North America, indigenous peoples This article deals with the peoples who inhabited North America before the arrival of the Europeans. Now often called Native Americans, they have long been called Indians because it was initially believed that COLUMBUS had reached the East Indies. Migrating in waves from Asia (see AMERICAS, PREHISTORY OF THE), these peoples spoke widely varying NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES, but all had straight black hair, dark eyes, and yellow- to red-brown skin. In 1492 they numbered 1 to 2 million N of Mexico, in six major cultural areas: Northwest Coast, Plains, Plateau, Eastern Woodlands, Northern, and Southwest. Bright Star