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[[File:American indians map.jpg|thumb|400px|North American Indians map, Census 2000. See larger map: [http://www.conservapedia.com/File:American_indians_map_big.jpg]]]

[[File:American indians map.jpg|thumb|400px|North American Indians map, Census 2000. See larger map: [http://www.conservapedia.com/File:American_indians_map_big.jpg]]]

'''North American Indians''' (also '''Native Americans''') are the original inhabitants of the Americas. The Native Americans of [[North America]] are typically considered to be all those tribes north of Central [[Mexico]].  While technically part of North America, most archaeologists tend to place the civilizations of Central Mexico into a separate category.<ref>Swidler, Nina, Dongoske, Roger. 1997.  ''Native Americans and Archaeologists: Stepping Stones to Common Ground.'' Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press.</ref> Tribes in North America maintained a wide variety of [[subsistence pattern]]s, from hunting and gathering, to intensive agriculture.  North America is also home to two of the most unusual groups of hunter-gatherers, the Northwest Coast tribes, and the Aleuts.  The first Native Americans are believed to have migrated from Asia via the [[Bering land bridge]], the exposed continental shelf through Alaska between Asia and North America during the last Ice Age.     

'''North American Indians''' (also '''Native Americans''') are the original inhabitants of the Americas. The Native Americans of [[North America]] are typically considered to be all those tribes north of Central [[Mexico]].  While technically part of North America, most archaeologists tend to place the civilizations of Central Mexico into a separate category.<ref>Swidler, Nina, Dongoske, Roger. 1997.  ''Native Americans and Archaeologists: Stepping Stones to Common Ground.'' Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press.</ref> Tribes in North America maintained a wide variety of [[subsistence pattern]]s, from hunting and gathering, to intensive agriculture.  North America is also home to two of the most unusual groups of hunter-gatherers, the Northwest Coast tribes, and the Aleuts.  According to the evolutionary worldview, the first Native Americans have migrated from Asia via the [[Bering land bridge]], the exposed continental shelf through Alaska between Asia and North America during the last Ice Age.     

While the American Indian population once numbered over 100 million, over 90% were killed by [[smallpox|European diseases]] augmented by changes in the natural habitat caused by the new arrivals.<ref>[http://www.powersource.com/cocinc/history/trail.htm Trail of Tears]</ref>

While the American Indian population once numbered over 100 million, over 90% were killed by [[smallpox|European diseases]] augmented by changes in the natural habitat caused by the new arrivals.<ref>[http://www.powersource.com/cocinc/history/trail.htm Trail of Tears]</ref>