Native American History
| Term | Contextual note | Time/Region | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aboriginal Americans | |||
| Alaska/s
Alaska man/men Alaska woman/women Alaskan/s Alaskan native/s |
The terms “Alaska” or “Alaska man/woman” were historically used to homogenise the diverse Indigenous peoples of Alaska. The self-identification of these groups should be respected. Indigenous groups in Alaska include the following:
|
Alaska, USA | PCUSA – Terminology Crosswalk [1]
Alaskan Natives – Alaskan Natives A-Z [2] Native American Journalists Association – 100 questions, 500 Nations: A Guide to Native America [3] Sapiens – Why Capitalise Indigenous? [4] Elmer E. Rasmuson Library – Alaska & Polar Regions Digital Collections & Exhibits Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues |
| Aleut/s | The term “Aleut” has historically conflated the Indigenous inhabitants of the Alaskan Aleutian Islands, including Unalaska and the Russian Aleutian Islands. The Aleutian Archipelago includes nine districts. Ethnic/linguistic identities include the Alutiiq speakers, Central Yupiik speakers of Bristol Bay, and the Unangam Tunuu speakers.
It is only acceptable to use the term “Aleut” when referencing the indigenous peoples of the Aleutian islands if their preferred identity is unknown. It is preferable to distinguish between: 1) Unangan (singular)/Unangax̂ (plural), the Indigenous inhabitants of Unalaska who speak an Eastern dialect 2) Unangas/Aliguutas, the Indigenous inhabitants of the Russian Aleutian Islands who speak a Western dialect (Unangam Tunuu) |
Aleutian Islands, Alaska, USA, Russia, Siberia | PCUSA – Terminology Crosswalk [5]
Alaska Native Language Center – ‘Inuit or Eskimo’ Alaskool – ‘There is no such thing as an Aleut’ [6] Alaska Native Collections – Unangax̂ |
| Amerindian/s | This term has gained some popularity in recent years, being used to refer to all Indigenous people of the Americas.
Indigenous people in Guyana are known locally as “Amerindians”, according to minorityrights.org. However, “Indigenous peoples in Guyana” may be preferred, see Wikipedia. |
Guyana | |
| apple/s | First used in the 1970s to refer to Native American groups who cooperated with dominant white groups, implying they are “red on the outside, white on the inside”. The term has been used by Native Americans to denigrate one another on the grounds of “losing culture” and “selling out” their identity in return for power, money, or jobs. | 1970s, USA | Wikipedia – List of ethnic slurs [7]
Gyorgy Toth Russell Means with Marvin Wolf, Where White Men Fear to Tread: The Autobiography of Russell Means. St. Martin's Press, 1995. |
| brave/s | Racial slur used to refer to young male Native Americans | USA | Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues
Ferris State University – Stereotyping Native Americans [8] |
| breed
blood race |
“Ancestry”, “lineage”, or “heritage” would be preferred terms | ||
| buck/s | USA | Ferris State University – Stereotyping Native Americans [9] | |
| chief/s | Replace with “(political+) leader” | USA | Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues |
| Chillicat/s
Chillkat/s |
A sub-group of Tlingit-speakers indigenous to the Chilkat River region, Alaska. “Chilkat” appears to be the most widely preferred spelling. | Alaska | PCUSA – Terminology Crosswalk [10]
Alaska’s Digital Archives – Search: ‘Chilkat’ [11] Gyorgy Toth |
| Eskimo/s
Eskimoe/s Esquimo/s Esquimau/x Esquimawe Esquimew Esquimao/s Esquimal |
A colonial term introduced by non-Indigenous people that has historically been used to homogenise the vastly diverse northern Indigenous peoples of America. The two main groups typically labelled as “Eskimo” are the Inuit (Alaska, Canada, Greenland) and Yupik (Alaska, Eastern Siberia).
The Iñupiat of northern Alaska self-identify as “Inuit”, not “Eskimo”. The term “Eskimo” should only be used when referring to the self-identified Eskimo people of southern Alaska if their specific Iñupiat or Yup’ik identity is unknown. |
Alaska, USA, Greenland, Canada, Siberia | PCUSA – Terminology Crosswalk [12] |
| First Nation/s | A preferred term that refers to “American Indian nations” as well as individuals living in the territory that is now Canada. The term is also used in Australia to refer to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. *Reminder: capitalise the term “First Nations”* | USA, Canada, Australia | Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues |
| Hoonyah/s
Hoonah/s Huna/s Xunaa/s |
A sub-group of Tlingit-speakers indigenous to Chichagof Island, Alaska. In 1901, “Hoonah” became the official state spelling of the Tlingit name Xunaa’, with the establishment of the “Hoonah” branch of the United States Post Office. Also known as “Xúna Kaawu”. | 1900-, USA | PCUSA – Terminology Crosswalk [13]
Hoonah Indian Association [14] Wikipedia – Hoonah, Alaska [15] Huna Heritage Digital Archives [16] |
| Indian/s
American Indian/s |
Note: It is important to distinguish between Indians of South Asia and “Indians” of America.
The term “Indian” or “American Indian” is controversial because it is a largely homogenising term with colonial origins. However, in the 1970s the Red Power movement reclaimed this phrase for ethnic pride and a pan-Native (“pan-Indian”) identity and social movement. Their organisations often used it (with protest events in parentheses): Indians of All Tribes (Alcatraz 1969-71), United American Indians of New England (Plymouth Thanksgiving 1970), the American Indian Movement (Trail of Broken Treaties Washington DC 1972, Wounded Knee 1973, Longest Walk 1978). Several of their organisations still active to this day nationally or globally still use the term: International Indian Treaty Council. In addition to this, there seems to be a generational difference in usage in Native America: the generation of Red Power in general still refer to themselves and others as “Indians”, while younger people have been using other terms, most recently “BIPOC”, meaning “Black, Indigenous, and People of Color”, to denote a wider non-white ethnic collective, esp. for social and political coalitions. Generally, use “Indian” as in US government and policy/law names, such as “Bureau of Indian Affairs” and “…Indian Act”, or the same in Canada, such as “Non-/Treaty Indians”. All these have to do with historical and legal status documents and institutions. |
USA | Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues
PCUSA – Terminology Crosswalk [17] Michael Yellow Bird, ‘What We Want to Be Called: Indigenous People’s Perspectives on Racial and Ethnic Identity Labels’ [18] American Indian Digital History Project [19] Heard Museum [20] Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center [21] Catawba Indian Nation Archives Plateau People’s Web Portal – Confluence Story Gathering Collection and Browse by Tribal Path Elmer E. Rasmuson Library – Alaska & Polar Regions Digital Colelctions & Exhibits Huna Heritage Digital Archives [22] The Indigenous Digital Archive [23] Sípnuuk Digital Library, Archives and Museum [24] National Museum of the American Indian [25] Afterlives of Indigenous Archives, edited by Ivy Schweitzer and Gordon Henry [26] |
| Indians of the Americas | Phrase used in the 1970s, now outdated. See above. | 1970s, USA | Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues |
| Inuk
Inuit Inupiat Inupiaq |
The Inuk (singular)/ Inuit (plural) are Indigenous communities living across the Arctic regions of Canada, Greenland, and Alaska. Historically, the term has been used to homogenise the Iñupiat of northern Alaska, the Inuit of Canada, the Inuit of Greenland (50,000 of Greenland’s population of 56,000 are Inuit). Each of these groups includes various sub-ethnicities, however.
In Canada, the term “Inuit” is officially used by the Canadian government, and the term “Canadian Inuit” can be used, although sub-identities like Inuvialuit might be preferred. In Greenland, the term “Greenlandic Inuit” is acceptable but most of these people would more specifically claim the Kalaallit sub-identity. The preferred term for the “Inuit” in Alaska is Iñupiat (singular)/ Iñupiaq (plural). In Russia, some prefer the sub-identity Yupik (not be confused with “Yup’ik” sub-group of Alaskan Eskimo) |
Canada, Greenland, Alaska, USA, Russia, Siberia | Inuit Circumpolar Council [27]
Alaska Native Language Center – ‘Inuit or Eskimo’ IWGIA - Indigenous Peoples in Greenland Alaskan Natives A-Z [28] Alaska Digital Archive – Search: Inuit [29] Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues PCUSA – Terminology Crosswalk [30] |
| Inyenzi | “Inyenzi” is a corrupted form of “Indian” that is used to refer to Native Americans. | USA | Wikipedia – List of ethnic slurs [31] |
| medicine man/men | Preferred terms include: Medicine person/healer/spiritual leader’guide. | Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues | |
| métis
mestizo mestiza mixed ancestry blended ancestry |
In the United States, an individual’s officially recognised status as a member of a Native nation depends on whether that person is recognised by that Native nation. Many nations do this based on ancestral lineage fractionation called “blood quantum”. Below a certain blood quantum, some nations do not allow an individual to be their “enrolled” member. Due to this, there is a terminology for people who are not considered fully Native/indigenous.
“Métis” – in Canada, descendants of First Nations and Europeans (primarily French). They are considered a distinct collective entity, a people, with their own collective status and rights. “Mestizo/a” - in Latin America, descendants of indigenous peoples and Europeans, or acculturated indigenous peoples. May also refer to indigenous peoples who are urban and educated (e.g. Peru indigenous mestizos) |
USA, Canada, Latin America, South America, Peru | Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues |
| the natives
native/s indigenous |
Given its historic usage, “native” is a term loaded with racist connotations. It is a homogenising term that has been applied broadly to non-white populations in various colonial contexts and has historically functioned as a legal category for racial discrimination. This is especially obvious in the phrase “the natives”, which should be avoided. This is different from “Native people” or “Native Peoples”, which is legitimate and appropriate usage. The term frequently appears in official historic titles such as “Department for Native Affairs”, “Native Labor Corps”, “Native Army”.
Native American, American Indian, or First Nations (Canada - not to be confused with the First Nations of Australia) are preferable to ‘native’. In Latin America the term indígena is used. The words “native” and “indigenous” can objectively be used as adjectives to describe a person, animal, or plant in relation to their/its place of birth/origin. The term “Native” or “Indigenous peoples” is a general term that recognises their collective entities, ethos, and rights, the latter of which have some legal status in some countries, and globally. *Reminder: pluralise “peoples” and capitalise “Indigenous” in this context* |
Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues | |
| Native American/s | The term “Native American” refers to Indigenous peoples who live in the territory now known as the United States. | USA | Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues |
| Native North American | The term “Native North American” refers to Indigenous peoples who live in the territories now known as Canada, the United States, and Mexico, although it does not appear to be popularly used. | Canada, USA, Mexico | |
| papoose
princess |
An ethnic and sexual slur historically used to denigrate Indigenous women in North America. Its connotations are that some Native women are part of some kind of “natural aristocracy” of their people, both innocent and sexually alluring and available for non-Native men. Historically, this figure is especially exemplified by “Pocahontas” (see below).
Sometimes used to refer to a Native American child. |
USA, women’s history | Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues |
| people/s | For the purpose of self-identification and legal status, the plural Indigenous “peoples” is important. *Reminder: pluralise “peoples” and capitalise “Indigenous” in this context* | USA | Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues |
| Pocahontas
Pochahontas Pocahuntas Pocahottie/s |
Originally referring to the Native woman of the Powhatan nation who was involved (as hostage and in relationships) with the English colony of Jamestown, and was taken to England as “Rebecca Rolfe”, wife to tobacco merchant John Rolfe, and died there. It is widely accepted that much of the dominant Pocahontas story is itself one of the origin myths of the Anglo-/European United States. In the last few decades, this stereotype was developed further into the no less sexist and racist popular culture image of “Pocahottie” – a young woman wearing revealing ‘Indian’-like clothing for costume parties such as Halloween. President Donald Trump used the term “Pocahontas” against Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, to refer to the controversies arising from her having self-identified as having Native American ancestry on an application form for academic positions at several universities. | USA | Gyorgy Toth |
| pow-wow/s
pow wow powwow/s |
The term “gathering” or “council” is preferred. | USA | Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues |
| Priarie nigger/s | Derogatory term used towards indigenous peoples in North America. *Reminder: it is advised not read the N-word aloud if you do not self-identify as Black, even in quotation* | USA | Wikipedia – List of ethnic slurs [32] |
| Red Indian/s | |||
| redskin/s
red-skin/s red person/people red child/children skins savage/s |
A derogatory term coined by colonialists, often used interchangeably with “savage”. The complexity of the usage of this term becomes obvious when Native peoples have reclaimed it, and among themselves (often controversially) use it as “skins”. This is an example of clipping slang, such as “rez” for “reservation”. | USA | Native American Journalists Association, 100 questions, 500 Nations: A Guide to Native America
Independent – Washington Redskins Name Controversy Washington Post – A Brief History of the Word ‘Redskin’ |
| squaw/s
esqua squa skwa |
An ethnic and sexual slur historically used to denigrate Indigenous women in North America. Its connotations are that Native women are “drudges”, “slaving away”, while their husbands do nothing. | USA, Canada, women’s history | PCUSA – Terminology Crosswalk [33]
Indian Country Today – The Word Squaw: Offensive or Not? Native Way – Reclaiming “Squaw” Part 1 Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues |
| Tchutchee/s | The preferred term is “Chukchi”. | USA | PCUSA – Terminology Crosswalk [34] |
| teepee/s
tipi/s tipee/s |
The term “dwelling” is preferred. | USA | Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues |
| tribe/s
tribal |
This word is outdated (with some exceptions) and derogatory, suggesting a “primitive” social organisation among “natural” peoples. Use the term “tribe” or “tribal” only when it is an official designation (by the nation or the federal government), usually of a nation, entity, institution, or mechanism. Alternatively, use “community” or “nation” if referring to a collective, also in a legal sense. | Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues | |
| Uncle Tomahawk/s
Tomahawk/s |
Used by the radical activists of the Red Power Movement (including those in the American Indian Movement) as a derogatory term condemning Native leaders and activists who were willing to compromise and/collaborate with the US federal government and settled for less than the full sovereignty rights that the movement was aiming to achieve. The term is a combination of “tomahawk”, a kind of war club used by some Native nations, and “Uncle Tom”, an African American derogatory phrase used in a similar movement politics to that of Red Power. The original Uncle Tom is a figure in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, who is known for his Christian meekness and service to his white masters, being an epigon of servile collaboration, the opposite of a freedom fighter or rights activist. | USA | Gyorgy Toth
Russell Means with Marvin Wolf, Where White Men Fear to Tread: The Autobiography of Russell Means. St. Martin's Press, 1995. |
| wagon burner | A racial slur referring to Native American people who attacked white men’s wagons during the wars in the eastern American front. | USA | Wikipedia – List of ethnic slurs [35]
Urban Dictionary – Wagon Burner |
| Warrior/s | Use only when actually referring to those in a Native nation in the role of fighters/soldiers. Use “soldier” or “serving in the military” when referring to those who are currently serving in a nation state’s military. Use “veteran” for those who have served but are no longer in service. | USA | Gyorgy Toth – Terminology for North American Indian Issues |
| Yupik
Yupi’k Yupight Yupihyt Yupiik Cup’ik Cup’ia |
Yup’ik people in Alaska prefer the spelling with an apostrophe after the “p”.
Yupik without the apostrophe refers to the people of St. Lawrence Island and the nearby coast of Chukotka in Russia. Alternative spellings include: Yupighyt/Yupihyt/Yupiik/Cup’ik/Cup’ig |
Alaska, USA, Russia, Siberia | PCUSA – Terminology Crosswalk [36] |