American Indians

The term "Native American" was originally introduced in the United States by academics in preference to the older term "Indian" to distinguish the indigenous peoples of the Americas from the people of India, and to avoid negative stereotypes supposedly associated with the term "Indian". Because of the acceptance of this newer term in academic circles, some academics believe that the term Indian should be considered outdated or offensive. However, many actual indigenous Americans prefer to be called American Indian. Also, some people point out that anyone born in the United States is a native of America, and that the academic who first promoted Native American confused the term native with indigenous. People from India who are citizens of the United States are called "Indian Americans" or "Asian Indians."

Criticisms of the term Native American come from diverse sources. Many American Indians have misgivings about the term Native American. Russell Means, an American Indian activist, opposes the term Native American because he believes it was imposed on the Indians by the government without consent. He has also argued that this use of the word Indian derives not from a confusion with India but from the Spanish expression "En Dio," meaning "in God". Some American Indians question the term Native American because they argue that it serves to ease the conscience of "white America"* with regard to past injustices done to American Indians by effectively eliminating "Indians" from the present. Both Indians and non-Indians argue that the term Native American is problematic because "native of" literally means "born in," so any person born in the Americas could be considered "native". However, very often the compound "Native American" will be capitalized in order to differentiate the intended meaning from others. Likewise, "native" can be further qualified by formulations such as "native-born" when the intended meaning is only to indicate place of birth or origin.

A 1995 US Census Bureau survey found that more Native Americans in the United States preferred American Indian to Native American. Nonetheless, most American Indians are comfortable with Indian, American Indian, Amerindian and Native American, and the terms are often used interchangeably. The traditional term is reflected in the name chosen for the National Museum of the American Indian, which opened in 2004 on the Mall in Washington, D.C.

Why classify people, and then worry about offending them? If only people would think before speaking.

Sources:

Jack Larkin (2003). "OSV Documents- Historical Background on People of Color in Rural New England in the Early 19th Century." Old Sturbridge Inc. http://www.osv.org/explore_learn/document_viewer.php?DocID=2044. Retrieved 2010-3-21.

"I am an American Indian, Not a Native American!". Russell Means. http://www.peaknet.net/~aardvark/means.html. Retrieved March 21, 2010.

"What's in a Name? Indians and Political Correctness." All Things Cherokee. http://www.allthingscherokee.com/atc_sub_culture_feat_events_070101.html. Retrieved March 21, 2010.

"American Indian versus Native American." Infoplease. http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aihmterms.html. Retrieved March 21, 2010.

The Book of Negroes

I recently finished The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. I had very high expectations for the book, as everyone I know who has read it has raved about how much they loved it and how "emotionally intense" the story is. A friend of mine lent me the novel, and I delved straight away into the book.
The story sucks you right in, to the effect that you can't put the book down. Aminata Diallo is a believable heroine, an ex-slave and a respected leader in every place she's traveled. She narrates the story, in first-person participant told from a future time. The language is well thought out, but simple. Overall, a good read.
However, the book did not live up to my expectations. It was a tad disappointing. The reason could be that the events are narrated in such a way as to be distant. The novel was predictable; even the big surprise at the end was something that I predicted halfway through the story. A lot of the parts that people seemed really shocked at (the people in this case being from liberal Canada) didn't even make a tug at my heart. Perhaps I have been desensitized to violence, or at least the watered down, alluded-to violence that is prevalent in this book. Perhaps not. Either way, though I couldn't put the book down, I just wasn't satisfied with it as a whole.
I recommend this book as an interesting read, but I'm not sure if it would be worth reading twice. Feel free to disagree with my review, I look forward to hearing a counterpoint.

Books to read twice: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, and Nikolski by Nicolas Dickner

Hosses, pt.2

Continuing on...

Every two years or so, Mom would buy me a pair of riding boots. I believe this was a compromise or maybe an apology on her part for not being able to have me take riding lessons or have a horse of my own. I had two pairs of brown Miller riding boots, size 4. I would wear them when I would play with Sal or ClipClop, or on the rare occasion of actually having horse-time, such as the Camp Runels horse camp I went to two years in a row. We bought them at the local tack shop in Pelham. Whilst I wandered around the tack shop one day, Mom struck up a conversation with the girl at the counter. When we finally got into the car to drive home, I was told that I would be going riding. The girl at the counter was named Jainey, and she had a buckskin mustang named Topaz*. She was going to let me see Topaz and ride for real! We arrived at the barn in the dark, cold, and snow. I think Mom was freezing, but I was having a ball. Jainey and I tacked up Topaz, and I had my first ride in the snow on a "wild" mustang. It was terrific, even if it was just walk-trot for a half hour. We went to go see him just one other time, a few years later, at a different barn. As you all probably suspect, I had a fantastic time once again.
In the third grade, a co-worker of Dad's named Jeri invited me over to see her horses. She had three, in a little barn in her backyard. I got to ride her big old bay named Charlie. It was a lot of fun riding around in the small shady paddock. Soon after, I did a science project on horses (surprise surprise). For my presentation, I asked Jeri if I could borrow one of her saddles, and she promptly complied. I had an awesome, original, interactive** presentation; everyone else's projects were the typical vinegar and baking soda volcanoes. For many years, I tried to return the saddle to her, but she would just send it back saying "You can give it back once you've used it." I had Dad bring it to work over and over and over again, but she sent it back every time. Finally, after having kept the saddle for over six years, she told me to keep it. It was my first real piece of tack.

to be continued...



*"Wow a real wild mustang!"
** Kids could sit in the saddle or play with my model horses that I brought. Or, if you were really prepared to be bored, you could have me recite the entire muscle and skeletal system of a horse by heart. In case you were wondering, I am a horse nerd.