Indigenous peoples of the americas

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North, Central, and South America, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples. They are often also referred to as Native Americans, Aboriginal Americans, or First Nations people.

Pronunciation

In English, the term is pronounced as /ɪnˈdɪdʒɪnəs ˈpiːpəlz ɒv ðə əˈmɛrɪkəz/.

Etymology

The term "Indigenous" comes from the Latin word indigena, which means "sprung from the land, native". The term "America" is derived from the name of the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, who was the first to suggest that the New World discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 was actually a separate continent from Asia.

Related Terms

Pre-Columbian era: The period in the Americas before the arrival of Christopher Columbus.
Native American cultures in the United States: The cultures of the indigenous peoples of the United States.
Indigenous languages of the Americas: The languages spoken by the indigenous peoples of the Americas.
Indigenous movements in the Americas: The social and political movements of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.
Indigenous rights in the Americas: The human rights of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Indigenous peoples of the americas

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