Timeline of Native American Cultures (U.S. National Park Service)

Face of Portage Path statue on the Towpath Trail.

© Arrye Rosser

Indigenous peoples have lived in Northeast Ohio for 13,000 years. We don’t know what prehistoric people called themselves because their histories were not written down. How did these early people live? Archeologists look for answers. They dig through layers of earth, carefully studying things left behind by past people. Stone tools, pieces of pottery, stored seeds, and discarded animal bones are clues to what ancient people ate. Burnt stones and the remains of wooden posts hint at homelife. Some objects reflect spiritual beliefs.

Archeologists divide prehistory into different periods based on differences in these artifacts. It is possible—likely—that the same prehistoric people lived here across time periods. One lineage of people may appear different from their ancestors as they adapt their lifestyles to new ideas and changing conditions. Or one group may have displaced another over time.

There is a gap of about a century when no one lived in Cuyahoga Valley. Did the native people die from disease or warfare? Did they move away?

Once Europeans arrived, their maps and journals mention native people—refugees from conflicts to the east. In the early years of the US, the federal government removed the remaining Native American tribes by force. In the mid-1900s, there was a federal program to relocate Native Americans from western reservations to greater Cleveland. Our current native community is a mixture of people from different tribal nations.

Currently, this timeline only covers the prehistoric periods. We plan to add the historical and the modern periods in the future. Explore the text links for more details about each topic.