{i} North American Indian, member of any of the aboriginal peoples inhabiting North and South America, Native American, Amerindian; any of the several languages spoken by the Native Americans
American Indian people or things belong to or come from one of the native peoples of America. An American Indian is someone who is American Indian. In principle, American Indian can apply to all native peoples throughout the Americas except the Eskimos, Aleuts, and Inuits, but in practice it is generally restricted to the peoples of the United States and Canada. For native peoples in the rest of the hemisphere, usage generally favors Indian by itself or, less frequently, the contractions Amerindian or Amerind. See Usage Note at Native American. another name for a Native American (=someone who belongs to one of the races that lived in North America before Europeans arrived). or Native American or Amerindian Any member of the various aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere, with the exception of the Eskimos (Inuit) and the Aleuts. Though the term Native American is today often preferred over American Indian, particularly in the U.S., many Native American peoples continue to prefer American Indian (or Indian). In Canada the name First Nation is preferred. The ancestors of the American Indians were nomadic hunters of northeast Asia who migrated over the Bering Strait land bridge into North America probably during the last glacial period (20,000-30,000 years ago). By 10,000 BC they had occupied much of North, Central, and South America. See also Anasazi culture; Andean civilization; Clovis complex; Eastern Woodlands Indian; Folsom complex; Hohokam culture; Hopewell culture; Mesoamerican civilization; Mississippian culture; Mogollon culture; Northwest Coast Indian; Plains Indian; Pueblo Indian; Southeastern Indian; Southwest Indian; Woodland culture