Changes

'''American Indians''' are the descendants of the inhabitants of [[North America|North]] and [[South America]] before the coming of [[Europe]]ans in 1492.  

'''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]] presidents such as [[Andrew Jackson]].

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.

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.

== Sovereignty ==

== Sovereignty ==

In the [[United States]] there are 562 Native American tribes that retain their independent sovereignty.

In the [[United States]] there are 562 Native American tribes that retain their independent sovereignty.

== Origins ==

== Origins ==

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>

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>