Setting the Record Straight About Native Peoples: Nomenclature
Q: By the way, is it "Native Americans," "American Indians," or what?
A: The languages are properly referred to as 'Amerindian'. As for the people, opinion
is divided on that count. Most native people in the Unites States use 'Indian' or 'American
Indian'. In Canada, 'First Nations' and 'aboriginal' are getting more popular. In Central
America, many people use 'indigeno' or 'indigenous'. The truth is that any of these--or
'Native Americans', or 'native peoples', or anything else polite--is fine. It's a generic term,
after all, like 'European'. Each of our nations has its own name and identity. So to the best
of my experience, we don't have too much tied up in what we get called as a collective term,
any more than a Frenchman and an Englishman would argue over the word 'Europe'. On this
website, we have used 'American Indian', 'Native American', and 'native peoples' more or less
interchangeably. I've been a little worried that 'American Indians' may sound like we're
referring only to Indians in the US, which is not our intent. We are just trying to use
general terms which everyone will understand.
American Indian tribes
Native American Art
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