American Indian

Inés Hernandez (in Patricia Riley's, Growing Up Native American) says, "Native people know that the term 'Indian' is a misnomer, but we have made it our own, just as we have made 'American Indian' and ... 'Native American' our own, even though in our original languages, each of our peoples had (and have) their own name for themselves and for this part of the earth that is now known as 'America.' We refer to each other by the tribe or nation that we are from—that is one of the first questions we ask each other, 'Who are your people?' and 'Where are you from?'" You may also ask, "What is your nation?" When writing and speaking about Indians: (1) It is redundant to use "Indian" following the name of a nation, for example, "Lakota," not "Lakota Indian." (2) Make no assumptions about Indians' lives, dress, beliefs, or history without careful research—many myths and stereotypes are worked into the fabric of non-Indian "understandings." In addition, there is much more diversity than stereotypes allow for. Catherine C. Robbins (All Indians Do Not Live in Teepees [or Casinos]) cites a study of newspaper stories on Native Americans in which some 74% were specifically focused on gaming and 91% mentioned casinos. (3) Various peoples either have changed or are in the process of changing their names from those given them by others to the names they call themselves (for example, from Nez Perce to Nimipu, from Crow to Apsaalooke, from Huron to Wyandot, from Gabrieleno to Tongva) so verify that the names are current. Paul Chaat Smith, a Comanche writer and activist, points out that names like Mao Zedong and Beethoven are not translated from Chinese or German, but Indian names were usually translated into English in an attempt to make them "easy" and incidentally primitive, thus giving us Sitting Bull instead of his Lakota name. (4) Indians are often the invisible minority; when people of color are being discussed, include Indians—and look for their presence in other issues where they should be counted. (5) Cultural appropriation is a serious issue for American Indians: They oppose their rites, ceremonies, and beliefs being taken over by non-Native do-it-yourselfers. Mary Abbe (Minneapolis' Star Tribune) says, "Identity theft is trouble enough in e-commerce, but imagine your whole culture snatched, abused and clichéd by outsiders. That's what some contemporary American Indian artists claim that pop culture is doing to their heritage." The late Michael Dorris (in Teaching Tolerance) said, "One thing we mustn't do is appropriate Native American symbols, which are the product of many, many years of tradition and experimentation." He says we can learn from Native American culture and experience: "We can learn that for 35,000 years this continent that we inhabit was among the most culturally diverse areas in the world, that people with many different languages, many different traditions, many different religions, existed coterminously without a great deal of violence. This is not to romanticize the past. This peacefulness did exist; no major war-making technology developed in North America as it did in Europe—reflecting a real difference in worldview." (6) "American Indian" is the most commonly used general term (but use nation, tribe, or kin names whenever you know them). "Native American" is ambiguous (it is used by the federal government for native Alaskans and Samoans and it also could mean anyone born in the U.S.), so it's not used as much today as it once was. Also acceptable: First Peoples, First Nations, First Nations Peoples, Native peoples, Indian nations, Indian country. According to Clara Sue Kidwell (in Sisterhood Is Forever ), "There are more than 450 Native nations in the U.S. today, with tribal populations ranging from over 250,000 (Navajo) to less than 100. Despite their diversity, the ultimate value for Indian communities lies in our children and the metaphor of the seventh generation: all decisions being made must be judged by their effects on the seventh generation to come." See also Anasazi, brave, chief, costume, Crow, half-breed/half-caste, Indian giver, Indian summer, indigenous peoples, Injun, massacre, Nez Perce, pow-wow, renegades, roaming, Sioux, sports teams' names and mascots, squaw, tribe, warpath, white privilege.