The origin of the word "Indian" comes from the enterprising concept in which tribes who traded in indigo dye were referred to as "INDIANS" by European merchants. Indigo dye was very useful in making permanent inks and coloring matter in items of trade. From the Phoenicians, who gathered royal purple dye from shellfish fluids to other seafaring peoples who gathered indigo plants and wood for trade, all were originally referred to as "traders of indigo" or "INDIANS".
(Indiens) In Canada's Performance, and most often, Indians are referred to as First Nations people. See also: Aboriginal peoples, First Nations people, Inuit, Métis, Registered Indians, Non-Status Indians, Status Indians, and Treaty Indians