People often get counfused between native americans, native indians, american indians, red indians.
can someone explain each in detail?
Native American: I’ve heard this used only in reference to American Indians living in the 48 contiguous states. While literally this would seem to cover Canada and Latin America, I’ve never heard the term used to describe them.
Native Indians: Never heard this term.
American Indians: See “Native American”
Red Indians: British term (I believe) for “American Indians.” I’ve only heard this phrase from some of my Asian Indian co-workers, never from an American.
You are not, by chance, posting from under a bridge, are you? 
maybe next time you will not put “SS” in your name.
Many people use “Native American” and “American Indian” interchangeably, but there are peoples such as the Inuit (“Eskimos”) and Aleutian Islanders who are Native Americans but do not consider themselves Indians. Perhaps Hawaiian Islanders could be considered Native American people as well, though I have never heard anyone use that term in such a way.
Of course the term Indian is very problematic when used to name people who are not Indian, but most actual Native Americans (from Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona) that I know actually prefer to be called Indians. Maybe in other regions this isn’t the case. “First Nations” is a term which is gaining some currency as well, especially in Canada.
“Red Indian” is a term I have mostly seen in British usage to describe North American Indians, perhaps not Latin American Indians.
I’m not sure how much detail is going to come into play here. “Native American” and “American Indian” are two terms used to describe the indigenous people of the so-called New World. They are both used in the US today, and as far as I know, are considered more or less respectful. The last survey I saw showed that slightly less than half of the group of people in question identified themselves as “American Indian” and somewhat less than that used “Native American.” “Amerindian” is another term that never seemed to catch on very well. In addition, many people within this group prefer to identify themselves by the name of their individual tribe, for example, Lakota, Seneca, Hopi, etc. There is some academic quibbling these days about the term “Native American,” as that would also seem to imply a person born in America, regardless of their race or ethnic group, but again, that’s rather splitting hairs. In common usage, no one is confused when they see, for example, a promotion for a book by a prominent “Native American author.”
“Red Indian” is also used to describe the same group, and is not now commonly used in the US, and would be considered disrespectful (although confusion would also be a likely reaction). This lingered on longer in the UK, where perhaps greater contact with the (then) British colony of India required a greater distinction.
The origin of “Indian” in the first place is a little vague. The standard story one learns in grade school is that the first explorers in the (so called) New World believed they were in the Indies, and thus called the people they encountered Indians. There seems to be more evidence these days that the explorers had a pretty good idea that they were not, in fact, in the Indies. It may be that it came from the Dutch East India Company, the corporation that perhaps most directly increased the exposure of the Americas in Europe. But whatever the source, it stuck.
The “Native American” term came about in part from a political movement that sought a word for themselves that did not use “Indian” – the name given to them by their oppressors. But, as these things are wont to go, some people had already identified with the “American Indian” name, or simply didn’t think it an important issue, or whatever. In casual speech, plenty of Native Americans (or American Indians, or Native Peoples, or Lakota, etc) will simply say “Indian.”
I should stress that this is all from a US perspective – “American” can of course refer to anyone from North or South America. The US Census uses “Native American” in this sense. In general usage in the US, however, “Native American” or “American Indian” is likely to refer to people in the US, as opposed to South American native peoples.
i didn’t get u. wht did u mean?
If you did not understand what I meant, I am not going to be the one to explane it to you. Besides, I am starting to think my insinuation was wrong anyway. I think I owe you an apology. If so, I am sorry. 
Yeah thats ok…but i seriously would like to know wht u meant. i won’t mind.so pls tell me
If you really want to know and you’re not a nazifuckhead then e-mail me at askeptic2001@yahoo.com…
The SS was an evil group that helped Hitler rise to power. I don’t think you intended that connection though.
To amplify on Delphica´s answer, there was a “Native American” political party in the second half of the nineteenth century. Its main issue was a reduction in the “influence of immigrants” in US life and politics. Anti-immigrant ideologues.
Columbus called them Indios (Spanish for Indians) from the beginning. See this SD staff report: Does “Indian” derive from Columbus’s description of Native Americans as “una gente in Dios”?
Somewhere recently, and it may have been an SDMB thread, someone said the term was made up by bureaucrats in Washington. That may explain why the Indians themselves generally don’t care much for the term.
I think we should go back to calling them Injuns, but that’s just me…
I recall seeing one of the Cherokee chiefs interviewed and he preferred to be referred to as an “American Indian,” but he didn’t see to be stident about it.
Injun was a word used by characters in Mark Twain stories and B-grade Westerns to suggest that someone was less than mature. Redskins had a similar use.
huh,WTF?
My uncle is of “Native American” descent, and calls himself an “Indian,” and says the Native American moniker is used by those striving for political correctness. If anything, he says Indians would identify themselves by their nation Navajo, Pequot, and so on), although his parents would say “tribe” just as much as nation. His feeling is that “Indian” and “tribe” are common English language terms that are not in themselves, offensive - much the same as the Hellenes are called Greeks and the Deutsch are called Germans.
Here in Alaska, the terms “Native American” and “Alaskan Native” are used interchangeably. The term “Native American” seems to be acceptable for Alaskan Indians, also - but there is a big difference between “Alaskan Natives” and Alaskan Indians. In other words, all American Indians and Alaskan Indians and “Alaskan Natives” are Native Americans, but there are distinctions within the term of Native Americans.
That’s the way I understood it, too. And the people in Central America also refer to themselves as “American.” When I was in Colombia, I was careful to refer to myself as “North American” and address my Colombian colleagues as “American,” too.
Under a bridge? My first thought at seeing the poster’s name was, “Oh, wow, this person just got one of the new Smith & Wesson stainless steel .500 revolvers!”
Here in Lawrence we have an Indian Nations University.
The term I hear on the street is American Indian. The term I hear on TV is Native American. I think a lot of the choice of what term to be called is personal. Some people are offended by one or the other. I see a similar issue between black and African American.
Red Indian seems offensive to me, but I don’t have any connection to my Choctaw heritage.
(a hint, ss500, abbreviations like u and b and pls are generally looked down upon by the members of this board. I am not a moderator.)
Native Americans were called Skraelingjar before the celebrated arrival of C.C.
Whaddaya say we switch back?
I really wish that Native American phrase would get quietly dropped. It sounds awkward and unnatural, and I sort of resent having correct figures of speech pressured on us. I think TV and the media do too much preaching as it is, anyway.
It would probably be most accurate and polite to refer to the seperate tribe (or nation, I suppose) of the group you`re referring to. Swedes and Italians are both Europeans, but they don`t have much more in common than the Utes and Seminoles do.askeptic, leave the moderating to the moderators. Do not repeat this.
Next time, if you have a suspicion, report the post. Do not post accusations in the thread.
You have been warned.
-xash
General Questions Moderator