Why so many American Indians reject the term “Native American”.
By: Joonwoo Park
The Plains has its fair share of ghosts. The horrors of the Indian Removals in Ohio are still whispered between the arrowheads and mounds that have survived European imperialism--so far.
American Indians today represent one of the most marginalized groups in the U.S. Here in Ohio, many of the Indigenous cultures have been completely destroyed. But from every corner of the country, the descendants of the original Americans are still fighting to save what little is left of their heritage. Unfortunately, our volatile usage of “politically correct” names threatens to vanquish the identity of these activists. We must protect the identities of the people who settled in the United States before us by using the term “American Indian” instead of “Native American.”
Contrary to popular belief, “American Indian,” or “Indian” for short, is not a European term anymore. Yes, Columbus erroneously called the first people “Indians.” But this name has become a rallying cry for American Indian activists in the U.S.
Look at the forlorn graffiti of Alcatraz, or the modern American Indian Movement, and you can still see the footprints of the cry for American Indian Freedom. Through centuries of terror and oppression, American Indians have made this name their own.
Furthermore, “American Indian” is sharp and concise. It clearly refers to the original people who settled in the contiguous United States before Europeans arrived. It is important to clarify that they are AMERICAN Indians, but American Indian activists have also used the name “Indian” for centuries. Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull and Russell Means all called themselves “Indian” with pride. Who are we to say that they were wrong?
“I was born an Indian and I shall die an Indian,” says a Lakota man from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
The truth is, the only people uncomfortable with the term “American Indian” are those of us who have not been forced to live in reservations and suffer under centuries of discriminatory policies.
“I say Indian a lot,” says Bobby Wilson, a Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate. “I’m around many Natives all the time, and using Indian seems to be universal and others can identify with it.”
“Native American,” on the other hand, is a European term that has been forced onto American Indians. “[Native American] is a name that has been given to us,” says Roxanne Thomas, a person of mixed Diné and Numa descent. The history of this term can be traced back to the 1960s and 70s when the U.S government proposed the term “Native American” to try to appease protests.
“[The] 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,” says the Native Sun News Editorial Board. “The white media had finally pulled one over the indigenous people.”
The term “Native American” is also just ridiculously over inclusive. “Native American” can refer to any one of the thousands of unique cultures that span both North and South American continents. Calling someone “Native American” is like calling a German or Kenyan a “Native-Afro-Eurasian.”
“To call a person… a ‘Native-Afro-Eurasian’ would be so over-inclusive as to make it difficult for that human to strongly identify with or rally others under,” notes CGP Grey, an educational YouTuber. Likewise, “Native American” assimilates the identities of the peoples it is supposed to represent. We should replace “Native American” with “American Indian” to better rally support for American Indian rights in the U.S.
Discussions about American Indian history are absolutely crucial if we want to learn more about who we are as Americans. At AHS, we should strive to build that visionary world where “all men are created equal.” Let’s drop the term “Native American” and support the fight for American Indian rights.
At the very least, we can listen to the whispers of our ghost town.