Native American name controversy

The Native American name controversy' is about the proper way to refer to the indigenous peoples of the Americas in general, and to certain subsets of those peoples, such as those native of (or living in) a particular country, or sharing certain cultural attributes. Among the disputed terms are: Native Americans, First Americans, First Nations, First Peoples, Indigenous Peoples of America, Aboriginal Peoples, Aboriginal Americans, Indians, American Indians, Amerindians, Amerinds, Natives, and more.

The controversy is often aggravated by the political and social implications of the various alternatives. Further complications arise when translating names between different languages, since even words that are closely related linguistically may have very different cultural loads in the respective speaker communities.

Self-names and "Outsider" names

People from an ethnic group generally wish to be called by the name they give themselves. This preference has gained importance recently as a means of avoiding ethnic discrimination.

Unfortunately, this principle applies poorly to large multi-ethnic groups, since different sub-groups often have incompatible preferences. Moreover, every natural languages has traditionally ignored this principle, exerting its privilege to invent its own ethnic terms for other peoples. English is no exception, and uses German, Dutch, and Albanian, disregarding the self-appellations and preferences of those subjects. Not surprisingly, English names for the pre-Columbian Americans are largely assigned by tradition, and are not always accepted by the peoples themselves.

The terms Indian or American Indian are commonly thought to have been born of the misconception by Christopher Columbus that the Caribbean islands were the islands in Southeast Asia known to Europeans as the Indies. Despite Columbus's mistake, the name stuck, and for centuries the native people of the Americas were collectively called Indians.

Red Indian is a common British term, useful in differentiating this group from a distinct group of people referred to as East Indians, but considered offensive in North America, where it is rarely if ever used. In the French language used in Europe, the term Amérindien has been coined, and the English term Amerindian (sometimes abbreviated Amerind) is sometimes used in the social sciences to refer collectively to all indigenous peoples of the Americas or their cultures.

Canada and the North

A more serious difficulty with this term is that several ethnic groups traditionally excluded from the American Indians were just as "native" to the Americas as them. These groups include the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples of the far north of the continent. Eskimos was once used for these groups, but this term is in disfavor because it is perceived by many of them as derogatory.

In Canada the term First Nations has generally replaced the use of the word Indian, though the Canadian Indian Act which defines the rights of recognized First Nations, does refer to them as Indians. The term First Nations does not refer to the Inuit, Inuvialuit, or Métis. Collectively they and the First Nations are referred to as Aboriginals. French Canadians tend to use the term Autochtone as opposed to Amerindian, which is the term used by Europeans.

In Alaska, the term Alaskan Native predominates, because of its legal use in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANSCA) and because it includes the Eskimo peoples.

Latin America

In Latin America, the preferred expression is Indigenous Peoples (pueblos indígenas in Spanish, povos indígenas in Portuguese). However, Indians (indios, índios) is often used too, even by indigenous peoples themselves.

Indian

When Christopher Columbus set sail across the Atlantic Ocean, he believed that he would arrive in the Indies. The purpose of his trip was to expand the spice trade by avoiding the lengthy trip around the Cape of Good Hope. Because of this, he referred to the native people that he found as Indians. The name has been used ever since to varying degrees, however, there are two major problems with this name:

1. It is also the name of the peoples of a different continent.
2. It is a name assigned by an outsider, and specifically one who is often viewed as a bringer of oppression. However, given that there are no indigenous words meaning "Indian" or "Native American", one should note that all such words are created and assigned by outsiders.

Over the centuries since Columbus's trip to the New World, the name Indian has been combined with the name that this new place was given, and the results have been used to varying degrees. American Indian, Amerindian and Amerind are all used.

The term Native American was introduced in the United States by anthropologists who wanted to create a more accurate term free from the negative stereotypes of the past especially as a result of the popularity of the Western genre. Because of the widespread acceptance of this newer term, some people mistakenly believe that Indians is outdated or offensive. However, a recent survey revealed that a plurality of Native Americans in the United States still preferred American Indian to Native American. Most American Indians in the U.S. are comfortable with Indian, American Indian, and Native American, and the terms are now used interchangeably. [1]

American

To further complicate the issue, use of the word American has become ambiguous since it was first introduced. Today, the word can mean either a citizen of the United States of America and its territories, or anyone who is a citizen of one of the many countries in the Americas.

Native

Some controversy over the term Native or Native American arises from the fact that in common usage the word "native" means "born in", and thus the term "native American" could be equally applicable to anyone born into an "American" country. This confusion arises out of a failure to recognize the distinction between:

• (a) the common usage of the adjective "native", and
• (b) the usage of the specific compound noun "Native American".

The latter term has particular, technical and legal usages which are narrower in scope than meaning simply "born in". Very often, the compound "Native American" will be capitalized in order to differentiate this intended meaning from others. Likewise, "native" (small 'n') can be further qualified by formulations such as "native-born" when the intended meaning is only to indicate place of birth or origin. However, neither of these two senses invalidates the other, so long as the intended sense is made clear by the context.

Another objection raised holds that by applying the term "Native Americans" to only select peoples on the basis of their genetic and cultural ancestry, they are conferred with an unjustifiably special or superior social-legal status, at the expense of others not in this grouping. A closely related conception is that by so doing legitimate rights and claims of other groups to territory and identity are lessened. The counter-argument notes that claims of indigenous or Native American identity are primarily intended to affirm rights to maintain and exercise their own cultural identity, observances and associations with traditional lands and to be free of discrimination on that basis- in accordance with universal human rights intended to apply to all. This pursuit does not prevent others from enjoying the rights and benefits which arise from being a member of the wider community. Furthermore, a distinct legal and communal status for Native peoples in the Americas is identified (there are differences by country); this derives from acknowledged historical treaties and similar instruments, as well as internationally-recognized aboriginal title, rather than arbitrary genetics.

Controversy over the use of "Native American" was deepest in the 1970s and 1980s with the growing backlash against perceived "political correctness", for which the term was often cited as an example.

A less-common objection to the term is one which points out that since humans migrated to, and did not originate from, the Americas, then they cannot "properly" be said to be native to the Americas. However, following this logic all humans ought then be designated "native Africans" (as per the prevailing view which holds humans originated from that continent), and the term "native" then has little use or meaning. For most people, the passage of at least 10,000 years since humans migrated to the Americas is more than enough to allow an unproblematic use of the word "native" in this context.

A further objection to "Native American" is that its usage by Americans (of the US) to indicate all Amerind peoples, including those in Canada, Mexico etc is considered erroneous in those countries - especially Canada where the terms First Nations and aboriginal are used or, when appropriate, Native Canadian. The cavalier use of "Native American" in referring to Canadian First Nations people may make sense to someone from the U.S.A. but it sounds awkward, even imperialist, outside the US' boundaries.

Amerindian/Amerind

The term Amerindian is a derivative of "American Indian" (as is "Amerind", though this term is more popular in linguistic circles), and is not necessarily completely synonymous with "Native American". Although all Amerindians are Native Americans, not all Native Americans are Amerindians. "Amerindian" relates to a mega-group of peoples spanning the Americas that are related in culture and genetics, and are quite distinct from the later arriving Eskimos (Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples native to Alaska and the Canadian Arctic). The latter share their cultural and genetic commonality with other arctic peoples not native to the American continent, such as those from arctic Russian Siberia.

Work by noted linguist Joseph Greenberg in 1986 led to his proposal following the "three migration model", which posits three separate migrations to the New World: in reverse order, the Eskimo-Aleut, Nadene and "Amerind" peoples. As language families, the first two of these were reasonably well-established; Greenberg's analysis proposed that the remaining North American languages comprised a unifying third group, Amerind. As a result of this proposed classification, the term "Amerind" would exclude Nadene peoples such as the Chipewyan and Navajo, as well as the Inuit, Yupik and Aleut. However, Greenberg's model is rejected by most specialists, in particular his proposed "Amerind" language group has only minority support.

Indigenous

Indigenous is the current preferred term in some anthropological and linguistic circles. Although its spelling is similar to that of "Indian", the two words are not related. Indigenous is from Latin, indigena, meaning "a native".

The Spanish and Portuguese word indígenas ("indigenes") is widely used to refer to native peoples in Latin American countries today.

Canadian French uses autochtones for people as the term indigène is seen as having negative connotations.

Aboriginal

The term "Aboriginal" is another alternate form encountered in English-speaking regions of the world to refer to a people "having existed from the beginning." Its use is largely a product of arbitrary historical circumstance, and its meaning has been formalised in the statutory systems of a few countries where it has been employed. For example, the Canadian Constitution states:

"'Aboriginal' in the context of this plan includes all Indian, Inuit, and Métis peoples of Canada" (Constitution Act, 1982, Subsection 35(2); see Aboriginal peoples in Canada).

The term is also used in the U.S., though somewhat less frequently and is occasionally used in the U.K. The term "First Nations" is more commonly used in Canada to refer to those peoples who are not Inuit or Métis.

Aborigines, most widely used to describe Indigenous Australians, comes from a Latin phrase meaning "from the origin". Its application to natives of central Italy who were contemporaries of the ancient Romans is the earliest known use, but it has been widely used to describe natives of regions outside of Australia since the 19th century. In the Americas, its use is particularly frequent the Southern Cone (Chile and Argentina) through its Spanish cognate, aborigen). In Canada, "Aborigines" is not used.

Languages and cultures

In many cultures, such controversy could be resolved by the use of a native word, however, the indigenous languages of the Americas are so varied, and many of the cultures were so, relatively speaking, insular that no single word adequately addressed the scope involved and English, French, and Spanish were the primary languages used to describe these native people.

Canada

In Canada, the term "First Nations" (most often used in the plural) has come into general use for the Indigenous peoples of North America located in what is now Canada, and their descendants, who are neither Inuit or Métis. Some tribal governments use the term "First Nations to refer to any indigenous, tribal or nomadic society. In this usage: Roma, Sinti, Saami, Australian Aborigines, Maori and Hmong are also considered "First Nations" in Canada. The proper terms to refer to the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis collectively is Aboriginal peoples in Canada or First peoples or Indigenous peoples, tribes, or nations.

"American Indian" is rarely used, but is usually recognized as applying to all indigenous peoples of the Americas south of the Arctic. "North American Indian" is more commonly used to apply to First Nations in Canada and the rest of North America.

The term "Indian" is still used in official or legal contexts as well as for the names of many First Nations governments. The federal government department in charge of First Nations affairs is the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs headed by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. As well, the legislation governing First Nations is called the Indian Act and people officially recognized by the Indian Register under that act are commonly known as "Status Indians", although "Registered Indian" is the official term. As well, land set aside for the use of First Nations are known as Indian reserves.

"Native" or "Native Canadian" is often used in conversation or informal writing, although First Nations has probably surpassed it.

The Algonkian term for 'Original People', "Anishinaabe" is used as a cross tribal term in Algonkian majority areas such as "Anishnabe Health" and "Anishnabe Education and Training Circle".

In Canadian French, the terms are première(s) nation(s) for "First Nations" and autochtone instead of "aboriginal" (used both as a noun and adjective). The term indien or indienne is used in the legislation, although the preferred term is now Amérindien. The old French term sauvage (meaning wild) is no longer used as it is considered racist. Indigène is no longer used for people as it has a negative connotation.

Mexico

In contrast to what was the general rule in the rest of North America, the history of the colony of New Spain was one of racial intermingling (mestizaje). Mestizos quickly came to account for a majority of the colony's population; however, significant pockets of pure-blood indígenas (as the native peoples are now known) have survived to the present day.

The term civilización precolombina is also used to refer to the native cultures rather than the modern-day ethnic Maya or other native peoples of Mexico.

United States

In the United States, there are two terms which are most widely used to describe indigenous peoples: "Native Americans" and "American Indians". While the "American" is sometimes dropped from American Indian where its use would not be ambiguous (e.g. "United States Bureau of Indian Affairs"), it is generally considered incorrect to use the word Indian in situations where any ambiguity could exist. While there are some outside of the United States who use the term, Native American is almost exclusively used to describe the natives of the continental United States. Even natives of Alaska and Hawaii are generally not referred to as Native Americans, but rather as Alaska Natives or Native Hawaiians, respectively.

American Indian view

Some American Indians in the U.S. have misgivings about the term Native American. Russell Means, a famous American Indian activist, opposes the term Native American because he believes it was imposed by the government without the consent of American Indians. [2] Furthermore, some American Indians question the term Native American because, they argue, it serves to ease the conscience of "white America" with regard to past injustices done to American Indians by effectively eliminating "Indians" from the present.

External links

• NativeWeb's discussion of the terms.
• Native American Indian Studies - A Note on Names, Peter d'Errico, Legal Studies Department, University of Massachusetts.
• What's in a Name? Indians and Political Correctness on All Things Cherokee.