[Aztlan] Indian ?

[Archaeology Institute]

"Edward B. Hanna" <edwbhanna at comcast.net> on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 at 7:11 PM -0800 wrote:
>Agreeing with Sam, I don't think I've ever met an American Indian who  
>considered "Indian" to be a pejorative term.  "Redskin," yes.   
>"Chief," yes.  Or, for the female, "squaw," definitely. While many  
>would prefer "Native American" or "First Canadian," you'd be hard  
>pressed to find any who strenuously objected to "Indian."
>
>Curiously, though (although perhaps not all _that_ curiously), many  
>take umbrage at the term "Amerindian," considering it anthropology- 
>speak. Anthropologists, as a race, are not among the most welcome on  
>most of the reservations I've visited over the years.  That's because  
>most Indians I've met resent being the objects of "study,"  
>considering it, at the very least, patronizing.

Dear All,

	In my experiences interacting with, among others, Dine/Navajo, Apache, Hopi, and southwestern Pueblo friends and colleagues, the term "American Indian" is that that is most typically employed when referring to the collective whole of the indigenous
communities of North America.  On the other hand, when among friends, the term "Skins" is most commonly used among these same groups...particularly those referring back to the "Res" or reservation and other kindred groups.  Of course, tribal names
are used as a form of self identification when asked about affiliations, tribal, clan or otherwise.  As noted by others on this list, the term "American Indian" or simply "Indian" does not bear the same pejorative connotations among "Skins" and
other native brothers and sisters as it does in Mexico and much of Latin America.  This latter development is clearly an artifact of colonialism and the system of castas used by the Spanish in the "New World."

Best Regards,

Ruben G. Mendoza, Ph.D., Director
Institute for Archaeological Science, Technology and Visualization
Social and Behavioral Sciences
California State University Monterey Bay
100 Campus Center
Seaside, California 93955-8001

Email: archaeology.csumb at gmail.edu
Voice: 831-582-3760; Fax: 831-582-3566
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