[Aztlan] Re: Indian

[Nick Hopkins]

Words mean what they are used to mean, and if a particular term  
begins to be used in an insulting or demeaning way, then it becomes  
insulting and demeaning, regardless of its origin and/or its  
composition.  ("Liberal" used to be a perfectly neutral term; the  
Republicans have made it into a dirty word.)

In some parts of the US, the term "Indian" has been used in such a  
way as to make it pejorative, and for people who come from those  
parts, the term is insulting and the people so labelled don't want it  
to be used.  Elsewhere, where attitudes are different and people  
respect native Americans and their cultures, the term is not  
considered pejorative, and people can't see what the problem is.   
(The same with "indio," by the way).

The negative value attached to a word can be turned around, if enough  
people use the term in positive ways, denying that it has only bad  
implications, witness "queer studies" in sociology and anthropology  
and the use of the "N" word among African-Americans (and the self- 
designation of the Tzotzil writers' co-op as "Cultura de los Indios  
Mayas, A.C.").

Nick Hopkins