American Indian Wars
The 2010 United States Census found 2,932,248 Americans who identified themselves as being American Indian or Alaskan Native, about 0.9% of the US population. The Canada 2011 Census found 1,836,035 Canadians who identified themselves as being First Nations (or Inuit or Métis), about 4.3% of the Canadian population. No consensus exists on how many people lived in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans, but extensive research continues to be conducted. Contemporary estimates range from 2.1 million to 18 million people living on the North American continent prior to European colonization, but the US Census Bureau stated in 1894 that North America was an almost empty continent in 1492 and that Indian populations "could not have exceeded much over 500,000."
Indigenous peoples in Canada
In Section Thirty-five of the Constitution Act, 1982, "Aboriginal peoples of Canada" includes the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples. "Aboriginal peoples" is a legal term encompassing all indigenous Canadian groups. "Aboriginal peoples" is beginning to be considered outdated and slowly being replaced by the term "Indigenous peoples". "First Nations" (most often used in the plural) has come into general use since the 1970s replacing "Indians" in everyday vocabulary. However, on reserves, "First Nations" is being supplanted by members of various nations referring to themselves by their group or ethnical identity. In conversation this would be "I am Haida", or "we are Kwantlens", in recognition of their First Nations ethnicities.