A
Caribbean person or
West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the
Caribbean region or a person of Caribbean descent. The Caribbean region was initially populated by
Amerindians from several different
Carib and
Arawak groups. These groups were decimated by a combination of overwork and disease brought by
European colonizers. Descendants of the Arawak and Carib tribes exist today in the Caribbean and elsewhere but are usually of partial Native American ancestry.