In the 16th century, Christopher Columbus, on encountering the Americas, called the inhabitants “Indians,” as he was under the impression that he had arrived in India. The misnomer “Indian” was soon used as a term to describe Indigenous peoples of North America. There is no consensus for the use of the term. While in the US “American Indian” is a term with a divisive history, it is nevertheless used as a form of self-identification by individuals and communities and remains a key term for the US and Canadian Federal Governments. In the Spanish-speaking countries of Central and South America “índio” is widely seen as problematic and is irregularly or not used by Indigenous people themselves. This is different in Brazil, where “índio” is less contested.