I am going to stay for a visit at the u.s.a. for a month, mainly around Philadelphia .
My hosts, will of course show me close places but I do not want to miss "real Indians".
This is my first time in America, and maybe even the last ( I am not so young).
I would like to read about places and ways to fulfill my "dream".please, not very expensive. Thanks.

OK, I have to assume you don't mean to be insulting here, so I'm going to help you out with your terminology. The proper term is "American Indians". And they don't live on "reserves" - those are for fenced-in animals. There are "reservations" - land grants to American Indians. I am not familiar with New England, so I can't advise there. You could take a week and go to the Southwest - New Mexico, Arizona and the Four Corners area are great places to learn about the American Indian culture. I don't know what your idea of "not very expensive" is, so this may not be right for you.

Actually, isn't "Native American" the proper term?

No. If you were born in America, you are a native american, regardless of your heritage. American Indians are the ethnic and cultural civilizations that existed in the Americas prior to coloinzation by Europeans.

I believe both terms are correct:

Native American:
 Encyclopædia Britannica Article

also called  American Indian,  Amerindian,  Amerind,  or  Indian  member of any of the aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere, with the exception of the Eskimo, or Inuit, and Aleuts.

The aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere usually are recognized as constituting two broad groupings. The first and larger group, called Native Americans, is further divided geographically into North American, Middle American, and South America.

>-

"Native American" has been widely accepted terminology for the last few decades, and I won't argue that people still use it. However, anthropologists have shifted to using the term "American Indian" out of respect for all "Native Americans". It also has a lot to do with the connotations that people assign (consciously or subconsciously) to the term "native", insinuating that natives are inherently "savage" and "uncivilized". This shift in terminology is another step in eliminating the underlying notion of American Indians as second-class citizens.

Hey Beckers..If all those born in America are considered "Native American", Why are all black people still referred as "African Americans"?

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry ! I did not mean to insult. It is just because I do not know the right terminology, and I used the one I remember from my childhood (The books of Karl May, and maybe that the spelling is wrong, because I've read it
translated to my language).
So thanks to all of you, and I will wait for more suggestions about the tour and not the terminology.

ahhnold, think about it. I am NOT advocating the use of the term "Native American"! If you will re-read my post, I said that if you were born in America, you are a native american, meaning you are native to america - not that you belong to a particular ethnic or cultural group. This is precisely my point. "Native American" is an often impoperly assigned terminology. If you are African American, or Italian American, or Irish American, or Vietnamese American, or Mexican American, you can still be native to America. Yet another reason why "Native American" should not be used to identify an ethnic or cultural group.

There is the brand new Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. I am sure there are many interesting displays. Otherwise, it would take a trip across the U.S. I'm afraid.

The U.S. is so large, I would do some research and pinpoint a special area to visit. The Navaho reservation in northern Arizona is immense, dotted here and there with small houses and beautiful red rock scenery.

As far as the political correct issue, I feel the ONLY one to make sense is "Native American" for indian cultures. All others should drop the prefix and call us Americans. Anything else promotes division. Calling one of Irish decent a Native disrespects true natives.

Hey friend,
my request was focused on the geographic-ethnic subject, and I found myself in the middle of a philosophical
disputes.

ahhnold, if you drop the "Native" for everyone EXCEPT American Indians, you are INCREASING the DIVISION between "them" and "us". Furthermore, why insult all other cultures by saying that only American Indians deserve their own category? That is insulting to everyone who honors their heritage, inculding the "African Americans" you were concerned with in your previous post.

Hey friend - This is what happens sometimes on a public forum. You can either accept it, or repost with a new message, taking into account what you have just learned. Either way, you can't stop this discussion from happening.

That said, there are plenty of tribes all around North America, not just in the Southeast US. I know they exist in Connecticut and Michigan because I've lived in both. Do a web search for this topic and I'm sure you can find museums and the like all over the country, even in the Philadelphia area.

Unless museums wouldn't fit your description of "real Indians" then you'll need to explain more of what you mean.

Whaddyamean, no SE Indians?!?!?!

My grandfather, a member of the Ani-Stohini/Unami nation found the tern "Indian" to be offensive and would always correct anyone who referred to him that way. To him, "Indian" was not only incorrect, it was insulting. He was not from India, he was Ani-Stohini.

How lovely that we now have a term for our people that anthropologists can agree upon. Did anyone tell them that the indigenous people already had terms for themselves?

And this nonsnese about calling ingienous people as such will increase the division between them and those of non-native descent is ridiculous. Why do you think so many choose to remain or return to native (asssigned) lands? Why are you assuming that there should not be some sort of individualism among one's culture. Not everyone wants to be assimilated into the borg. It is OK to celebrate one's heritage and to identify with it. I am proud of my heritage and do not want to be simply labled "American."

Being of European descent, I don't have the authority to speak on this that you do, here_today. But I can certainly understand your grandfather's being insulted at being referred to by an incorrect term inflicted on your people by Christopher Columbus. And I would agree that using the exact nation name would be preferable. But sometimes you really do need a "collective" term. Whatever inexactitudes may exist, if it were me, I think I'd be far less offended by the term "Native American" than by American Indian. And, beckers, if I followed the logic you used earlier, wouldn't Asian Indians born in the U.S. be American Indians? Although I realize the words are usually reversed, as in Irish American rather than American Irish.

But to answer liiat's actual question, there are reservations in the East. I hope that you might hear from someone in the Philadelphia area who can tell you which one would be the closest.

liiat,
Here's a link that you may find useful. It addresses the terms "Indian" and "Native American" as well -
http://www.usatourist.com/english/inside/indians.html

The article suggests visiting a powwow and provides a link at the bottom of the page.

Seniormsuedu had a good recommendation regarding the new museum in Washington, DC.

By the way, there were as many missions in North Florida/ South Georgia but the structures were of timber in a temperate climate rather than adobe in a desert climate and the remains are difficult to find.

An associate is a serious participant in powwows in the SE and creates pottery in his tribe's authentic way starting with digging clay from creekbeds and firing the pots and vessels in fire pits dug in the riverbank.

Give these links a look - I think they will be useful in your planning.

CAPH2, you answered your own question. American Indian and Indian American are two distinctly different terms.

Poor liiat! Welcome to American-style cultural correctness!

Perhaps you should contact the tourism board for Philadelphia: www.gophila.com. You could ask them if they know of any nearby reservations. Or you could also try www.visitpa.com, the pennsylvania state trourism board. Lastly, try http://www.americanindian.si.edu/
This is the site for the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC; they may be able to inform you as well.

The main reason you are getting so few answers is that the largest and best known reservations are all far west of Pennsylvania. (Perhaps you could fly out west with your hosts for a short visit?)
Best of luck!