Native American
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Native Americans (also Aboriginal Peoples, Aboriginal Americans, American Indians, Amerindians, Amerind, Indians, First Nations, First Peoples, Alaskan Natives, Native Canadians, or Indigenous Peoples of America) are those people who were in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean Islands when the Europeans came there. The Europeans were travelling west, so they thought they were going to India. This is why they called the people "Indians".
Sometimes these people are called "Indians", but this is confusing, because it is the same word used for people from India. The words aboriginal or first people or indigenous people are also used. Other names for these for Native Americans are First Nations (in Canada) and "Red Indians" (this is not used much any more). There are many different tribes of American Indian people, with many different languages.
Many American Indians died after the Europeans came to the Americas, from diseases that came with the Europeans that were new to the Indians, in wars with the Europeans, or because the Europeans made them work as slaves. Most of the American Indians were hurt or killed by settlers who wanted to take their lands.
Most people think that the ancestors of American Indians came to the Americas from Asia. Some of them may have come to America over 12,000 years ago when Alaska was connected to Asia by land. Some people think that they came to the Americas even before that. Some of their ancestors may have come along the coastline in small boats or canoes, because sometimes there were glaciers blocking the land between Alaska and Asia.
Some Indian tribes and languages of North America are Cherokee, Maya or Yucatec Maya, Aztecs, Navajo, and Sioux.
Some Indian tribes and languages of South America are Aymara, Guarani, Quechua, and Tupi.