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| − | '''American Indians''' are the descendants of the inhabitants of [[North America|North]] and [[South America]] before the coming of [[Europe]]ans in 1492. Throughout U.S. history, they were subjected to extreme and violent persecution, especially under [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] politicians such as [[Andrew Jackson]]. As recently as 2007, a group of Democrat congressmen and congresswomen introduced a bill in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] to "terminate" the [[Cherokee|Cherokee Nation]].<ref>http://www.tanasijournal.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=365&Itemid=1&ed=53</ref> | + | '''Toenails''' are protective bits of hard material on the human [[toe]]. |
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| − | A few American Indians prefer to be called [[Native American]]s in order to distinguish themselves from the people of [[India]], and to emphasize their North America ancestry.
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| − | == Sovereignty ==
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| − | In the [[United States]] there are 562 Native American tribes that retain their independent sovereignty.
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| − | == Origins ==
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| − | The widely taught theory that American Indians are descendants of migrants from [[Asia]], who crossed the [[Bering Strait|Bering Straitland bridge]] during an [[Ice Age]], is almost certainly false. [[Liberal]] archaeologists long insisted that this took place as early as 20,000 years ago.<ref name="who">TIME - Who Were The First Americans?, By MICHAEL D. LEMONICK, ANDREA DORFMAN, Sunday, Mar. 05, 2006 [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1169905,00.html]</ref> But the facts are that American Indians have very different characteristics from Asians, ranging from blood types to DNA, making claims of such ancestry virtually absurd.<ref>For example, American Indians have among the highest percentage for any ethnicity of blood type "O", while Asians have the lowest percentage. As another example, American Indian fingerprint patterns are strikingly different from Asians'.</ref> Recent linguistic study shows no connection between American Indian and East Asian language, and archaeological evidence shows that each population used fundamentally different tools, suggesting no technology transfer via migration.<ref>Fortescue, Michael D., ''Language Relations Across Bering Strait: Reappraising the Archaeological and Linguistic Evidence,'' 87-108.</ref>
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| − | People today who are only partly descended from those early American Indians are still considered to be American Indians if they maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment. However, each Indian tribe or band has its own definitions regarding membership, some based on historical tradition, others based on rules (like blood quanta) imposed by the US Government.
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| − | In 1996 there was a discovery of fragments of a skeleton called the [[Kennewick Man]]. But serious doubts about the authenticity of these remains have resulted in litigation and criticism. Some claimed that [[radiocarbon dating]] supported an age of more than 9000 years.<ref>http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/kennewickman.html</ref> The morphology of the Kennewick Man remains is said to differ from that of present day Native Americans, suggesting a different ancestry<ref>http://www.archaeology.org/online/news/kennewick.html</ref> but there remains significant controversy about that.<ref name="who" />
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| − | === Creationist explanations ===
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| − | Some [[creation scientists]] have pointed to the American Indian population's lack of any ties to other populations as evidence of biblical veracity. The population was established after the destruction of the Tower of [[Babel]], as God dispersed the nations, their languages, and skills.<ref>Ronald L. Numbers, ''The Creationists: From Scientific Creationism to Intelligent Design,'' 467.</ref>
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| − | ==References==
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| − | <references/>
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| − | ==See Also==
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| − | * [[North American Indians]]
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| − | * [[Native American]]
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| − | * [[Wounded Knee Massacre]]
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| − | [[Category:Ethnicities]]
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| − | [[Category:North America]]
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| − | [[Category:South America]] | + | |
