Native American

Native American

n.

A member of any of the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere. The ancestors of the Native Americans are generally considered by scientists to have entered the Americas from Asia by way of the Bering Strait sometime during the late glacial epoch.

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Native American adj.

Usage Note: Many Americans have come to prefer Native American over Indian both as a term of respect and as a corrective to the famous misnomer bestowed on the peoples of the Americas by a geographically befuddled Columbus. There are solid arguments for this preference. Native American eliminates any confusion between indigenous American peoples and the inhabitants of India, making it the clear choice in many official contexts. It is also historically accurate, despite the insistence by some that Indians are no more native to America than anyone else since their ancestors are assumed to have migrated here from Asia. But one sense of native is "being a member of the original inhabitants of a particular place," and Native Americans' claim to being the original inhabitants of the Americas is unchallenged. · Accuracy and precision aside, however, the choice between these two terms is often made as a matter of principle. For many, Native American is the only choice for expressing respect toward America's indigenous peoples; Indian is seen as wrong and offensive. For others, the former smacks of bureaucracy and the manipulation of language for political purposes while the latter is the natural English term, its inaptness made irrelevant by long use. Fortunately, this controversy appears to have subsided somewhat in recent years, and it is now common to find the two terms used interchangeably in the same piece of writing. Furthermore, the issue has never been particularly divisive between Indians and non-Indians. While generally welcoming the respectful tone of Native American, most Indian writers have continued to use the older name at least as often as the newer one. · Native American and Indian are not exact equivalents when referring to the aboriginal peoples of Canada and Alaska. Native American, the broader term, is properly used of all such peoples, whereas Indian is customarily used of the northern Athabaskan and Algonquian peoples in contrast to the Eskimos, Inuits, and Aleuts. Alaska Native (or less commonly Native Alaskan) is also properly used of all indigenous peoples residing in Alaska. See Usage Notes at American Indian, First Nation, Indian.

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Native American

n

(Social Science / Peoples) another name for an American Indian

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	Native American - any member of the peoples living in North or South America before the Europeans arrived Amerindian individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do" war party - a band of warriors who raid or fight an enemy (used especially of Native Americans) person of color, person of colour - (formal) any non-European non-white person American Indian, Indian, Red Indian - a member of the race of people living in America when Europeans arrived South American Indian - a member of a native Indian group in South America Carib, Carib Indian - a member of an American Indian peoples of northeastern South America and the Lesser Antilles Arawak, Arawakan - a member of a widespread group of Amerindians living in northeastern South America
Adj.	1.	Native American - of or pertaining to American Indians or their culture or languages; "Native American religions"; "Indian arrowheads" Amerind, Amerindic, Indian

Translations

Native American [ˌneɪtɪvəˈmerɪkən]

A. ADJ → americano nativo

B. N → americano/a m/f nativo/a

Native American

adj → indianisch

n → Indianer(in) m(f)