as Aboriginal peoples in Canada when looking at the First Nations, Inuit, and

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

peoples collectively.

Greenland

Mexico

''This issue is complicated because a great majority of Mexicans are

mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...

s and therefore being part Native is not unusual as in Canada or the US. The list only include Indigenous proper and mestizos with an Indigenous parent. This list also includes a few Pre-Columbian figures considered remarkable in the history and culture of Mexico.'' * Ignacio Manuel Altamirano, writer, journalist and politician ( Nahua) *

Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxóchitl Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxóchitl (between 1568 and 1580, died in 1648) was a nobleman of partial Aztec noble descent in the Spanish Viceroyalty of New Spain, modern Mexico; he is known primarily for his works chronicling indigenous Aztec his ...

, (d. 1648) Nahua historian, descendant of Ixtlilxochitl *

Bartolomé de Alva Don Bartolomé de Alva was a Novohispanic mestizo secular priest and Nahuatl translator. He was a younger brother of the chronicler don Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl. Alva received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Mexico in 1622, a ...

, Nahua, younger brother of

Diego de Alvarado Huanitzin Don Diego de Alvarado Huanitzin (or Panitzin) was a 16th-century Nahua noble. A grandson of Axayacatl, Nephew of tlatoani Moctezuma II. He was initially the ''tlatoani'' (ruler) of Ecatepec before becoming ''tlatoani'' of Tenochtitlan, as well as ...

, tlatoani of Tenochtitlan * Domingo Arenas, Mexican revolutionary from Tlaxcala *

Juan Badiano Juan Badiano (1484-after 1552) was the translator of Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis ca. 1552, from Nahuatl to Latin. The book was a compendium of 250 medicinal herbs used by the Aztecs. This compilation was originally done by Martin de la ...

, Nahua translator * Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza, anarchist, feminist activist, typographer, journalist and poet ( Caxcan) * Cajemé, Yaqui rebel leader * Jacinto Canek (1731-1761), Maya rebel leader *

Chimalpahin Domingo Francisco de San Antón Muñón Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin (1579, Amecameca, Chalco—1660, Mexico City), usually referred to simply as Chimalpahin or Chimalpain, was a Nahua annalist from Chalco. His Nahuatl names () mean "Runs Swi ...

(1579-1660), Nahua historian * Cuauhtémoc, last ( Aztec) Tlatoani *

Cuitláhuac Cuitláhuac (, ) (c. 1476 – 1520) or Cuitláhuac (in Spanish orthography; nah, Cuitlāhuac, , honorific form: Cuitlahuatzin) was the 10th '' Huey Tlatoani'' (emperor) of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan for 80 days during the year Two Flin ...

, penultimate ( Aztec) Tlatoani * Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, Catholic Saint ( Chichimeca) *

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...

, President ( Mixtec mother) * Pascual Díaz y Barreto (1876-1936),

Huichol The Huichol or Wixárika are an indigenous people of Mexico and the United States living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango, as well as in the United States in the states of California, ...

Roman Catholic prelate * Lila Downs, singer ( Mixtec mother) *

Emilio Fernández Emilio "El Indio" Fernández Romo (; 26 March 1904 – 6 October 1986) was a Mexican film director, actor and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific film directors of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. He is best kn ...

, film director, actor (

Kickapoo Kickapoo may refer to: People * Kickapoo people, a Native American nation ** Kickapoo language, spoken by that people ** Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, a federally recognized tribe of Kickapoo people ** Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, a federally recog ...

mother) *

Faustino Galicia Chimalpopoca Faustino Galicia Chimalpopoca or Faustino Chimalpopoca(tl) Galicia (died 1877) was an indigenous Mexican lawyer, professor, translator, and administrator. He was the most active scholar of the Nahuatl language of the 19th century. ''Chimalpopoca' ...

professor, lawyer, and translator of the

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...

language. * Natalio Hernández (b. 1947) Nahua poet from Veracruz * Victoriano Huerta, President (

mother) *

Indio Mariano Indio Mariano was an Indigenous peoples of Mexico, Indigenous rebel against Spain in 1801 in Tepic, Nayarit, Tepic, Nueva Galicia, now in the Mexican state of Nayarit. The background With the arrival of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons on the throne ...

, rebel leader in Tepic * Luz Jiménez (1897-1965), Nahua storyteller * Benito Juárez, President ( Zapotec) * La Malinche, translator of

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...

* Modesta Lavana, (1929-2010), Nahua healer *

Florentina López de Jesús Florentina López de Jesús (July 25, 1939 – February 9, 2014) was a traditional Amuzgo The Amuzgos are an Indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous people of Mexico. They primarily live in a region along the Guerrero/Oaxaca border, chiefly in ...

(1939-2014),

Amuzgo The Amuzgos are an Indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous people of Mexico. They primarily live in a region along the Guerrero/Oaxaca border, chiefly in and around four municipalities: Xochistlahuaca, Tlacoachistlahuaca and Ometepec in Guerrero, ...

weaver *

Tomás Mejía Tomás may refer to: * Tomás (given name) * Tomás (surname) Tomás is a Spanish and Portuguese surname, equivalent of ''Thomas''. It may refer to: * Antonio Tomás (born 1985), professional Spanish footballer * Belarmino Tomás (1892–1950), ...

, Otomi Mexican Army general *

Moctezuma II Moctezuma Xocoyotzin ( – 29 June 1520; oteːkˈsoːmaḁ ʃoːkoˈjoːt͡sĩn̥), nci-IPA, Motēuczōmah Xōcoyōtzin, moteːkʷˈsoːma ʃoːkoˈjoːtsin variant spellings include Motewksomah, Motecuhzomatzin, Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecu ...

, ( Aztec) Tlatoani at the beginning of the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire * Diego Muñoz Camargo (c. 1529-1599), historian of Tlaxcala * Nezahualcóyotl, Tlatoani of Texcoco and poet in

Nahuatl language Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan languages, Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in ...

* Nezahualpilli (1464-1515), Tlatoani of Texcoco *

Martín Ocelotl Martín Ocelotl (1496 – 1537?) was an Aztec Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous priest (shaman) who was put on trial during New Spain’s Spanish Inquisition, Inquisition. He was ultimately banished to Spain. Biography Early life ...

(1496-?1537), Nahua priest/shaman executed by the Inquisition *

Carlos Ometochtzin Carlos Ometochtzin (Nahuatl for "Two Rabbit"; ) or Ahuachpitzactzin, or Chichimecatecatl (Nahuatl for "Chichimec lord," is also known simply as Don Carlos of Texcoco, was a member of the Acolhua nobility. His date of birth is unknown. In dispute i ...

(d. 1539)

Cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...

of Texcoco, executed by the Inquisition * Daniel Ponce de León (b. 1980) Tarahumara professional boxer *

Comandante Ramona Comandanta Ramona (1959 – January 6, 2006) was an officer of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), a revolutionary Indigenous autonomist organization based in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. Biography Ramona was born in ...

EZLN The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (, EZLN), often referred to as the Zapatistas (Mexican ), is a far-left political and militant group that controls a substantial amount of territory in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico. Since ...

leader (

Tzotzil The Tzotzil are an indigenous Maya people of the central Chiapas highlands in southern Mexico. As cited by Alfredo López Austin (1997), p. 133, 148 and following. As of 2000, they numbered about 298,000. The municipalities with the largest Tzo ...

) * Isabel Ramírez Castaneda (1881-1943), (Nahua) archeologist * María Sabina, shaman ( Mazatec) *

Comandante Tacho Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

leader ( Tojolabal) *

Refugio Tánori Refugio Tánori (1835-1866) was a Mexican soldier and a member of the Opata People. He was born in the town of Álamos in 1835. During the Reform War he fought on the side of the conservatives with the rank of captain, joining his brother Jua ...

, Opata commander and supporter of the

Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (), officially the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists in conjunction with the Second French Empire. The period is sometimes referred to as the Second French i ...

. * Francisco Tenamaztle (fl. 1540s-50s) Caxcan leader in the Mixton War *

Antonio Valeriano Antonio Valeriano (c. 1521–1605) was a colonial Mexican, Nahua scholar and politician. He was a collaborator with fray Bernardino de Sahagún in the creation of the twelve-volume ''General History of the Things of New Spain'', the Florentine C ...

(c. 1521-1605), Nahua scholar, collaborator with Bernardino de Sahagún on the Florentine Codex *

Felipe Santiago Xicoténcatl Felipe Santiago Xicoténcatl (May 1, 1804 – September 13, 1847) was a colonel in the Mexican Army under president Antonio López de Santa Anna. Xicoténcatl was born in the town of San Bernandino Contla in the state of Tlaxcala. He joined t ...

, 1804-1847 Nahua, general in the Mexican Army under Antonio López de Santa Anna

United States

Central America

The Caribbean

* Agüeybaná (The Great Sun) - "supreme

cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...

" in Puerto Rico * Agüeybaná II -

in Puerto Rico *

Arasibo Aracibo (born c. 1480s) was a Taíno ''Cacique'' in Puerto Rico who governed the area which is now named after him (now spelled Arecibo). Pre-Columbian era Aracibo governed a tribe whose village was located by the shore of the river "Abacoa" (n ...

in Puerto Rico *

Hatuey Hatuey (), also Hatüey (; died 2 February 1512) was a Taíno ''Cacique'' (chief) of the Hispaniola province of Guahaba (present-day La Gonave, Haiti). He lived from the late 15th until the early 16th century. One day Chief Hatuey and many of ...

( Taíno),

in Cuba *

Hayuya Hayuya (born c. 1470s) was the Taíno Cacique (Chief) who governed the area in Puerto Rico which now bears his name (which is now spelled "Jayuya"). Arrival of the Conquistadors When the Spaniards arrived in "Borikén" (the Taíno name for Puerto ...

in Puerto Rico * Jumacao -

in Puerto Rico * Anacaona -

in Hispaniola ( Taíno) * Arawak -

in Bahamas ( Taíno) * Caonabo -

in Hispaniola ( Carib) * Guacanagaric -

in Hispaniola ( Taíno) *

Guarionex Guarionex (Taíno language: ''"The Brave Noble Lord"'') was a Taíno cacique from Maguá in the island of Hispaniola at the time of the arrival of the Europeans to the Western Hemisphere in 1492. He was the son of cacique Guacanagarix, the grea ...

in Hispaniola ( Taíno) * Cotubanama -

in Hispaniola ( Taíno) *

Enriquillo Enriquillo, also known as "Enrique" by the Spaniards, was a Taíno cacique who rebelled against the Spaniards between 1519 and 1533. Enriquillo's rebellion is the best known rebellion of the early Caribbean period. He was born on the shores of ...

in Hispaniola ( Taíno)

Guatemala

* Miguel Ángel Asturias, novelist, Nobel prize winner in literature * Rigoberta Menchú Tum, activist, Nobel prize winner in peace ( Quiché) *

Concepción Ramírez María de la Concepción Ramírez Mendoza (8 March 1942 – 10 September 2021) was a peace activist from Guatemala, whose portrait appears on the Guatemalan 25 centavo coin, known as the ''choca''. Biography Ramírez was born on 8 March 1942 ...

, activist, appears on the Guatemalan 25-centavo coin

Nicaragua

* Myrna Cunningham, Miskita physician, feminist and Indigenous rights activist

South America

Bolivia

Roberto Mamani Mamani Mamani Mamani is an Aymara artist from Bolivia. His work is significant in its use of Aymara indigenous tradition and symbols. His art has been exhibited around the world, including shows in Washington, D.C., Tokyo, Munich, China, Singapore, an ...

(b. 1962), Aymara painter *

Alejandro Mario Yllanes Alejandro Mario Yllanes (1913–1960) was an Aymara painter and printmaker from Bolivia. He disappeared from the public spotlight in 1946, after he was awarded, but did not claim, the Guggenheim Fellowship.Raynor, VivienART; Works by a Vanished B ...

(1913–1960), Aymara painter and printmaker * Evo Morales, Aymara politician, president of Bolivia *

Bienvenido Zacu Mborobainchi Bienvenido Zacu Mborobainchi (born March 22, 1956, Urubichá, Ñuflo de Chávez Province) is a Bolivian politician from the Guarayo people.Zacu Mborobainchi, Bienvenido, and Ricardo Ontiveros. Bienvenido Zacu Mborobainchi: líder de la marcha por l ...

, b. 1956, Guarayo politician

Brazil

Daniel Munduruku Daniel Munduruku (Belém do Pará, February 28, 1964) is a Brazilian writer and educator. He is member of the Munduruku indigenous people. His children's books deal about traditional indigenous life and tales and have been awarded several prizes. ...

* Bebeto

Chile

Ainavillo Ainavillo, Aynabillo, Aillavilu or Aillavilú, (in Mapudungun, ''ailla'', nine and ''filu'', snake) was the toqui of the Mapuche army from the provinces of "Ñuble, Itata, Renoguelen, Guachimavida, Marcande, Gualqui, Penco and Talcahuano." They t ...

(16th-century), Mapuche toqui * Butapichón (17th-century), Mapuche toqui * Cadeguala (16th-century), Mapuche toqui *

Calfucurá Calfucurá (from Mapudungun Kallfükura, 'blue stone'; from kallfü, 'blue', and kura, 'stone') also known as Juan Calfucurá or Cufulcurá (b. late 1770s; d. 1873), was a leading Mapuche lonco and military figure in Patagonia in the 19th century. ...

(late 1770s–1873), Mapuche military leader from Patagonia *

Caupolicán Caupolicán (meaning ‘polished flint’ (queupu) or ‘blue quartz stone’ (Kallfulikan) in Mapudungun) was a ''toqui'' or war leader of the Mapuche people, who led the resistance of his people against the Spanish Conquistadors who invaded the ...

(died 1558), Mapuche toqui *

Santos Chávez Santos Chávez (1934-2001) was a Mapuche printmaker and painter from Chile, known for his engravings and woodcuts. Background Santos Segundo Chávez Alíster was born on February 7, 1934, in a small town of Canihual, between Tirúa and Quidico i ...

(1934–2001), Mapuche printmaker *

Elicura Chihuailaf Elicura Chihuailaf Nahuelpán (, 1952 in Quechurehue, Cautín Province) is a Mapuche Chilean poet and author whose works are written both in Mapudungun and in Spanish, and have been translated into many other languages as well. He has also transl ...

(born 1952), Mapuche poet

Colombia

Quintín Lame Manuel Quintín Lame Chantre (1880–1967) was a Colombian indigenous rebel from the early 20th century who tried to form an independent indigenous republic. He was born in El Borbollón, Cauca, son of Mariano Lame, of Paez origin, and Dolo ...

(1880–1967), Paez political leader and author

Ecuador

* Camilo Egas,

Mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...

, painter and educator, 1889–1962 *

Eugenio Espejo Francisco Javier Eugenio de Santa Cruz y Espejo (Royal Audiencia of Quito, February 21, 1747 – December 28, 1795) was a medical pioneer, writer and lawyer of mestizo origin in colonial Ecuador. Although he was a notable scientist and write ...

journalist, hygienist, lawyer, and satirical writer, 1747–1795 *

Oswaldo Guayasamín Oswaldo Guayasamín (July 6, 1919 – March 10, 1999) was an Ecuadorian painter and sculptor of Kichwa and Mestizo heritage. Biography Early life Guayasamín was born in Quito, Ecuador, to a native father and a Mestiza mother, both of Kichwa de ...

, Quechua painter and sculptor, 1919–1999 * Eduardo Kingman,

painter, 1913–1998 * Luis Macas, Quechua anthropologist and politician, born 1951 * Mincaye, Hauo preacher and church elder, born 1935 *

Nina Pacari Nina Pacari (Kichwa ''nina'' "fire", ''paqariy'' "to appear, dawn"), born as María Estela Vega Conejo (born 9 October 1961 in Cotacachi, Imbabura) is a Kichwa politician, lawyer and indigenous leader from Ecuador. Biography Nina Pacari studi ...

, Kichwa politician, lawyer and Indigenous leader from Cotacachi, born 1961 *

Antonio Vargas Carlos Antonio Vargas Guatatuca (born 1 December 1958 in Unión Base, Puyo) is an indigenous Quechua politician of Ecuador. He was leader of the Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas de Ecuador (CONAIE) and Minister for Social Welfare un ...

, Quechua politician

Peru

Tupac Amaru Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

, military figure and last Inca * Túpac Amaru II (1738-1781), leader of massive Andean uprising against Spanish colonial rule * Túpac Katari (c. 1750-1781), leader of an Andean uprising * Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, writer *

Yma Sumac Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chávarri del Castillo (September 13, 1922 (birth certificate) or September 10, 1922 (later documents) – November 1, 2008), known professionally as Yma Sumac (), was a Peruvian-American coloratura soprano. She was one ...

, Singer of self-identified Inca ancestry * Alejandro Toledo, President *

Marcos Zapata Marcos Zapata (c. 1710–1773), also called Marcos Sapaca Inca, was a Peruvian painter, born in Cuzco. He was one of the last members of the Cuzco School, an art center in which Spanish painters taught native students to paint religious works. Z ...

(c. 1710–1773), Quechua

Cuzco School The Cusco School (''Escuela cuzqueña'') or Cuzco School, was a Roman Catholic artistic tradition based in Cusco, Peru (the former capital of the Inca Empire) during the Colonial period, in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. It was not limited to ...

painter * Magaly Solier, Quechua actress * Manco Cápac, Sapa Inca * Ollanta Humala, President of Peru * Q'orianka Kilcher, Quechua actress *

Martín Chambi Martín Chambi Jiménez (November 5, 1891 – September 13, 1973) was a Peruvian photographer, originally from Puno, in southern Peru. He was one of the first major Indigenous Latin American photographers. Recognized for the profound historic and ...

, Quechua photographer *

Diego Quispe Tito Diego Quispe Tito (1611–1681) was a Quechua painter from Peru. He is considered the leader of the Cuzco School of painting. Background The son of a noble Inca family, Quispe Tito was born in Cuzco, and worked throughout his life in the distric ...

, Quechua painter

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Indigenous People Of The Americas Indigenous Indigenous people of the Americas Indigenous people of the Americas