How did Native Americans get the name of Indians?

Question

and which name came first?

did we call them Indians before we called them Native Americans?

Answer 1

columbus thought he had landed in india but he had really found a "new" world. it was really in the caribbean

Answer 2

When Marco Polo

came to America

he thought that he was in India

hence the Indians

and Native Americans came much much later

Answer 3

They had these signs around their necks written in Latin saying, "Heya visitors, were Indians" Please steal our land

Answer 4

Chris Columbus thought he was in Asia at the time but actually discovered North America!!!

Good for him :D

Indians cuz the name just stuck with them. Noone called them Native Americans until fairly recently.

Answer 5

If you remember that Columbus was sailing for the Indies, In search of spices. The first men he saw he thought they were east Indians.Hence the name. The name American came a lot later. And the title Native American came about when the natives realized that savage,i***n,red skins, etc...etc...etc Were derogatory. The word Squaw is even worse for every day use. We thought the word meant Indian woman! The real meaning of the word indicates a certain part of the anatomy! How awkward is that?

Answer 6

Because Christopher Columbus thought he had reached India in the Asian subcontinent.  Different Native-American nations called themselves various different names before the Europeans arrived.  Native-Americans is the most acceptable name at present, but it could change in the future.

Answer 7

By we I assume you mean Europeans, but the very first thing they were called was whatever each tribe called themselves. They didn't think of themselves as one big group.  The name usually translated to "The People" in English. Many of these names have been changed or lost today, even to the descendants of the original members.

The very first European settlers didn't really use the term Indians either. They mostly called them savages, the correct self-given name, or natives.

The term Indian was indeed derived from the Columbus story, although there's newer evidence that indicates he knew he wasn't in India.

The term Native American became popular late in the Civil Rights Movement as people questioned the accuracy of the term Indian.  Many today object to the term Native American as equally inaccurate since their ancestors were here before America was and anyone born in America is technically by definition of the 2 words Native American.

Answer 8

Columbus was headed to India, that was where he thought he was.

Answer 9

bcoz india is my country

Answer 10

Columbus was looking for a quicker way to reach India. Remember this was centuries before the Suez Canal would be built, which made for a faster trip from Europe to India. But during the 15th century (the 1400s) you had to sail south and round the Cape of Good Hope then sail north and east. So you had to go around Africa before you could ever turn towards India, making for a very long two way voyage. Many wanted to find a faster way, and Columbus believed that way was to sail west. India was to the east, but reason dictated that if you went west you would thusly end up going east.

A bit confusing, but stand it on it's head a little. Think of navigating the globe from east to west like looking at an analog clock. The hands always travel in the clockwise direction, so let's say that's going east. However, you can manually make them go in the opposite direction, or counter-clockwise. Well call that west. Now going in either direction direction you'll come to each of the twelve hours on the clock in turn, but going in a certain direction allows you to reach certain hours faster. So if we say Spain on an analog clock is 1 and India is 9, going clockwise (east) you've got to go through seven hours before you reach the ninth hour (India). But going counter-clockwise (west) you only have to go through three hours before you reach the ninth hour. Thus the thought of traveling west to reach India had it's merits.

However, either no one believed the Vikings or the Vikings never told the rest of Europe that by going west you'd come to a different landmass. Not knowing there was a a cotinent in his way, Columbus thought he'd reached India. The people spoke a language he didn't understand and the place seemed exotic. It must be India. So Columbus returned and reported he'd seen Indians. He didn't discover anything that hadn't already been discovered and he named the people there for a country they had never seen.

Answer 11

When Columbus sailed across the ocean to the New World, he thought he was in India, hence the local population were called Indians.

Answer 12

colombus seriously thought he was in india!

Answer 13

Columbus thought he had found a short cut to the EAST INDIES....NOT INDIA.

The EAST INDIES include Indochina, the Philippine Islands, Brunei, etc.

People didn't know that there was a huge continent between two oceans. They didn't realize the world was this big.

AND American Natives were the FIRST to call THEMSELVES Native Americans during the latter half of the 20th century....we certainly can't take credit for that one.

Answer 14

Columbus was bad with directions thought he was in the Indies, and we called them Indians way before NA.

Answer 15

Because the Europeans thought they were Indians from India because they looked similar, just missing a turban and some facial hair.

Answer 16

When Christopher Columbus was sailing due for India, he ended up in North America. He mistakenly called the natives 'Indians' thinking he was in India ..and the name stuck.

The name 'Indians' came first, but later 'Native American' was used for accuracy and political correctness.