Can We Really Call Native Americans Native Americans

Are Alaskans really Native Americans?

Perhaps the question would be better if it asked, Are Alaskans Indigenous people? The perceived pejorative term Indians, was replaced by what was thought better as in Native Americans. Some now prefer indigenous people, ‘meaning “the native or original inhabitants of the Americas”. The truth is, that most indigenous people have their own language name such as the Dine, who we call Navajo, or Iswa, who we call Catawba. Alaska’s indigenous people are several different tribes, including, Aleut, Inuit, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Eyak, and a number of Northern Athabasca cultures. Alaska’s first people number about 119,241 (as of the 2000 census). There are 229 federally recognized Alaskan villages and five unrecognized Tlingit Alaskan Indian tribes. The debate as to whether they crossed from Siberia, or up through Tierra del Fuego, or even by boat from Polynesia, are theories unproven. However, having worked with forensic anthropologists, I can say that the skeletal remains of indigenous people are unique, and can be readily identified. The cranial structure is different from people descended from white Europeans.

What do Canadians call Native Americans?

Well, to address the people who live south of the border, most Canadians call them Native Americans, as in, people whose culture and heritage are native to what is now known colloquially as ‘America’.Up north, we use the terms First Nations, indigenous, Native Canadians. Some still use the term Indian, injuns, or ‘them’ (unfortunate fact that not all Canadians are nice).Some will self-identify as ‘us’, or ‘our people’.

What did the Native Americans call themselves?

They called themselves by their national names, or simply humans.The French talked of a Souriquois people, but they called themselves Micmac.The French talked about Algonquin people, but they called themselves Ashinaabe (I think it means the ancestors, the ancient ones).The French told of Esquimeaux (from a derogatory cree word saying they ate raw meat), but they called themselves Inuit (humans).The French told of Têtes-de-Boules (Ball heads), but they called themselves Attikamewks.The French talked about Agniers (from wendat language Agnieronon ?), the English about Mohawks, the Dutch about Maqua, but they called themselves Kanien’kehá:ka (the people of the silex spark I think).The French talked about Montagnais, but they called themselves Innu (humans).The French called this people Cri/Christinaux, the English would say Cree, but I think their actual name is Eeyou (humans).The hispanophones would tell about jíbaros, but their name is Shuars.English and French talk of Sioux, but their name is either Lakota, Nakota or Dakota.

Why are native Americans called Indians or red Indians?

Because of a certain man named Christopher Columbus.The poor Italian explorer set out westward from Europe on one fine day in 1492, hoping to reach India by a westward route as opposed to the eastward one that the travellers and merchants of the day used to travel by. Columbus's logic behind his incredibly brave leap into the unknown was apparently infallible:if the world was round, he would ultimately reach India, irrespective of whether he sailed east or west. And so he set out, Into the Atlantic Ocean. On a voyage that no one, not even his own crew, really believed in.And now imagine the joy of the man when after months in such a voyage, he actually reached land. And found on that landmass, men and women with painted faces and wearing feathered hats. What was he to think? That the place they had landed on was some unheard-of landmass BETWEEN Europe and India?Of course not. Columbus was sure he had reached India, and never considered any other possibility. He came back home with stories of "Indians" who lived in pyramidal tents, shot animals with arrows and practiced rain dancing. And the Native Americans, who had been living in America for centuries before Columbus arrived, became "Indians" in the eyes of the entire modern world.

What do Native Americans want to be called by others?

American Indian is still popular because Native American now carries political overtones, that anyone born in the USA (or "America") sometimes refer to themselves as "Native American" and on the US Census and other polls, which can skew results. Still, among younger generations it's probably more popular BUT the term "Indigenous" was gained political traction, meaning, basically, "We Were Here First", indigenous to the land, as there are indigenous peoples (Natives) to all lands around the world until Invaders, Immigrants and Colonists or Settlers took over their lands. Also we sometimes refer to them as "Aliens" since they now call all new immigrants this term, "Aliens". SKINS is a slang word used by Rez and Urban Indians, some say as in "nigga", now being replaced by NDN, NDN's or N8V, N8V's. Older generations really don't mind "Indian" because it represents our generation and we were raised with all the "indian" imagery, slang and jargon and can better relate our empowering, funny, sad or terrible stories about "being Indian". Indigenous Peoples Day will soon replace Columbus Day, but very political types are  saying we need to go further and use Original Peoples or Original Nations Day, as "Indigenous" has been used as another sign or indicator of Dominated Peoples by Civilized Peoples, buried in the treaty talk, especially in current UN treaty human rights jargon, which is crafted by those lawyers trying to maintain the Dominant, Christian, Civilized over the inferior, uncivilized indigenous populations.In the end, individuals prefer Tribal designations which can still be difficult since many names like Mohawk, Iroquois, Seneca, Sioux, Chippewa, Navajo, Apache were given by our neighbors or enemies (as Euro-Americans moved east to west). So sometimes we save time & energy by agreeing to be called something, Close Enough, just as our ancestors did. That story (again as English & whoever moved east to west) goes, Some English asked some Algonquins (Anishinabes) "Why do you let us call you Indians, when you know & we know its not true?" They said, "As long as you don't mistake us for you, we are Not You, then call us whatever." I paraphrase.Theres also the medicine in using your Real Name, a person can have many names in a lifetime, and so if people you don't know, or don't trust, don't even know your real name or tribes real name, why give them that power?Close enough will do, as long as its not you!

Why are Native Americans called native when we now know that they were not native but merely immigrated to North America first?

No one is truly native to anywhere, except Africa - and not always then. Everywhere outside of Africa, humans had to come there from somewhere else. We usually consider the current descendants of the earliest still extant group of settlers in any given area to be its natives or indigenes.In the Americas, that means the Native Americans, who are close to 100% descended from two or three waves of Asiatic settlers who walked across a land-bridge from Siberia tens of thousands of years ago,The only people who were there before these Asiatic settlers were a small group of people related to the Australian Aborigines, and living at the far southern tip of South America. Since they intermarried with the new settlers, the Native Americans in that area are their descendants too.It’s also possible that a small number of European travellers, maybe a few dozen, made it to North America - but again, if they stayed then their descendants are the Native Americans in that area. It doesn’t make the Native Americans not native, it just makes them not quite 100% Asiatic.

Is it offensive to call a Native American an Indian?

I had a few good Lakota Sioux Indian friends at Univ, of Oklahoma, Norman and when I met them in the local bars I would Greet them as: “ Wassup!! My Indian Brothers!!”… They really enjoyed it and liked me a lot - such good hearted kind people and soooooo much better friends than your own India countrymen really = my Lakota Sioux Bretheren in Norman, Oklahoma USA! One Sioux girl I knew, she looked just like from India really with a very cute nose ring - I had a really big crush on her, but she already had a White BF…