Final answer:
The claim that U.S. counties originate from an American Indian tradition is false; rather, they are based on the British system. Historical evidence shows a focus on land acquisition in early U.S.-Native American relations, and the Iroquois Confederacy was not entirely neutral during the Revolutionary War.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that counties in the U.S. come from an ancient American Indian tradition is false. Counties as administrative divisions were adopted from the British system by American colonists and are not derived from Native American governance structures.
Contrary to the idea that counties are from an indigenous tradition, the early U.S. government's interactions with Native American tribes were more focused on land acquisition. This is highlighted by the fact that acquisition of land was the most important motivating factor in the formulation of early U.S. Indian policy. Furthermore, while the Iroquois Confederacy did not maintain complete neutrality during the Revolutionary War, as not all tribes in the confederacy took the same stance, the statement that all tribes maintained neutrality is false.