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The activist Russell Means preferred the name American Indian. He would say that just as you have Mexican Americans, African Americans, or Asian Americans, you should have American Indians.
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That sad part of this entire fiasco is that so many of the so-called "elitist Indians" have allowed themselves to be bullied into using the name "Native Americans" and even "Native" by a white media that seems to have set the agenda for what we should be called.
One elderly Lakota man from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation said recently, "If some Indians want to be called Native Americans or Natives, let them be called that, but I was born an Indian and I shall die an Indian.
The precious children at that age are not ready for the truth.
So teach what is in the curriculum.
Make it simple and easy.
Later on, they can learn the truth about the mass extermination of the Native Americans. Just not now.
So take it easy and make it simple.
That did not happen at the first Thanksgiving. It didn't even happen during the first generation--the first generation got along great. The second generations of both did not get along and there was a widespread war called King Phillip's War. It went downhill after that.
So if you are teaching about the first Thanksgiving, you could show pictures and just say... That they came over a BIG ocean in a tiny ship. Big waves, running out of food. Landed in COLD winter. (How do you think they felt?) (scared? cold? afraid? alone? hungry?)
The (whatever you want to call them) were kind and gave the Pilgrims food for the long winter. Many died that winter but some lived. They planted seeds to grow food. All summer they worked growing food. By fall they had A LOT OF FOOD. They were so GLAD and HAPPY. Another word for that is THANKFUL.
They invited the (whatever you want to call them) to come and eat the food with them. That day is called what?
Riiight! Thanksgiving. It is a day to be thankful for what you have.
(And another lesson could be, "what are you thankful for?" Things that you have, things that happened to you, lucky things...)
Except that some members of certain tribes don't have an issue with being called Indians. In falls in the same category as I hate the term African-American - I am a full fledge American, not a hyphenated one. I am an American, who happens to have African heritage.
But since they're not Indians--and never were--why should this misnomer continue on for hundreds of years?
Some tribes might not mind, and that's generous of them, but plenty do mind. As do many Indians. Some of them mind a great deal. Primarily the "Indian Americans," Americans of Indian heritage, and Indians residing in America.
So why not finally just put a stop to all the confusion? It shouldn't even be a controversial issue.
But since they're not Indians--and never were--why should this misnomer continue on for hundreds of years?
Some tribes might not mind, and that's generous of them, but plenty do mind. As do many Indians. Some of them mind a great deal. Primarily the "Indian Americans," Americans of Indian heritage, and Indians residing in America.
So why not finally just put a stop to all the confusion? It shouldn't even be a controversial issue.
Not everyone agrees with you, including the people whose name is being disputed:
whitebar.gif
I AM AN AMERICAN INDIAN,
NOT A NATIVE AMERICAN!
January 16, 1998
I abhor the term Native American. It is a generic government term used to describe all the indigenous prisoners of the United States. These are the American Samoans, the Micronesians, the Aleutes, the original Hawaiians and the erroneously termed Eskimos, who are actually Upiks and Inupiaqs. And, of course, the American Indian.
The statistics used by the United States government to tell you how many "Native Americans" there are in this country include all of the above, the misnomer is everyone assumes, in the contiguous 48 states, that the total number of "Native Americans" is the total number of American Indians. Not true. There are approximately 1.7 million "Native Americans", of that number, there are approximately 1.2 million American Indians of which less than 600,000 live on Indian reservations.
I prefer the term American Indian because I know its origins. The word Indian is an English bastardization of two Spanish words, En Dio, which correctly translated means in with God. As an added distinction the American Indian is the only ethnic group in the United States with the American before our ethnicity.
At an international conference of Indians from the Americas held in Geneva, Switzerland at the United Nations in 1977 we unanimously decided we would go under the term American Indian. "We were enslaved as American Indians, we were colonized as American Indians and we will gain our freedom as American Indians and then we will call ourselves any damn thing we choose."
Finally, I will not allow a government, any government, to define who I am. Besides, anyone born in the Western hemisphere is a Native American.
Right. I understand that not all people are going to agree on any one topic, and that some American Indians are fine with the term (which is, IMO, far better than simply "Indians")
But is theirs the only opinion that counts? What about those tribes and individuals who are NOT comfortable with the term? What about the Indian Americans?
Right. I understand that not all people are going to agree on any one topic, and that some American Indians are fine with the term (which is, IMO, far better than simply "Indians")
But is theirs the only opinion that counts? What about those tribes and individuals who are NOT comfortable with the term? What about the Indian Americans?
Rather than try to make ONE term, you should respect what the individual tribes or people want to be called. There are many who dislike Native American because anyone born here is a native American even if they do not have tribal affiliations.
Rather than try to make ONE term, you should respect what the individual tribes or people want to be called. There are many who dislike Native American because anyone born here is a native American even if they do not have tribal affiliations.
I tend to agree with that on principle, but how would that work practically? Especially in a school setting?
Canada uses the term "First Nations" (I believe.) Would this be a viable option for the US?
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It is a day to be thankful for what you have. 
