Ohio (IPA: /oʊˈhaɪoʊ/) is a Miwestern state of the United States. Part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America. At the time of European contact and in the years that followed, Native Americans in today's Ohio included the Shawnee, Iroquois, Miamis, and Wyandots. Beginning in the 1700s, the area was settled by people from New England, the Mid-Atlantic States, Appalachia, and the Upper South.