Portal:Indigenous peoples of North America/Introduction
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The term Indigenous peoples of North America encompasses the inhabitants of the North America region before the arrival of the first European explorers in the late 15th century, as well as many present-day ethnic groups who identify themselves with those historical peoples. The precise definition of the term is the topic of the Native American name controversy.
The most commonly preferred term for the indigenous peoples of what is now Canada is Aboriginal peoples. Of these Aboriginal peoples who are not Inuit or Métis, "First Nations" is the most commonly preferred term of self-identification. First Nations peoples make up approximately 3% of the Canadian population. The official term for First Nations people is Indian.
Indigenous peoples in what is now the United States are commonly called "American Indians" but more recently have been referred to as "Native Americans". American Indians make up 2% of the population, with more than 6 million people identifying themselves as Native Americans, although only 1.8 million are registered tribal members. A minority of US Native Americans live on Indian reservations.
The territory of modern-day Mexico was home to numerous indigenous civilizations, among others the Maya in the Yucatán (and into neighbouring areas of contemporary Central America); and the Aztecs, who, from their central capital at Tenochtitlan, dominated much of the centre and south of the country (and the non-Aztec inhabitants of those areas) when Hernán Cortés first landed at Veracruz.
