why were the native people in the american colonies called indians
The reasons they're called Native American is because they are native to America. The reason we call them Indians is because Cristopher Columbus thought he had found a new rou â¦ te to India when he first arrived in America.So Indian is an incorrect term.Native American is correct. He called them Indians because he believed he was in India. At that time no one knew America existed and he was trying to find a faster way to Asia But, since America wa â¦ s the land he ran into instead of Asia he called the people Indians so it was a simple mistake.