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Your Red Indian name


boboneleg

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On 29/12/2022 at 12:13, Grasshopper said:

Although I see the humour in this it is offensive.  Perhaps in Canada it is more so, not sure how strong the native culture is in other places, but here I respect them enough not to call them Indians at least.

Canada would be American if not for our natives kicking their butt all those years ago.

Anyways, just felt the need to express my thoughts on that, carry on. 

Tell us how the name Indian became offensive. Was it the usual route of using the word being used in a derogatory way? Or was it always offensive?

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20 minutes ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

Tell us how the name Indian became offensive. Was it the usual route of using the word being used in a derogatory way? Or was it always offensive?

its probably only offends if a white man says it .... 

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Just looked it up, it's a total minefield with no agreement between the various indigenous groups even within one area let alone on a wider scale. Some don't see it as offensive and don't want to be called anything other than Indian as they have been known their whole lives, some want to be called native Americans, some see that as another offensive name as it was chosen by the US government and they can't all be lumped into one group, some see it as racist and to top it off a lot of the words come from Europeans trying to translate the sounds used by the indigenous population into an understandable words. Oh and some object to the use of 'indigenous'.

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4 hours ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

Just looked it up, it's a total minefield with no agreement between the various indigenous groups even within one area let alone on a wider scale. Some don't see it as offensive and don't want to be called anything other than Indian as they have been known their whole lives, some want to be called native Americans, some see that as another offensive name as it was chosen by the US government and they can't all be lumped into one group, some see it as racist and to top it off a lot of the words come from Europeans trying to translate the sounds used by the indigenous population into an understandable words. Oh and some object to the use of 'indigenous'.

There is a lot to it, I guess I just get tired of people using the word which was based on a misconception to start, it seems like a lack of education.  It's also a ridiculous generalization.  I have lived closely with the indigenous of the Sunshine Coast and have come to respect them and other indigenous groups for their individual traits, so perhaps I took it differently than most would.

I guess I just wasn't in the mood to keep my opinions to myself the day I saw the thread.

I should know better and just let people do what they want, I'm sorry I said anything.

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58 minutes ago, Grasshopper said:

There is a lot to it, I guess I just get tired of people using the word which was based on a misconception to start, it seems like a lack of education.  It's also a ridiculous generalization.  I have lived closely with the indigenous of the Sunshine Coast and have come to respect them and other indigenous groups for their individual traits, so perhaps I took it differently than most would.

I guess I just wasn't in the mood to keep my opinions to myself the day I saw the thread.

I should know better and just let people do what they want, I'm sorry I said anything.

I'm glad you did. 

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We could just refer to them according to their actual tribe, everyone of them I met when I lived in the USA referred to themselves that way, alternatively you can just refer to the whole by the catchy title “indigenous tribal peoples of the continents now known as North and South America”. 

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4 hours ago, Buckster said:

We could just refer to them according to their actual tribe, 

that's what I would do naturally, but would have no way of knowing without asking, wether I was adressing a Huron or an Alonquin. Also, if you follow the logoque fully then "Cheyenne" ( for example) would also be incorrect as it was the French trappers who referred to them as Dog indiens or "Chiens" which was rapidly mispronounced by the English or Americain traders as "Cheyenne". is that a derogatory term?  is it impossible to have a collective noun for a race that is not sooner or later ill percieved by either those directly concerned or by someone not concerned but sufficiently "WOKE" to feel they have the right to be offended by it. 

I doubt it. 

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