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Because there is now more of a community of those with ancestry from India in the US now, there can be some confusion with Indian as the native American name (In Canada it seems this confusion is avoided by using different terminology for the natives of the land).
But of course, the name Indian has such a long history in the US, that the American Indian as a term has cultural significance.
I usually think that I have to use a different expression because just "Indian" by itself is not unambiguously descriptive, and that is probably going to be called insensitive by some people.
My friends from India called the native Americans "red Indians." In Trinidad they are known as Amerindians. I prefer native Americans because "Indians" perpetuates the mistake of the early European explorers. To avoid confusion, I'll sometimes call people from India "Asian Indians".
I tend to think of Hindu/Pakistani peoples. I live in an area with a lot of Native Americans (New Mexico), and while you do see things like "Indian Health Center" or "Indian Pueblo Cultural Center" and such, 'Native American' is the acceptable term du jour.
It doesn't get confusing, oddly enough. Context is everything. You say "Indian Food" in New Mexico and no one thinks you are talking about corn and squash, they think Chicken Tikka Masala and Vindaloo.
This is a tricky question because as much as I would like to say Native American when someone says Indian my first thought is someone from India, because there are so few Native Americans still here. Sad really.
This is a tricky question because as much as I would like to say Native American when someone says Indian my first thought is someone from India, because there are so few Native Americans still here. Sad really.
I tend to think of Hindu/Pakistani peoples. I live in an area with a lot of Native Americans (New Mexico), and while you do see things like "Indian Health Center" or "Indian Pueblo Cultural Center" and such, 'Native American' is the acceptable term du jour.
It doesn't get confusing, oddly enough. Context is everything. You say "Indian Food" in New Mexico and no one thinks you are talking about corn and squash, they think Chicken Tikka Masala and Vindaloo.
I hear Indians here in Minnesota refer to themselves as "Indian people" more often than native people or native American. They refer to the parts of the state where the reservations are as "Indian Country".
Indians from "India" I would think "Asian Indians"
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