New citizens must know Indians

Tribes included in new U.S. citizenship testThe U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services unveiled a new citizenship test on Thursday that includes two questions about Native Americans.

The first question asks "Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?" Acceptable answers include "Native Americans" or "American Indians."

The second question requires test-takers to "Name one American Indian tribe in the United States." A complete list is maintained by the agency.

The new questions are part of the first redesign of the naturalization test since it was created in 1986.Comment:  For foreigners who start off knowing nothing about America, I guess these simple questions are reasonable. But one more question might cement their limited knowledge of Indians. For instance:

Which of the following statements are true? Choose all that apply.

a) Indians are extinct.
b) Most Indians live in teepees.
c) Indians were primitive people with no culture.
d) Indian tribes are governments similar to states.

Many American schoolchildren would get this question right, but I wonder how adults would fare on it. I'm betting most would flunk it.