The simple answer is no. The longer answer is yes, but ... it would confuse more people that it would help. When you start throwing around terms like aborigin

The simple answer is no. The longer answer is yes, but ... it would confuse more people that it would help. When you start throwing around terms like aboriginal X or native X, you're getting somewhere re: clarity. However, when the term is modifying an ambiguous locator like "American" it makes it worse again. To United States citizens, "American" means them, but (I can't speak for Canadians, not ever having had this conversation with any) all my friends in Brazil, Chile and Mexico consider themselves American, too, and they are. "Indian" to mean indigenous United States tribes is a cop out but it is by far the simplest way for writers to refer to these diverse groups without having to get deep into technical explanations. p.s. Besides, it isn't our fault the Europeans were shitty navigators. :)