Why are there two types of indians?

Question

why are there two types of indians?

Indians who are from india and

indians who are american?

why are they both considered 'indians'

Answer 1

nope its indian and native american, 2 very different things

Answer 2

When Columbus discovered America, he mistakenly thought it's inhabitants were those from India, think he had sailed to India, somehow.

Answer 3

yes , natives and indians are two different people...i hate it when the natives are called indians and the actual indiana are called east indians

i strongly disagree with kthxbye's answer......he/she doesnt know the whole story

Answer 4

When Columbus came to the New World he thought he had found India, so he called the local people Indians.  In fact Columbus came to the New World three different times, and he went to his grave believing he had been to the East Indies or India.  He never realized that he had discovered a new continent!

Answer 5

Columbus was on his way to India and got a little lost trying to take a different route hoping it would be faster and instead ended up in America (I don't know maybe there was just a little too much Madeira wine involved).  Thinking he was in India, the Spaniards called them Indians.  It stuck for hundreds of years.

Anyway, we now say Native America and for people in India, Indian.

Answer 6

People in the Western world should call the people in India East Indians and natives, aboriginal, or first nations in North America

Answer 7

Native Americans are considered Indians because Christopher Columbus, an explorer, long ago, thought he discovered India when he was really in America. Because he referred to the Native Americans as Indians, they have been called 'Indians' ever since.

Answer 8

The original meaning of the word "indian" is "native" or "aboriginal."  It's just how white people referred to the native inhabitants wherever they went.