The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word CANADIAN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
C
A
N
A
D
I
A
N
More clues leading to the result CANADIAN
- North American girl entering the promised land
- North American jail in which boy turns up or Russian girl goes down
- Biblical land penetrated by princess from place across the Pond
- Part of American aid — an act to promote a neighbour
- North American girl in this ancient place
- A foreign national can harm India, obliterate its capital and seize area
- North American princess in ancient civilisation
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "North American" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case north american = canadian.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.