Chipmunks are a member of the ground squirrel family, and according to experts probably evolved from an ancestor of the common ground squirrel which lived in North American sometime in the Eocene epoch, 54 to 37 million years ago. All species of chipmunks found in North America are native to North America. While the Eastern chipmunk is not threatened or endangered, there are several of the western varieties that are including the Uinta, Lodgepole and Gray Footed chipmunks.