American Indian

American Indian

noun

Definition of AMERICAN INDIAN

: a member of any of the aboriginal peoples of the western hemisphere except often the Eskimos; especially : an American Indian of North America and especially the United States — compare native american

— American Indian adjective

First Known Use of AMERICAN INDIAN

1732

American Indian

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

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.

Variants of AMERICAN INDIAN

American Indian or Native American or Amerindian or indigenous American