What Does Indian Mean?
Part of identification is self-naming. It is difficult to label oneself as part of a group. No label is ever completely encompassing. And so it comes as no surprise that no term is quite appropriate for describing the people who descend from the Natives of this land that is now America. The popular phrase currently is American Indian, but what does “Indian” refer to? The native peoples of America have little in common with the people from the country of India, so the term is quite inappropriate. Are we going to keep using a term that was a mistake in the first place when the explorers thought they were going to reach India and not a new land?
But the term Native American no longer is mainstream, perhaps because these cultures preexist any notion of America. In any case, grouping unique tribes into a singular people is problematic. It resembles the problem Albert Hourani aptly describes in a History of the Arab Peoples. Hourani explains that rather than a conglomerate people roaming the land, unique and distinct tribes with different languages, cultures, etc inhabit the Middle East. At times, it seems we have lost that notion in the United States when we think of our native peoples. Partly due to the low population numbers, the tribal peoples have formed coalitions together to get their voice heard, but that does not mean that they are not each unique.
Not all tribal peoples have casinos (which certainly is not the epitome of tribal culture or identity) and not all tribal peoples even look the same (shocking, isn’t it?). It would be inappropriate to assume all Europeans are the same despite some similarities. Many citizens are French first, European second. The same is true for many tribes: Cherokee first, Native people second. But due to misinformation and apathy in the United States, we try to suffice with a collective identity- Indians, Natives, etc. However, if we know our tribal group, why should we not specifically identify with it and why should others not acknowledge that? Generalization is not sufficient and ignorance is not satisfactory. If we can take the time to teach European studies in school, then should we not devote some time to talk about the original people that inhabited this land and still walk amongst? I am not “Indian;” I am a No Tribal Affiliation Cherokee.
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