Native Americans The first people to inhabit the Americas were the Indians. Their settlements ranged across the Western Hemisphere and were built on many of the sites where modern cities now rise. They hunted deer, buffalo, and other game and cultivated land where today crops are still grown. Their hunters, warriors, and traders used paths now followed by roads and railroads. Indian words dot the map of the United States. Twenty-seven states and large numbers of cities, towns, rivers, and lakes bear names from the languages of the first Americans. Native American farmers were the first in the world to domesticate potatoes, tomatoes, and many other food