During the Wisconsin glaciation period (90,000 BC to 8000 BC) of the last ice age, it is believed that a land bridge existed between Asia and North America, between what is now Siberia (Russia) and Alaska (US). Much of the Earth’s water was locked up in glaciers and thus sea levels were lowered and land was exposed. Currently, the land bridge is covered with 150 feet of water 56 miles wide and is named the Bering Strait. The Bering Strait connects the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean. It is named after a Danish explorer sailing for the Russian Czar in the 18^th Century. During the time of the Bering Land Bridge, the sea level dropped 300 feet.
It is widely accepted that the people called Indians (now called North American Indians or Native Americans) by later arriving Europeans migrated from Asia to North America across the Bering Land Bridge. Once in North America the Indians migrated Southward. As they migrated and spread out over North America 12 major cultural areas developed, as well as 300 languages in what is now the US. Most of the written language was pictorial glyphs. Most Indians were settled in communities, though some were nomadic.
Today, there has been a reemergence of Indian culture. As many as 100 Indian languages are still spoken in the US. Indians have challenged unhonored treaties and have won many claims. Indians, refereed to by many as Native Americans, have seen an increase in their language, art, poetry, and culture. Many policies that have suppressed Indian culture have been reversed.