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Native American Or American Indian?

[b]Native American or American Indian?

Which is the correct term to be used when referring to the original inhabitants of what is now known as the Americas? Please give constructive arguments for your position.

Indian American American Native

Columbus thought he had found the short route to India and called the natives Indians. My guess is they should be called Native Americans, although my great-great grandmother who was half Cherokee Indian probably never heard the term, "Native American."

Offtopic but, She was supposed to contact the government to sign up for Indian oil rights. She wouldn't go because "1/2 breeds" were looked down on.

Native American Or American Indian? History & Civil Business Politics

Osiyo (Hello there), I am only one voice, so I can only say so much, but most of the "Natves" here in Oklahoma prefer the term 'Indian'. 'American Indian' seems ok too, but its lengthy and pretty modern. We were not American Citizens utill 1924, unless you were a WWI Veteran, or were from a tribe that was not recognized by the Federal Government. So being American...anything is pretty recent idea for us. A lot of "Natives" like the term 'Native American', but it is contested by those that would argue that anyone born on U.S. soil is a "Native American". Before America was a Nation, each "Tribe" was treated as a seperate "Nation", so we were all called by our tribaly specific names. Now we are seen as an ethnic group, not as diverse people from different nations. This is a novel identity to many of us, so a good label is yet to be determined. Wado (Thank You), Wahd

Indian American American Native

In Canada, being referred to as an Indian is insulting and can lead to some problems to what I've seen as many take it as being racist. The preferred term is Aboriginal, meaning first peoples, or Native Americans. Anything else, well... don't say it out loud near any Natives.

Being part Native myself, I prefer Native Americans.

Indian American American Native

I wonder why "Indian" offends so much? Could it be that they do not like the origin being that of Columbus trying to find East India and ended up relating everything here as 'Indian' (West Indian)?

Native American Or American Indian?

I think no matter name what people call them, most don't like it much because they are not names they have given themselves, they are names the white man gave them.

I don't know if there is a word they would all use to describe their entire race, because they were so tribal, with so many varying languages and customs.
I imagine they probably think of themselves not as Indians, but as Cherokee, Kaw, Osage or whatever tribe the majority of their heritage is. That's just my guess.

Ideally, we would know what tribe each individual comes from, but most of us can't tell, so we just say American Indian or Native American. I have used both.

Native American American Indian

In Trinidad and other parts of the Caribbean we refer to these Tribal peoples as Amerindian, my time living in Canada I always remember the term they used for themselves was either their tribe name Iroquois, Sioux, etc. or First Nations Peoples, I believe Native American is more appropriate than American Indian.

Native American refers to being a Native of the Americas - Aboriginal or First Nations Peoples.

But American Indian seems to categorize for USA and not the entire region of the Americas as is given in the original question.

I do a programme in the Library in my country (Trinidad) about the tribal peoples of the world and specifically of the Americas and I refer to them as the Indigenous Peoples / First Nation Peoples / Aboriginals known in this part of the world as Amerindians - the Original inhabitants. The Tribes Native to our islands are the Caribs & Arawaks.

According to my Lineage I am a full descendant of the Lamanites, I only know my maternal grandfather to be of an Amazon Tribe and Maternal Grandmother to be part Carib. My parternal Grand Parents are from Full East Indian Descent.

Neither Native American or American Indian are used in the Islands when people of first nation descent speak, they refer to the Tribe Carib as they are the only surviving descendants existing today.

The question refers to the Americas - Native American or American Indian?
But these terms do not seem to apply to Canada, Caribbean, Mexico or South America, but is coined for USA.

Eventhough the word Amerindian is clearly taken from American Indian.

Edited: aaa on 27th May, 2007 - 4:03pm

Native American American Indian Politics Business Civil & History

I'm a Sioux or Native American. I've met alot of people on the internet that say I'm not even a real American. I disagree 100%. I served in the Marines for 6 years, my late family died at wounded knee, I took an oath for the security protecting this very land that was stolen by the Europeans, and I will do just that.
I've even met people who said Europeans messed up by not finishing us all off, if they would have the term American wouldn't be associated to Natives at all. They concider us a disgrace to the term American.

Personally, they could be right. Because it will be the "Native American" again, to mass die before the lands are stolen again in the present situations and who rebell the foreign tyranny we know so well. Terrorism is something Native Americans know all to well, it happened once, will never happen twice.
Because of our views we are concidered radical terrorists ourselves, but it should be expected beings some blood was left to thrive with the new "enity" Government.

I prefer Sioux over Native American anyday, why, because it reminds me of my great great family. Native American to them would have been an insult. I fly the Sioux flag under my United States Flag till the day I die.

Ehawee.