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From: sgupta@ut-ngp.UUCP (Gupta, Sanjay)
Newsgroups: net.nlang.india
Subject: Re: Native Americans
Message-ID: <1644@ut-ngp.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 22-Apr-85 16:03:51 EST
Article-I.D.: ut-ngp.1644
Posted: Mon Apr 22 16:03:51 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 24-Apr-85 05:13:07 EST
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Organization: U.Texas Computation Center, Austin, Texas
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**SORRY, THIS MAY BE A STALE TOPIC, BUT I AM A NEW READER OF USENET** 


>What is the preferred term for addressing the native Americans 
>in the US?  I am referring to people who have previously been 
>called Red Indians.  It seems to me that just as the term Negro 
>is no longer in favor, neither is Red Indian, since the term
>describes (supposedly) skin color and a mistaken indentity
>(I'm told Columbus was looking for India).


	I feel that there is a misconception here regarding why the term 
"Red Indian" is considered to be derogatory. Skin colour cannot be the reason
why the term is in disfavour. Red is a good colour to look at, unlike black
and to a certain extent brown too. People with a reddish hue are esthetically
very appealing - in fact, more so than white-skinned people. Hence it must be
the mistaken identity part which creates disfavor for the term "Red Indian".
I guess the combination of "native American pride" (from watching movies, I get
the feeling that the Red Indians/native Americans were a proud race who tried
to maintain their cultural identity against the European(white settlers) - 
which by the way is in contrast to the real Indians) and European imperialistic
notions - thrusting their nomenclature on the "native Americans" - must be the
reason why they prefer to be called "native Americans", rather than "Red
Indians".  


						Sanjay Gupta