Legit every time someone from the US says “indian” and it’s not immediately obvious in context, I ask “do you mean people from India, or Native Americans?”
I do like how Canadians differentiate by saying first nations now though it makes things so much simpler. Do recall native vs Indian days for sure, older myself. ~~~~
My dad was native but I never got the card, band was disolved or something and my dad kept trying but no luck. In the end I’d rather all people have the best rights, we should all have the same rights and then being the best (dental medical education etc). We all live here and want this country to prosper. But evidently the government says that’s not cool. Mean I’d still take our government over the fucking tangerine down south. Fuck that shit but it’s be awesome if we offered everyone advanced schooling and good social net regardless, it only helps build our country.
To be fair I’m not saying anyone should have less we just need to all get the best from our government. I do understand that first nations have been given the shaft but I’d hope the best for everyone gives everyone a boost. Or at least those that need it, cause we’re a decently well off country.
I was told by a native American at school in Montana that there is internal debate about what they ought to be called. In some opinions, “Native American” is just as much a name they didn’t give themselves as “Indian” was. But that was one guy I was friends with so I don’t know how widespread that opinion is.
Partial blame is on the Europeans. That’s what they called them for a couple hundred years before America existed, but for some reason we still haven’t changed the terminology across the board.
There was an attempt to make “native Americans” stick but then the more polite colonizers ran into three main problems:
1: Most Hispanic people are also “native Americans” and trying to split it into just meaning the tribes from what is now the US gets immediately dismantled by fact that the very racial views that prompted the term in the first place can’t logically account for creating that artificial divide.
2: Most tribes as a whole don’t really care what particular racial term white people are trying to level at them as long as it’s not a slur.
3: The US federal agency that concerns them is literally still called the Bureau of Indian Affairs
There was an attempt at making “Amerind” a thing as well to flow more naturally in conversation but it still runs into problem #2, and that won’t be resolved because the tribes as a general rule prefer being addressed by tribal name.
If it’s “ancient” it’s probably about Native Americans. “American Indian” generally means Native American while “Indian-American” would refer to someone who’s part of the Indian diaspora. If it’s mystical and from India, I think Hindu and Vedic tend to get used more even if it’s not actually Hindu or Vedic.
Huh? …oh, as in Native American. Indian to me means “from India” lol, how is this not confusing for you Americans?
Legit every time someone from the US says “indian” and it’s not immediately obvious in context, I ask “do you mean people from India, or Native Americans?”
Dots, or feathers?
You’re being voted down, but this is genuinely something a lot (sigh) of Americans heard to distinguish…
Is it right? No. Is it accurate? I mean, as accurate as minimalizing multiple entire nations of natives to a single identity is, yes…
But it works?
Genuinely, I don’t know. I would not be surprised at all if one or more sects of actual indians were distinguished via feathers, as well.
I figured I’d take some flack, but c’mon, who wasn’t thinking it. It’s not something I think I have ever said aloud.
Being part cherokee, this is the way.
My Indian (dot) wife and all (most?) of her friends love when I ask this.
American here, it is confusing and stupid
I mean, the very first word is America. Seems pretty obvious right from the jump.
I do like how Canadians differentiate by saying first nations now though it makes things so much simpler. Do recall native vs Indian days for sure, older myself. ~~~~
My dad was native but I never got the card, band was disolved or something and my dad kept trying but no luck. In the end I’d rather all people have the best rights, we should all have the same rights and then being the best (dental medical education etc). We all live here and want this country to prosper. But evidently the government says that’s not cool. Mean I’d still take our government over the fucking tangerine down south. Fuck that shit but it’s be awesome if we offered everyone advanced schooling and good social net regardless, it only helps build our country.
To be fair I’m not saying anyone should have less we just need to all get the best from our government. I do understand that first nations have been given the shaft but I’d hope the best for everyone gives everyone a boost. Or at least those that need it, cause we’re a decently well off country.
I was told by a native American at school in Montana that there is internal debate about what they ought to be called. In some opinions, “Native American” is just as much a name they didn’t give themselves as “Indian” was. But that was one guy I was friends with so I don’t know how widespread that opinion is.
Partial blame is on the Europeans. That’s what they called them for a couple hundred years before America existed, but for some reason we still haven’t changed the terminology across the board.
There was an attempt to make “native Americans” stick but then the more polite colonizers ran into three main problems:
1: Most Hispanic people are also “native Americans” and trying to split it into just meaning the tribes from what is now the US gets immediately dismantled by fact that the very racial views that prompted the term in the first place can’t logically account for creating that artificial divide.
2: Most tribes as a whole don’t really care what particular racial term white people are trying to level at them as long as it’s not a slur.
3: The US federal agency that concerns them is literally still called the Bureau of Indian Affairs
There was an attempt at making “Amerind” a thing as well to flow more naturally in conversation but it still runs into problem #2, and that won’t be resolved because the tribes as a general rule prefer being addressed by tribal name.
It is confusing!
If it’s “ancient” it’s probably about Native Americans. “American Indian” generally means Native American while “Indian-American” would refer to someone who’s part of the Indian diaspora. If it’s mystical and from India, I think Hindu and Vedic tend to get used more even if it’s not actually Hindu or Vedic.