Changes

'''North American Indians''' (also '''Native Americans''') are the descendants of those groups that migrated from Asia to North America at the end of the last [[Ice Age]]. 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 between Asia and N. America during the last Ice Age.  There are also those that subscribe to a similar migration by sea that followed the ancient coastline from Asia around the Bering land mass.  A small group of researchers claim to have uncovered evidence of possible migration from Europe during the same time period, but the evidence is still heavily contested.   

'''North American Indians''' (also '''Native Americans''') are the original inhabitants of the Americas. [[Archaeology|Archaeological]] evidence has led some researchers to claim that there has been 10 to 30 thousand years of continuous occupation of the [[America]]s  by indigenous people. However, [[Young Earth Creationist|Young Earth Creationists]] contend that the universe is only 6,000 years old, so they accept the [[origins theory]] model used by young earth [[creation science | creation scientists]] which believes modern Indians to be the descendants of [[Noah]] and his family who survived [[Great Flood]] on [[Noah's Ark]]. Indians are the descendants of those groups that migrated from Asia to North America at the end of the post-flood [[ice age]], or before the supercontinent of [[Pangea]] broke apart. The idea that God simply generated Indians into existence in the Americas is considered by most creation researchers to be contra-Biblical.  

 

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 between Asia and N. America during the last Ice Age.  There are also those that subscribe to a similar migration by sea that followed the ancient coastline from Asia around the Bering land mass.  A small group of researchers claim to have uncovered evidence of possible migration from Europe during the same time period, but the evidence is still heavily contested.   

While the American Indian population once numbered over 100 million, over 90% were killed by [[smallpox|European diseases]] and fighting with the U.S. and European governments over their land.<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]] and fighting with the U.S. and European governments over their land.<ref>[http://www.powersource.com/cocinc/history/trail.htm Trail of Tears]</ref>