• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Native American / Indian - are they interchangeable?

If you were born in the Americas, then you are a native American. An Indian is someone from India. How about American Indian?
 
depends where you are.

most native/first nations/aboriginals don't mind being called "Indians" as long as it isn't meant to be derogitory

however, I find it makes for confusing conversations when discussing Asian (East?) Indians sometimes.
 
Most call each other Indian, but it's in a wry manner. NA is what you'd use in a scientific enviornment. But then some are more anal than my family.
 
I use Native Americans since I'm Indian (from India) and the term "Indian" to me refers to someone from India or someone with origins in India.
 
My wife is NA/Indian. It's like the "N" word (without the "I'm going to kill you" stuff). Indians use the word indian, but my in-laws, if you call them Indian, they act like "oh, who's the people you know from India?" It's irratating, but...what can you do.


Either way...they should have fought harder...
 
Originally posted by: Amol
I use Native Americans since I'm Indian (from India) and the term "Indian" to me refers to someone from India or someone with origins in India.
Click to expand...

One of the reasons I've heard for the preferance of Indian is that it's a dig at Columbus for thinking he had made it to the East Indies. We just think it's funny.
 
Originally posted by: PurdueRy
I believe so but it depends who you ask and how anal they are
Click to expand...

My wife is some appreciable part Cherokee and she doesn't care either way. I have a friend that has less native blood than my wife but gets really offended.
 
when i was in kenya i noticed they lump indians in with asians which i found odd. i am not sure what the term 'indians' means to them however.
 
My grandmother was full-blooded Cherokee and I grew up with Native American friends. I don't remember ever calling them Indian.
 
Originally posted by: alien42
when i was in kenya i noticed they lump indians in with asians which i found odd. i am not sure what the term 'indians' means to them however.
Click to expand...

Because Indians are Asians perhaps?
 
Originally posted by: Descartes
Originally posted by: alien42
when i was in kenya i noticed they lump indians in with asians which i found odd. i am not sure what the term 'indians' means to them however.
Click to expand...

Because Indians are Asians perhaps?
Click to expand...

they are on the same continent but their physical and cultural differences are vast and it seems quite logical to differentiate them.

do you call iraqis or turks asian?
 
Originally posted by: alien42
Originally posted by: Descartes
Originally posted by: alien42
when i was in kenya i noticed they lump indians in with asians which i found odd. i am not sure what the term 'indians' means to them however.
Click to expand...

Because Indians are Asians perhaps?
Click to expand...

they are on the same continent but their physical and cultural differences are vast and it seems quite logical to differentiate them.

do you call iraqis or turks asian?
Click to expand...

I don't call Iraqis or Turks Asian, no, but that's largely because they belong to other cultural subregions. India does not, and so it's almost always referred to as an Asian subcontinent.

One of my good Indian friends always identified himself as Asian, so perhaps that's why I think that. I do see what you mean though.
 
Originally posted by: quasarsky
Are the terms native american and indian interchangeable?
Click to expand...

Simply put: no.

Indians, strictly speaking, are those Asian beings from the Indian subcontinent.

If you want to call a Native American and Indian, you should use the words "American Indian" because they are from America.

judasmachine's reasons are right for the reason of Native Americans being called Indian, however, it is not really a "dig" towards Columbus. It is actually a misnomer, because Columbus thought he was travelling in the direction of India, and then thought that the people he met were Indians, and therefore named them as Indians. It's just that the misnomer has stuck, because it makes sense to so many North Americans.

You can not call Japanese and Chinese Asians because there is much more to Asia than just Japan and China, as you can see in this picture. What you North Americans refer to as Asia, is actually East Asian (sometimes also know as Oriental). If you check out this map, it shows what regions relate to what.

The worst is when somebody say Indian, and the somebody else asks: dot or feather?
Why do they do this?
 
I knew a lot of Lenni Lenape Native American's in highschool because my friend was one... As one of the tribes that were basically owned on many levels and more or less wiped out... THEY HATE BEING CALLED INDIANS and i have NEVER heard one refer to another as an indian.

They are also the NA's more widely known as the Delawares... they hate that one too..
 
Originally posted by: SirStev0
I knew a lot of Lenni Lenape Native American's in highschool because my friend was one... As one of the tribes that were basically owned on many levels and more or less wiped out... THEY HATE BEING CALLED INDIANS and i have NEVER heard one refer to another as an indian.

They are also the NA's more widely known as the Delawares... they hate that one too..
Click to expand...

Well, I'm guessing that they would refer to each other by their tribe names, and not "Indians"
 
I don?t mind being called American Indian. People don?t know I?m Osage. When you say Native American I think it describes someone born in America. I?m not an English major, but I did graduate high school.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top