or Native American or Amerindian
Any member of the various aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere, with the exception of the Eskimo s (Inuit) and the Aleut s.
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 (20,00030,000 years ago). By 0441; 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 .