American Indian

or Native American

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 to “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 (11,500–30,000 years ago). By c. 10,000 BC they had occupied much of North, Central, and South America. See also Ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi) culture; Andean civilization; Clovis complex; Folsom complex; Hohokam culture; Hopewell culture; Mesoamerican civilization; Mississippian culture; Mogollon culture; Northeast Indian; Northwest Coast Indian; Plains Indian; Pueblo Indian; Southeast Indian; Southwest Indian; Woodland culture.

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