a member of any of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, esp. of North America south of the Arctic; Amerindian: originally named Indian by early explorers of the New World, who believed they had reached S Asia
See American Indian in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
A member of any of the peoples indigenous to the Americas except the Eskimos, Aleuts, and Inuits.
Related Forms:
American Indian adjective
Usage Note: In principle, American Indian can apply to all native peoples throughout the Americas except the Eskimos, Aleuts, and Inuits, but in practice it is generally restricted to the peoples of the United States and Canada. For native peoples in the rest of the hemisphere, usage generally favors Indian by itself or, less frequently, the contractions Amerindian or Amerind. See Usage Notes at First Nation, Indian, Native American.