Indian summer

although the origins of this term are negative ("Indian" was once used to indicate something sham or bogus, as in the "false summer" sometimes seen in the fall), today "Indian summer" is defined positively in terms of mild weather and tranquil days. How do American Indians see it? Anton Treuer, executive director of the American Indian Resource Center, says, "To me, it's kind of shades of gray, with what's appropriate and what's not. If you talk to a lot of native people about Indian summer, they'd probably say it's that period between Indian spring and Indian fall."