What is the difference between Indians from South Asia and Native Americans?
I'm sorry I know alot of people have asked this question on here. I've seen them. But I still don't get it? Where did Native Americans come from? Isn't being an indian from south asia and american indian the same thing? I'm confused lol can someone please explain it properly? Thanks Where did Native americans originally come from?
History - 8 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
The term 'Indian' when applied to the Native Americans is a misnomer. ie- When the North American was discovered by Europeans, they mistakenly thought that it was actually the country India that they had arrived in (the world had nnot been accurately mapped yet). The name stuck, but is an imposed Western term and not correct to use.
2 :
Well, Christopher Columbus wanted to sail to India in south asia by sailing west. When he reach central america, he thought he was in India and called the Native americans Indians. So the word stuck. Native Americans and Indians from India are different people. Native Americans were already on america when europeans discovered america.
3 :
The Native American originated amongst a particular group of Siberians that crossed the Land Mass bridge between Siberian (Russia) and North America between 60,000 to 100,000 years ago, following the migratory animals they hunted. Thus all Native Americans, from Hopi to Aztec, from Apache to Mayan, are all directly descended from Siberian asiatics. Genetic testing has confirmed this.
4 :
When Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492, his purpose for sailing was to find a trade route from Spain to the East (Columbus was Portuguese, mind you, but was hired by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain). At the time, Ferdinand and Isabella had hoped to lay claim to the precious resources of the far East; spices, tea, and metals, such as gold, in particular. Anyway, for as great and explorer as Columbus is credited as being, he took the complete wrong route and ended up in America. He THOUGHT he had made it to the East, India in particular, and thus called the people he met INDIANS. So, to call a Native American an Indian is a complete misnomer. Yes, they have dark skin and dark hair, thus sharing two distinctive features with the people of South Asia. However, in no way are they Indians. It was Columbus' mistake and it took 500 years before people actually started to correct it. The only Indians in the world are those who descend from India. The Native Americans are indigenous to the United States. That means that their roots can be traced back to the US. Of course ALL human existence originated in Africa and we spread out as the continents drifted apart and during the ice age when the oceans froze over. To that end, it is believed that the Native Americans were from Eastern Russia and made it into the North American continent via Alaska and Canada. Specifically, Native Americans prefer to be referred to by their tribal affiliations, so as Navajo, or Cherokee, or Cree, for example, and not just as Native Americans. So, the difference between Indians of South Asia and Native Americans is that Native Americans are not Indians at all, but the South Asians from India are. It is Columbus who was wrong in the first place and the name stuck for hundreds of years. Hope that helps.
5 :
They came from Siberia in northeastern Asia, across a 'land bridge' that is no longer there, because of rising sea levels (from Ice melting, this was during the ice age) from Siberia to Alaska. They migrated all the way to South America in a few thousand years. They were Asian, no doubt much like people of Siberia, today, although there may be other groups there now. Columbus and other explorers thought they had reached "India" or the "Indies" in Asia. So the name Columbus gave the people of the New World, 'Indians', stuck until very recently when American Indians began being called "Native Americans". There is virtually no connection between people of India and American Indians, but there is some between East Asians, in Siberia, parts of China, Japan, etc.
6 :
We were already here in the western hemisphere before the "out of Africa" diaspora was supposed to have happened. Archeologists have found proof of our living on these shores for more than 50,000 yrs. India is a country in Asia and the citizens are called Indians. They are not our people though, nor are they our relatives. The white people called us Indians, we tend to identify ourselves by our tribal identities. Although, we have had the name NDN for so long, that many of us still use it, and accept it. I use it and accept it, just like my parents and grand parents did. I'm NDN, North hill Yokuts, and Southern Miwok, and my ancestors have been here since long before the last ice age.
7 :
people from india are not the same as people from the americas. indigenous people of the americas did not migrate from anywhere. dna and archaeological evidence put natives in the americas for over 50,000 years. that is longer than there have been caucasians in europe. its time to stop the bering strait THEORY crap. its been proved wrong many times over even though uneducated people continue to repeat it as fact.
8 :
The term 'Indian' when applied to the Native Americans is a misnomer. ie- When the North American was discovered by Europeans, they mistakenly thought that it was actually the country India that they had arrived in (the world had nnot been accurately mapped yet). The name stuck, but is an imposed Western term and not correct to use.!
Read more discussions:
