american indian
American Indian
n.
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
Native Americans in the United States
In the
United States,
Native Americans are considered to be people whose
pre-Columbian ancestors were
indigenous to the lands within the nation's modern boundaries. These peoples were composed of numerous distinct
tribes, bands, and
ethnic groups, and many of these groups survive intact today as
sovereign nations. The terms Native Americans use to refer to themselves vary regionally and generationally, with many older Native Americans self-identifying as "Indians" or "American Indians", while younger Native Americans often identify as "Indigenous". Which terms should be used to refer to Native Americans
has at times been controversial. The term "Native American" has been adopted by major newspapers and some academic groups, but has not traditionally included
Native Hawaiians or certain
Alaskan Natives, such as
Aleut,
Yup'ik, or
Inuit peoples. Indigenous American peoples from
Canada are known as
First Nations.
American Indian
Noun
1. a member of the race of people living in North America when Europeans arrived
(synonym) Indian, North American Indian, Red Indian
(hypernym) Amerindian, Native American
(hyponym) Algonquian, Algonquin
(member-holonym) Indian race, Amerindian race
2. any of the languages spoken by Amerindians
(synonym) Amerind, Amerindian language, American-Indian language, Indian
(hypernym) natural language, tongue
(hyponym) Algonquian, Algonquin, Algonquian language
American Indian
n.
Indián, Indiánka
american indian