Native or Indigenous Americans were referred to as "Indians" by Europeans during the Dutch Colonial Period.
For the sake of this project we have used the term 'affiliation' as it is not always possible to determine Tribal alliance, citizenship, and/or genetic background of the diverse people who settled in New Netherland.
For example Native Americans like Chief Oratam, had diplomatic relationships with many different Indigenous peoples from all over New Netherland. Anna Pell likely could have been considered both English and Native American.
Also, settlers in New Amsterdam are listed as being Turkish, German, English, etc. but in many cases we have included them in the Dutch affiliation as they were choosing to settle in a colony organized by the Dutch.
In the case of enslaved peoples who clearly did not choose to become part of the Dutch, English, or other European settlements, we have used this affiliation to show whenever possible their continent, country, or tribe of origin.
If a specific country or tribe is not salient in our research, and the person is likely to be of Native American descent we have used Affiliation - Native American until more specific information is available.
We have also assumed that people might have more than one affiliation because of heritage, intermarriage, or perhaps circumstances, land deals, court cases, and the change in power of the colonies over time.