Indo-Canadians or Indian Canadians are Canadian citizens whose heritage is fully or partially Indian, children of persons who immigrated from India to Canada, or persons of Indian origin who have Canadian citizenship. The terms East Indian and South Asian are sometimes used to distinguish people of ancestral origin from India in order to avoid confusion with the First Nations of Canada. First Nations of Canada are also officially referred to as 'Indians' by the Canadian government under the Indian Act. This is partially because historically the Americas were mistaken by Columbus as India and Native Americans were mistaken by Columbus for Indians and later as West Indians. Therefore, there is no need to distinguish between West and East Indians, because the term "Indian" only refers to a si