Is there a difference between Native American and Indian?

Native American is a new (in my lifetime) term the govt came up with to describe tribal members of tribes within the US who have a treaty, or treaties with the US govt. It is a political, not an ethnic term. American Indian is the term describing all of our peoples across the western hemisphere. Columbus was searching for a new route that was shorter to the east Indies, or spice islands, not India. India was known as Hindustan back then. When he pulled up in the Caribbean, he realized he had found a new island group, and people, and he christened them the west Indies, and the people there los Indios, or according to another legend, los en Dios, because of their generosity, and kindness, which he promptly rewarded with slavery, captivity and death, what a guy. Our people have been Indians longer than those Asian Indians have been called Indians, by the euros. Indian nations is written into the founding documents of the USA. Only white people seem to get offended at the term Indian describing us. We still use the word to describe ourselves. Many younger people will prefer to use Native, but either term is still actively used among us.

Roman C has the right answer. Citizens of federally recognized tribes within the US are native americans. Tribal citizens within Canada are called: First nations. Natives of north and south America are all Indians. We've been Indians for 500 years, long before the country of Hindustan changed it's name to "india".

I have a CDIB (certificate of degree of indian blood) issued by the BIA (bureau of indian affairs)

Ok so Colombus comes to America thinking he's in India (because the purpose of his voyage was to find a sea route to India) and he sees Native Americans and goes "Oh Indians!" WRONG. But no one realized that till way later so everyone just called them "Indians" and still do. So yes, they refer to the same thing and are both used to describe the same thing but TECHNICALLY INDIANS ARE FROM THE COUNTRY INDIA and Native Americans are the people that used to live n America before colonists pushed them off. But you aren't "wrong" for calling a Native American Indian since they are both terms used interchangeably.

It funny I mean why don't we call Indians from India Native Americans lol. :P

Your question: "Is there a difference between Native American and Indian? Is there??"

Indians are from India.

The term Indian applied to pre-Columbian peoples of the Americas was an error of history.

It caught on after Columbus erroneously assumed he had discovered a new path from Europe to the Indies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus

The difference is in language and other cultural factors, and history.

A native-American is a citizen of a Tribe from the U.S regardless of their race.

An Indian is a person from India.

An American-Indian is a person who is full-blooded Amerindian.

Yes. Indian....American Indian/Amerindian is anthropological/social race terminology. Native American is legal terminology. NO other country in the world uses it save for the US. It's their term. They created it to denote their legal treaty relationship with the citizens of 566 tribes. It applies only to those citizens.

Here in Canada, you NEVER hear Native American except in reference to those in the US. Here, we are called First Nations Indians. Or aboriginal...a govt lump term that also encompasses the Inuit and the Metis.

Even when I lived in the US I didn't magically become a Native American. ...my band (and the other 635 here) has no treaty relationship with the US in the context that those 566 tribes do.

It depends on whether the Indians you refer to are from North American or from Asia.

"(Red) Indians" were named as such as early explorers thought they had sailed round the earth to India, or at least near to it.

Nowadays it is more politally correct (and better) to call them Native Americans.

Indians is still an acceptable term to use for those from India.

the natives who are from india are called indians and the indians who migrated across the bering strait from russia are called native Americans because they arrived in America ,. columbus thought he had found a route to india and called the people or the natives indians which was wrong.

Well, there are "Indians" from India, and then there are the "Indians" that are Native Americans. Native Americans were first called Indians because when America was first discovered, he thought he was in India. So yes and no, depending on which Indians you are talking about.

Indians are from India.

The term Indian applied to pre-Columbian peoples of the Americas was an error of history.

It caught on after Columbus erroneously assumed he had discovered a new path from Europe to the Indies.

and native americans are mongoloid and indians are mixed of dravidians,australoid,mongoloid and caucasoid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher...

The difference is in language and other cultural factors, and history.