Native Americans

Cultural  

1. The descendants of the original inhabitants of North America and South America before the arrival of white settlers from Europe, also called Indians or American Indians. The term Native American is sometimes preferred over Indian because the latter is a misnomer that originated with Columbus, who mistook the inhabitants of America for the people of India. Both terms, however, are accepted.

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In recent years, Native American activism has taken the form of calls for the protection of their tribal or ancestral shrines and artifacts.

Example Sentences

So citizenship was not always a great thing for Native Americans.

From Slate • Mar. 16, 2026

Greenpeace maintains that it played only a small and peaceful role in the movement, which was led by Native Americans.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

Native Americans were forcibly removed from their lands in the development of this nation and enslaved people were brought to America involuntarily.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2026

Inspired, Pratt sold his first painting while still in high school—a Crucifixion scene, in which all the characters were Native Americans.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026

The immediate causes of that language replacement were the advantages in technology and political organization, stemming ultimately from the advantage of an early rise of food production, that invading Europeans held over Native Americans.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond