Native Americans
Also called: American Indians, Amerindians · Topic: Settler Colonialism: Native Peoples of America and Australia · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Displacing Indigenous Peoples"
Meaning
Native Americans are the first peoples of the Americas. Their ancestors came from Asia more than 30,000 years ago. They crossed a land-bridge over the Bering Straits and later spread south. In North America they lived in bands (small groups) in villages along river valleys. They ate fish and meat, grew maize and vegetables, and travelled long distances to hunt bison. They killed only as many animals as they needed. They had no extensive agriculture and produced no surplus, so they built no kingdoms or empires. They felt no need to 'own' land.
Example
From the seventeenth century, natives rode horses bought from Spanish settlers, which made bison hunts easier. They exchanged wampum belts (belts of coloured shells sewn together) after making treaties.
Don't confuse with
- 'Red Indian': an old label that comes from Columbus's mistake in thinking he had reached India. It is not the peoples' own name for themselves.
- Aborigines: the native peoples of Australia, who came from New Guinea more than 40,000 years ago.