What is Native American?
{{Infobox ethnic group | group = Native Americans | image = File:Edward S. Curtis Collection People 013.jpg | image_caption = A picture of a man from the Gros Ventre tribe | total = 70 million + | total_year = <!-- year of total population --> | regions = <!-- for e.g. a list of regions (countries), especially if regionN etc below not used --> | languages = Indigenous languages of the Americas, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, Danish, French, Russian | religions = {{plainlist| *Inuit religion *Native American religion *Mesoamerican religion *Arawak religion *Carib religion *[[Christianity]]}} | related_groups = | footnotes = }} '''Native Americans''' (also called '''Aboriginal Americans''', '''American Indians''', '''Amerindians''', or '''Indigenous peoples of the Americas''') are the [[indigenous peoples]] and their descendants, who were in the [[Americas]] before [[Europe|Europeans]] arrived. ==Name== The people are sometimes called '''Indians''', but that may be confusing, because it is the same word used for people from [[India]]. When [[Christopher Columbus]] explored the area, he did not know about the Americas. He was in the [[Caribbean]] but thought he was in the [[East Indies]] and so he called the people Indians. Today, some think that it is [[racism]] to use Indian for a Native American. There are different Native American [[Tribe|tribes]], with many different [[Language|languages]]. Some tribes were [[Hunter-gatherer|hunter-gatherers]] who moved from place to place. Others lived in one place and built [[City|cities]] and [[Kingdom|kingdoms]]. Many Native Americans died after the European [[Settler|settlers]] came to the Americas. One reason is that [[Disease|diseases]] came with the Europeans but were new to the Native Americans. There were also [[Battle|battles]] with the [[Europe|Europeans]]. Many native people were hurt, killed, or forced to leave their homes by settlers, who took their lands. ==Origins== The ances