Do you still need help with this question?
Answer:
The definite article (the) is used before a noun to indicate that the identity of the noun is known to the reader. The indefinite article (a, an) is used before a noun that is general or when its identity is not known. There are certain situations in which a noun takes no article.
Explanation:
Answer: N. Scott Momaday - who is a native American himself - finds ironic that white people claimed that they were arriving into the "new world" when in reality there were ancient civilizations already living on those lands, and this claim is one that they have continued to sustain up to this day.
When Europeans arrived in 1492, there were very large Indian populations scattered all across America with a rich history and culture, an element that vastly defers the logic of the discovery of a "new world".