Why do people think Native Americans are few in numbers?

For several reasons

1) Most people in the United States have never seen a Native American person before in their life (one from the United States)

2) The label "Hispanic" and Latin American sociology in general.

In the United States, just about everyone who comes from a Spanish speaking country is labeled Hispanic, with no regard to their race, nationality or culture. Aside from that, the racial classifications of Latin America and racism within Latin American culture itself is extremely complicated. Basically, anyone who isn't White or White-Looking has their own cultural heritage devalued, and thus there is a strong preference towards identifying as White or by using racially ambiguous terms like "trigueño'' and ''jabao''.

In all honesty, about 3/4 of the Hispanic population of the United States is of Mestizo or Indigenous decent. But because the White Americans look at them as Hispanic, and because within our own culture there is a STRONG distaste for anything Indigenous or African, what ends up happening is that the Non-Hispanic population in the United States doesn't look at them as Native Americans, and many of us Hispanics don't correct them because we tend to avoid being linked to Indigenous or African ancestry. So in the end, the real Indigenous culture and heritage among Latin Americans becomes lost.

Its sad too...in fact, Indigenous Latinos are LESS likely to self-identify as being of Indigenous descent than Afro-Latinos are. Only 3,8% of Latinos self-identify as being of African descent, but only 1,4% of Latinos self-identify as being Indigenous. Meanwhile, almost 65% identify as being White, even though you and I both know very well that the majority of those people are liars, and are just Mestizos and Mulattos passing for White in their own deluded minds.

So while American ignorance does contribute to the problem, most of the issue lies with US and our racial insecurities. We like to parade ourselves as a racial democracy, but in reality it could be further from the truth. If we're so beyond race why is it that White Latinos have NO problem identifying as White, but Blacks and Indigenous people are ashamed to be what they are and have to hide behind ridiculous terminology to define themselves?

People primarily associate "Native Americans" as being the indigenous societies in the U.S. While you are correct about the populations of natives in South America, you have not realized how many tribes and societies that have been massacred and lost forever. And even though native americans make up significant percentages of populations in Latin american countries, these native peoples have been forced over the years to drop their culture and adopt to "european ways" mostly by the Spaniards. Assimilation of these cultures is the most important thing to look at here - losing one's culture is the same as having a culture destroyed and lost forever.

I agree with you. Many countries like Mexico,Bolivia, Guatemala,Ecuador,Peru, El Salvador have large indigenous Populations. The idea that Only Native americans are from The United Sates is very Wrong. All people Indigenous to North & South are Native American.

because when the Europeans came over to north and south america they brought diseases that wiped out millions. "Some" of the Europeans were friendly with the native Americans because they just wanted to trade with them the "rest of them" killed hundreds of thousands of men women and children. they changed there way of life they kept moving them west off the land there ancestors had been living on centuries.

So over all the Europeans are most responsible for making the native american population so low.

The indigenous people of Canada are called First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

The indigenous people the US are called Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

The indigenous people of Mexico/South America are called Amerinds/Amerindians and Mestizo.

The sooner people stop lumping the indigenous people all together in one big pot, the better off everyone will be.

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ETA

No they are not all the same. It's only you labelling them, trying to make them the same.

The term that once was used to make them all the same was "Indian", but none were "Indian".

Canada does not identify their Indigenous population as Native American.

Mexico does not identify their Indigenous population as Native American.

South America does not identify their Indigenous population as Native American.

Neither do the Indigenous populations of those countries identify themselves as Native American.

Only the United States identifies their Indigenous population as Native American.

The only reason that people use the term “Native American” is that “textbooks” have replaced the term “Indian” with “Native American”.

Being Indigenous is the only commonality any of these people have.

Indigenous, Native, Aboriginal are the only terms that can be used interchangeably.

First Nation (Aboriginal not Native American)

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That's a good point, but it does seem the population of Native North Americans is pretty low. The white man wiped out most of the Natives. The whites took most of their land and resources. I don't know why it didn't happen to that extent in South America. I guess because the first European settlers made their home in North America and it just "snowballed" from there.

Although I wish it wouldn't have happened it's called survival of the fittest. In a few years it will happen again but this time I doubt it will be Native Americans that get wiped off the planet. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to guess who will next.

The Indigenous people of Latin America are not included in our definition of Native Americans. When people talk about Americans, they're talking about people from the United States of America, not Canada and South America. When we talk about Native Americans, we're talking about the Indigenous people of the United States of America.

i would blame it on their inability to process alcohol and to break down sugars in their system. early onset diabetes...

just say no to the fire water!

p.s. i am latino. i am also hispanic. i know the difference. i am NOT an aborigen. nacos serve a function and purpose in latino society. it is not the same as here in el norte. i personally hold disdain for places like bolivia with their super naco jefe morales.

you should use chile as an example of success. 10% aborigen or "native" i guess. 65% mestizo and 25% european, mainly spanish and italian, with some english and german for good measure. there are negligible numbers of asians and blacks there.

We keep isolating them, be it with "white man laws" or taking more and more of the reservation they were LEFT with. They say to build roads etc it is a "legal way" to steal the land back.....the old saying.....Don't be an Indian giver.

Sweety. When we're talking about "native americans" we're talking about the ones in the US. The same way when we say "here in america" what we really mean is "here in the US".

We are well aware of the other native people outside of the US.