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Who even says “Indian” to describe Native Americans anymore?

One of my friends who is also native used that word to describe someone from a neighboring tribe and I genuinely thought he was talking about an Indian as in from India. No one says that for Native Americans anymore, at least not around here! It’s not only politically incorrect, but just plain incorrect. It’s outdated. He as a indigenous person should know that. Say indigenous or Native Americans, but don’t call us Indians anymore. It’s more offensive than being called “red” at this point. 😂
SW-User Best Comment
Far right conservatives and people over 50.
@MaryJanine Is that why you and your friends still act like children?
SW-User
@MaryJanine I don't remember saying anything about life being over after 50.
MaryJanine · 61-69, F
@SW-User Maybe you didn't but others did. They equate 50 and over with being in a pine box. 50 is not fatal.

DrWatson · 70-79, M
What is emerging in this conversation, among other things, is a generational divide.

On the one hand, "You older people are still using an antiquated term, and you need us younger people to educate you."

On the other hand, "You younger people are devaluing the history and experience of us older people, and you sound like arrogant know-it-alls."

A similar thing happened with the words Negro/Black. Older people who actually lived through the segregation era were taken aback by a younger generation trying to "explain" things to them, while the younger generation was exasperated by older people embracing "the name the white man gave us."

Maybe some conversations between young and old, undertaken with mutual respect and compassion, and with a genuine wish to understand the other and not change anybody, would be helpful?
@DrWatson I wouldn't thought there was anything arrogant about it if you just proceeded with the intent to have a civil discussion over it.
DrWatson · 70-79, M
@PerchingDove And that is what I hope I am doing.
Peaches · F
@PerchingDove [i][b]Let's just all have a group hug!!!😁[/b][/i]
MaryJanine · 61-69, F
I do. My brother-in-law is half-Cherokee Indian (HIS father was a full-blooded chief). He has two grown sons who are one-fourth Cherokee.

Outdated? Wrong? My Aunt FANNY! I am ignorant enough to be PROUD of having Native American/Indian blood in my family tree! Incorrect? Jesus on the road on Easter morning!!

Indians are Indians. There are countless Westerns on the TV and movies every day. They aren't politically incorrect with braves and warriors all over the place.

My nephews and brother-in-law don't deny their heritage, and neither should we. They are a proud, dignified people, and so should WE be.
@MaryJanine I didn’t say mine, I said yours. You’re the one who admitted the other people commenting here are your friends. Even if you don’t know anything about them all flocking to this post, which I don’t believe for a second, you’re still part of some coordinated attack. This is so pathetic. You’re all much older than me and you’re acting like a group of high schoolers. What is wrong with you?
MaryJanine · 61-69, F
@PerchingDove What is wrong with me is the "smart"way you answer anything I say on this subject. Not just me. Others, too, object to the mountain you are making out of a molehill.

It isn't necesssary. You aren't the one with all the right answers because you are younger, any more than I do because I am older. We are never going to agree on this subject. You do what you like and I will go my way. Everyone else can do what they please.
@MaryJanine Keep ignoring what I say about you and your friends ganging up on me. It’s because I am right about that. You can’t even deny it.
There are a lot of Native Americans where I live and many use the term 'Indian' to describe themselves.

Their kids often yell at them for it.
DrWatson · 70-79, M
@Mamapolo2016 Same here. I once was part of a conversation where a white guy used the term "native American", and the Ojibwa man he was talking to said, "It's OK to say 'Indian'. That's what we use."
@Mamapolo2016 Good that someone’s telling them off for it. Guess old people will be stuck in their ways, but hopefully the younger generation can set it right.
cherokeepatti · 61-69, F
@Mamapolo2016 probably because they have been taught in school not to say Indian for a tribal member, confuses the teachers
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@PainfulTruth It does, actually. It might prove a point someone else brought up here. Your second sentence suggests that you’re among the older crowd so I’ll go by that. Thanks!
Peaches · F
@PainfulTruth Hahaha! ☺️That's an awesome story! ⭐️
Peaches · F
@PainfulTruth It isn't here in Oregon either. I just looked up the "Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon" that's very close to where I live. I've gone to Pow Wows there.
I'm a degenerate racist then.

I met the husband of a woman I worked with out one day. I was interested in his heritage, referred to him as a Native American. He told me to fuck off. "I'm an Indian, sir. I was born an Indian, and have been an Indian my whole life." So I referred to him as an Indian ever since.

I have an online friend who is part Native American. She's multiracial and likes that heritage to be referred to as "indigenous" as her indigenous roots come from Central America. And so I refer to that part of her identity as "indigenous".

So "who even"? I guess me.
@CopperCicada Well, I didn’t say that and the way you did made it seem like you’re all worked up and trying to put words in my mouth. I would never go as far as to say it’s racist to call a Native American an Indian.
Miram · 31-35, F
@CopperCicada


You're not racist. It is just a complex and heavy topic. You're also not being disrespectful at all.

I had someone message me something similar. They have an Algerian friend who calls himself Berber, he doesn't speak Tamazight even.

It took me a while to process whether to consider that bigoted or not ,but then remembered back when grand dad used to tell me " we are all Imazighan, there are just those who know they are and those who don't know..those who remember and those who forgotton" He used to say this about Algerian Arabs.

So I stopped plucking my feathers mentally and decided to accept how he calls himself. As long he is not doing it as slur and it empowers him to believe he is one, there is no harm in that.

Maybe in the future things will change, he will understand the culture of his ancestors better. It is his journey to make.
@Miram My personal view is that we're in a post-civility post-kindness world. Genuine kindness is irrelevant. Participating in social display properly is all that matters anymore.
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@PainfulTruth So that makes it correct? Wrong. And you right-wingers crack me up! Always following each other around to heart your buddies’ comments. You’re like a clique out of high school. And you’re probably older than 50 like the other four people, right? Btw, how’s the election coming along? 😉
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@PainfulTruth Still doesn’t make it right. But keep desperately clinging on to your outdated ideas like the other crabby old man children. No one else is going to. And you didn’t answer my question: how’s the election going? Go on, tell me.
Elessar · 26-30, M
All this mess because a guy from here thought he was actually in India when he landed there, iirc 🤔
4meAndyou · F
@PerchingDove If you thinks it's necessary to be snotty to your elders, as you mentioned below, and to lecture people about which words bother them and which don't, then it is YOU who are political.
@4meAndyou Wtf are you even talking about? You have issues.
Elessar · 26-30, M
@4meAndyou Well, whereas I don't agree with the damage of statues or even less the oppression of peoples, I wasn't trying to turn this into a political matter, mine is just a light-hearted comment on the origin of the "Indian" term to improperly refer to Native Americans. It was another guy still from here, Amerigo Vespucci, who realised to be in a new continent, and whom the continent was named after, if my memory isn't wrong.
DrWatson · 70-79, M
Actually, here in Minnesota, Native Americans do use the word Indian to describe themselves.
MaryJanine · 61-69, F
@PerchingDove Names are just labels.
@MaryJanine Your point?
Peaches · F
@DrWatson They do here too, you can look it up in Oregon.
Wraithorn · 51-55, M
Note taken. I'll keep that in mind, thank you.
@Wraithorn Glad there’s at least one older person here who isn’t stuck in their ways.
cherokeepatti · 61-69, F
They say it here in Oklahoma, only outsiders or those being overly politically correct say Native Americans. I post questions or answers using it so as not to confuse others here since there are so many international users.
Carver · 31-35, F
I’ve always used “Native American”. You’re right, it’s incorrect in every way and people should only use it to refer to actual Indians from India.
Carver · 31-35, F
Yep, you definitely had a clique rolling over on you in here. The exact same thing has happened to me many times. From a bunch of obvious cronies ganging up on you to hearting each other’s replies to make it look like you’re all alone in this. All done in an attempt to bully you into submission. That’s exactly what it is. It’s really sad when people who are old enough to be fucking grandparents pull this kind of shit. They should all be ashamed of themselves. Again, I applaud you for standing your ground and not letting yourself be intimidated by them.
MaryJanine · 61-69, F
@DrWatson You are welcome. In my own family, I have a 63-year-old brother who moans about "how old he is", and a 52- year- old sister-in-law who complains, "My life is over."
DrWatson · 70-79, M
@MaryJanine My sister had neighbors across the street with whom they socialized a lot. I met them when I visited, and they were a lot of fun.

When the woman turned 50, she decided she was old. No more socializing. No more parties. Everyone thought it was rather strange.
MaryJanine · 61-69, F
@DrWatson As a kid, I grew up across the street with a widow woman who was between 70 and 80,and she used to cadge cigarettes from my mother. I can hear her French accent today: "June? This is Germaine, You got cigarette?" Of course, Mom always did.
NickiHijab · F
Never had this issue because I'm not from the American continents however I was aware that calling native Americans Indian was offensive. The origins of the title is just as ignorant as those who continue to use it and although I don't think everyone that uses it does so with malice. It's no longer difficult to discern between appropriate terms. The word Indian came to be used because Christopher Columbus repeatedly expressed the mistaken belief that he had reached the shores of South Asia which was evidently not the case. Calling them Indians doesn't make sense, both geographically or culturally. Anyone that's hell bent on using outdated language only do so because they think they need to preserve something from the past which again, doesn't make sense if it's inaccurate and ignorant.
CrazyMusicLover · 31-35
If this mistake wasn't corrected long time ago it probably won't be anytime soon. I guess many languages don't even have other word than some variation of "Indian".
CrazyMusicLover · 31-35
@PerchingDove I agree. It doesn't make sense in this case. And it's even worse in English since misunderstandings can happen easily.
Miram · 31-35, F
@CrazyMusicLover You are not wrong, they are called [i]red indians [/i] in Turkish and arabic but it is increasingly more acceptable to call them what's equivalent to [i]The original inhabitants[/i]..Not because of understanding but just shift in vocabulary used in history books
CrazyMusicLover · 31-35
@Miram We use words "Indián" as Native American and "Ind" as Indian and strangely enough, I didn't connect two when I was a child. They were two separate, clearly defined terms for me. It was only when I came across the English word Indian that struck me what does it actually mean. 🤦‍♀️ Then for many years I thought Indian in English meant strictly a person coming from India and Native Americans is a term for people we know as "Indiáni". I didn't know English speaking people called Native Americans Indians too.
Beautifullyderanged · 36-40, F
Aren't they allowed to be called what they want? Who are you to tell them they can?
@Beautifullyderanged I said nothing about ancestors. Forget it.
Beautifullyderanged · 36-40, F
MaryJanine · 61-69, F
@Beautifullyderanged Thank you for your support of us who think like you.
Uneducated people. I think the use of Indian for natives is so common even among natives themselves is due to being uneducated about it. I use to use the term Indian too, but I recently discovered the correct term(s) are Native, Native American, indigenous (seems to be the more preferred term), or if you know their tribe name. Indian refers to someone from India which makes sense for it to be incorrect when referring to a Native American person who isn’t from India. Indian is considered offensive when non-natives use it to describe indigenous people. The fact that people aren’t willing to educate themselves about it, but instead, just go with it, because that’s what they’re use to is a bit sad and why there’s so much ignorance in the world.
bowman81 · M
It is funny how "woke" individuals seem to "Know whats Best" for minority groups. Seems pretty arrogant to me.
My daughter's father in law is Japanese American....his parents were born in Japan he was born in Hawaii. He and his parents were interred during WWII. He calls himself "Oriental" his "woke" friends say no, you are "Asian". He just laughs at them. He figures that he was raised, interred, served in the US Army, obtained a masters degree and had a long and profitable career in business.....that HE should be able to say he is Oriental if he wants and no "Haole" can tell him different.
@bowman81 I’m not “woke” I’m one Native American individual with an opinion. I love how you’re all so quick to associate me with the overly PC culture. That just shows one-dimensional your minds are.
Miram · 31-35, F
People don't like being told they are wrong.

You and me have some similar historical and cultural aspect. My people never call themselves Berber (from barbarians the savages), we call ourselves Imazighan. But everyone outside our group insists we are Berber.

It is essentially a power dynamic, can't be bothered to change my ways because I can't understand how to distinguish between my identity and my beliefs about the other.
Peaches · F
I have Native American friends here in Oregon that are okay with being called "Indian" and say they are proud of it. They own the casinos over here, I don't live far from the "Siletz Indians" of Oregon. But if the word "Indian" offends you or anyone I would not use it, thank you for telling me. ⭐️
AnthroKenj · 36-40, M
I'm of the mindset you can craft your story the way you want...if you don't like how he's taking agency of his own story or the words he uses to own his agency...then you're colonizing him. Leave him be. Not all of us share that sentiment.
SW-User
In france we call them “American Indians”. We all know Indians are from India. There should be a distinction hence the word american
A lot of people around here still use the term Indian.
Red dots or red feathers?
cherokeepatti · 61-69, F
@TheOneyouwerewarnedabout Red feathers from a red-tailed hawk.
english · 56-60, M
here in Canada we call them first nations,😛
Indy74 · 46-50, F
I always say Native American.
DunningKruger · 61-69, M
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh88fVP2FWQ]
@DunningKruger I see the points made, but I don’t agree with all of them and stand by mine.
Cool, what is your country/people?
@SatyrService Omg, we really are. 😱
@PerchingDove whenn I saw you name? i even thought "tulallip"?
yeah my spelling is crap!
about to head up into the coast range for a few days of Mother's Arms
@PerchingDove 😎

Nice to meet you..
one might even care to learn the name of the people we speak about?
SW-User
I stopped when I started dating my ex
I obviously know now though ✂
I dont. P.S. Football teams get in trouble for dat
SW-User
I love them no matter what they are called.

 
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