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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

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The expansion came at an enormous cost to Native Americans, who were displaced and deprived of their sovereignty, and to Mexicans, whose country lost half its territory.

From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026

In 2019, Newsom issued an executive order apologizing on behalf of California for the history of “violence, maltreatment and neglect” against Native Americans.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

There were three quarters of a million people of African descent, thousands of Native Americans, people from every European nation and quite a few from elsewhere.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

“This was a sacred place where so many Native Americans came together to share food,” Parsons said of the area.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

What seems unlikely to be undone is the awareness that Native Americans may have been in the Americas for twenty thousand or even thirty thousand years.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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