Thousands of years before Leif Erikson and Christopher Columbus landed in America, a different group of people discovered the continent. While there are different theories as to how people first came to America, the crossing of the Bering Land Bridge that connected Asia and North America is the most widely accepted one.

Scholars estimate that by the time Europeans began to settle America, nearly 10 million people had already been living in the continental United States. That number fell sharply after colonization, due to wars and the spread of diseases.

“What is generally agreed upon is that Native American populations in the United States reached their lowest point in 1900, with fewer than 250,000 living at that time,” Dr. Maurice Crandall, an assistant professor of Native American Studies at Dartmouth, told 24/7 Wall St. in October.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed population data across the country using the U.S Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey to identify the Native American tribe with the largest population in each state. Today, 5,516,157 Americans identify as at least half Native American, with over 2.5 million fully Native American. The Cherokee Nation are the most prevalent tribe in the country, comprising the majority indigenous population in 22 U.S. states.

American Indians mostly reside in sovereign nations within U.S. borders. Over time, many have moved to cities and towns outside reservations, increasing the Native population in different regions of the country.

The long history of forced relocation and later migration has also impacted the demographics of Native populations across the United States. In fact, each state’s largest tribe is not necessarily indigenous to that state. The Blackfeet Nation, for example, is the largest American Indian tribe in New Hampshire despite being originating in present-day Montana.

Hawai’i is altogether different from the continental United States. The state’s indigenous Pacific Islanders and native Hawaiians are not considered Native American as they are not related to the American Indian population that is found in the continental United States. Of the over 3,000 American Indians living in the state, nearly 500 are Cherokee, the most of any American Indian tribe.

Click here to see the largest native american population in every state

To identify the largest native population in every state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed population data from the U.S Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey. All data are five-year estimates.

We excluded members of the population who did not identify as a member of any particular tribe or identified as members of two or more tribes. We also excluded those who identified with a tribe not shown separately in the Census data, such as the Abenaki, Catawba, Eastern Tribes, Kickapoo, Mattaponi, Quapaw, Shawnee, and Yuchi.

1. Alabama
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 8,870)
> Total Native population: 23,850
> Total state population: 4,863,300

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2. Alaska
> Largest Native tribe: Yup’ik (pop: 32,721)
> Total Native population: 101,313
> Total state population: 741,894

3. Arizona
> Largest Native tribe: Navajo (pop: 145,393)
> Total Native population: 294,721
> Total state population: 6,931,071

4. Arkansas
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 7,274)
> Total Native population: 18,409
> Total state population: 2,988,248

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5. California
> Largest Native tribe: Mexican American Indian (pop: 40,588)
> Total Native population: 287,028
> Total state population: 39,250,017

6. Colorado
> Largest Native tribe: Navajo (pop: 6,213)
> Total Native population: 50,008
> Total state population: 5,540,545

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7. Connecticut
> Largest Native tribe: South American Indian (pop: 1,192)
> Total Native population: 8,908
> Total state population: 3,576,452

8. Delaware
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 394)
> Total Native population: 3,140
> Total state population: 952,065

9. Florida
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 9,632)
> Total Native population: 54,569
> Total state population: 20,612,439

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10. Georgia
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 6,231)
> Total Native population: 25,887
> Total state population: 10,310,371

11. Hawaii
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 491)
> Total Native population: 3,012
> Total state population: 1,428,557

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12. Idaho
> Largest Native tribe: Shoshone (pop: 1,139)
> Total Native population: 20,504
> Total state population: 1,683,140

13. Illinois
> Largest Native tribe: Mexican American Indian (pop: 3,320)
> Total Native population: 28,363
> Total state population: 12,801,539

14. Indiana
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 3,241)
> Total Native population: 14,793
> Total state population: 6,633,053

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15. Iowa
> Largest Native tribe: Sioux (pop: 1,467)
> Total Native population: 9,977
> Total state population: 3,134,693

16. Kansas
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 5,305)
> Total Native population: 24,022
> Total state population: 2,907,289

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17. Kentucky
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 2,945)
> Total Native population: 9,063
> Total state population: 4,436,974

18. Louisiana
> Largest Native tribe: Houma (pop: 8,261)
> Total Native population: 27,238
> Total state population: 4,681,666

19. Maine
> Largest Native tribe: Chippewa (pop: 139)
> Total Native population: 7,811
> Total state population: 1,331,479

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20. Maryland
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 1,919)
> Total Native population: 15,579
> Total state population: 6,016,447

21. Massachusetts
> Largest Native tribe: South American Indian (pop: 1,068)
> Total Native population: 13,189
> Total state population: 6,811,779

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22. Michigan
> Largest Native tribe: Chippewa (pop: 22,118)
> Total Native population: 53,951
> Total state population: 9,928,300

23. Minnesota
> Largest Native tribe: Chippewa (pop: 33,695)
> Total Native population: 56,561
> Total state population: 5,519,952

24. Mississippi
> Largest Native tribe: Choctaw (pop: 8,529)
> Total Native population: 12,896
> Total state population: 2,988,726

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25. Missouri
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 8,469)
> Total Native population: 24,951
> Total state population: 6,093,000

26. Montana
> Largest Native tribe: Blackfeet (pop: 11,929)
> Total Native population: 65,693
> Total state population: 1,042,520

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27. Nebraska
> Largest Native tribe: Sioux (pop: 4,508)
> Total Native population: 16,319
> Total state population: 1,907,116

28. Nevada
> Largest Native tribe: Paiute (pop: 5,231)
> Total Native population: 31,393
> Total state population: 2,940,058

29. New Hampshire
> Largest Native tribe: Blackfeet (pop: 399)
> Total Native population: 2,238
> Total state population: 1,334,795

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30. New Jersey
> Largest Native tribe: Mexican American Indian (pop: 1,795)
> Total Native population: 18,335
> Total state population: 8,944,469

31. New Mexico
> Largest Native tribe: Navajo (pop: 113,473)
> Total Native population: 190,528
> Total state population: 2,081,015

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32. New York
> Largest Native tribe: Iroquois (pop: 19,016)
> Total Native population: 74,793
> Total state population: 19,745,289

33. North Carolina
> Largest Native tribe: Lumbee (pop: 61,609)
> Total Native population: 116,143
> Total state population: 10,146,788

34. North Dakota
> Largest Native tribe: Chippewa (pop: 15,840)
> Total Native population: 38,286
> Total state population: 757,953

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35. Ohio
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 5,393)
> Total Native population: 21,646
> Total state population: 11,614,373

36. Oklahoma
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 106,161)
> Total Native population: 279,276
> Total state population: 3,923,561

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37. Oregon
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 3,605)
> Total Native population: 46,258
> Total state population: 4,093,465

38. Pennsylvania
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 3,280)
> Total Native population: 23,641
> Total state population: 12,784,227

39. Rhode Island
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 425)
> Total Native population: 5,106
> Total state population: 1,056,426

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40. South Carolina
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 3,200)
> Total Native population: 14,966
> Total state population: 4,961,119

41. South Dakota
> Largest Native tribe: Sioux (pop: 62,600)
> Total Native population: 72,619
> Total state population: 865,454

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42. Tennessee
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 5,897)
> Total Native population: 17,802
> Total state population: 6,651,194

43. Texas
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 16,293)
> Total Native population: 126,493
> Total state population: 27,862,596

44. Utah
> Largest Native tribe: Navajo (pop: 15,674)
> Total Native population: 31,824
> Total state population: 3,051,217

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45. Vermont
> Largest Native tribe: Cherokee (pop: 149)
> Total Native population: 2,018
> Total state population: 624,594

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