Is it PC to say "Native American" because you hate the term Indian?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Just wondering what people think. That's the only reason I say "Native American", because I hate the term Indian. They are not Indians, period. Indians live thousands of miles away, across a huge ocean, and have absolutely no relation to Native Americans.

Yet despite this, I still get bashed by people even when I don't do it for any "politically correct" reasons at all. The fact that the anti-PC people like dazzleman who constantly attacks the term Native American are far more militant about this than the PC folks.

[Alcon]

I suppose it is PC, but I don't care.  The term sounds better and makes more sense.  I do not see why "Native American" nor "American Indian" are offensive.  "Native American" isn't going out of one's way to be politically correct (it's two letters shorter!), nor is it a new term, so I really do think that complaining about its use is just reverse PC.

[Hatman 🍁]

It's not PC, it's common sense. Saying Indian is only going to get people confused with real Indians.

[??????????]

I suppose it is PC, but I don't care.  The term sounds better and makes more sense.  I do not see why "Native American" nor "American Indian" are offensive.  "Native American" isn't going out of one's way to be politically correct (it's two letters shorter!), nor is it a new term, so I really do think that complaining about its use is just reverse PC.

How about AmeriIndian. That's the newest one I've heard.....

meh I prefer the older names....

Injun
Injin
Savage
Redman

[MaC]

some "Native Americans" actually prefer the term Indian.

[A18]

What is politically correct is not therefore necessarily bad.

[Nym90]

Native American is more accurate, and thus I use it, though a lot of tribes call themselves Indians, so I don't see how the term is offensive.

[dazzleman]

I don't like the term "Native American."  I am a native American, as are most of the people I know.  Use of the term "Native American" for American Indians implies that the rest of us don't belong here.  As with most politically correct term, there is a deliterious message behind the term that I reject, and I therefore don't like the term.

[Nym90]

I don't like the term "Native American."  I am a native American, as are most of the people I know.  Use of the term "Native American" for American Indians implies that the rest of us don't belong here.  As with most politically correct term, there is a deliterious message behind the term that I reject, and I therefore don't like the term.

I agree, but it's still more accurate than saying Indian. If we are going to refer to someone's ancestry, we might as well at least be accurate as to what country or continent it comes from.

I would prefer that everyone who is a US citizen simply be called an American and that we ignore race or ancestry altogeher.

[dazzleman]

I don't like the term "Native American."  I am a native American, as are most of the people I know.  Use of the term "Native American" for American Indians implies that the rest of us don't belong here.  As with most politically correct term, there is a deliterious message behind the term that I reject, and I therefore don't like the term.

I agree, but it's still more accurate than saying Indian. If we are going to refer to someone's ancestry, we might as well at least be accurate as to what country or continent it comes from.

I would prefer that everyone who is a US citizen simply be called an American and that we ignore race or ancestry altogeher.

I like your idea.

I believe that the whole agenda behind PC terms like "Native American" is to delegitimize the underpinnings of our society.  This term suggests subtly that only American Indians really have a right to be here, that the rest of us are somehow less worthy.

So while your idea is a good one, it is the last thing the PCers want, because they seek to divide people from each other, and undermine the legitimacy of our society.

[Frodo]

No -it eliminates the potential of confusing the inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent with the aboriginal tribes in the Americas.  And from a purely aesthetic viewpoint, I just like the term 'Native American' better. 

[Gabu]

I don't like the term "Native American."  I am a native American, as are most of the people I know.  Use of the term "Native American" for American Indians implies that the rest of us don't belong here.  As with most politically correct term, there is a deliterious message behind the term that I reject, and I therefore don't like the term.

Why does it imply that the rest of us don't belong here?  All it implies is that they were here first, before Europeans came, which is... well, true.  Calling them "Indians", on the other hand, implies either that an entire country in Southeast Asia doesn't exist or that the residents of that country have taken parts of North America.

It's not a perfect term, but they're most certainly not Indians.  They were called "Indians" because the Europeans who initially found the Americas thought they had found India.  If you can find a short term for "guys who we think probably came here across the Bering Strait some ten thousand years ago and then settled down for millenia before Europeans came and found them", then by all means, suggest it.  Calling them "Indians" is simply wrong, however.  No offense, but I have to wonder at those who reject political correctness because, as they declare, they would prefer plain correctness, and yet prefer the term "Indian" to "Native American".

[Emsworth]

The term "Indian" is unsatisfactory because it is potentially confusing. But "native American" is also somewhat ambiguous; a native American might merely be someone born in America. The ambiguity is removed if "native" is capitalized, but this cannot be indicated in speech. The most accurate and unambiguous terms that I can think of are "indigenous Americans" and "aboriginal Americans." Another possibility is "members of native tribes," but that is quite long-winded.

[Nym90]

I don't like the term "Native American."  I am a native American, as are most of the people I know.  Use of the term "Native American" for American Indians implies that the rest of us don't belong here.  As with most politically correct term, there is a deliterious message behind the term that I reject, and I therefore don't like the term.

I agree, but it's still more accurate than saying Indian. If we are going to refer to someone's ancestry, we might as well at least be accurate as to what country or continent it comes from.

I would prefer that everyone who is a US citizen simply be called an American and that we ignore race or ancestry altogeher.

I like your idea.

I believe that the whole agenda behind PC terms like "Native American" is to delegitimize the underpinnings of our society.  This term suggests subtly that only American Indians really have a right to be here, that the rest of us are somehow less worthy.

So while your idea is a good one, it is the last thing the PCers want, because they seek to divide people from each other, and undermine the legitimacy of our society.

I don't personally read that into it, but then I usually try to interpret things fairly literally unless there's solid evidence to suggest otherwise. So your mileage may vary.

I also disagree about their motivations, as I view them as simply misguided rather than evil. Of course, it could be argued that the motivation is irrelevant to the issue at hand since the result is the same.

[Nym90]

I don't like the term "Native American."  I am a native American, as are most of the people I know.  Use of the term "Native American" for American Indians implies that the rest of us don't belong here.  As with most politically correct term, there is a deliterious message behind the term that I reject, and I therefore don't like the term.

Why does it imply that the rest of us don't belong here?  All it implies is that they were here first, before Europeans came, which is... well, true.  Calling them "Indians", on the other hand, implies either that an entire country in Southeast Asia doesn't exist or that the residents of that country have taken parts of North America.

It's not a perfect term, but they're most certainly not Indians.  They were called "Indians" because the Europeans who initially found the Americas thought they had found India.  If you can find a short term for "guys who we think probably came here across the Bering Strait some ten thousand years ago and then settled down for millenia before Europeans came and found them", then by all means, suggest it.  Calling them "Indians" is simply wrong, however.  No offense, but I have to wonder at those who reject political correctness because, as they declare, they would prefer plain correctness, and yet prefer the term "Indian" to "Native American".

True, although calling attention to one's ancestry could be argued as implying that it is relevant; otherwise why mention it as opposed to many other things that attention could be called to instead?

But I agree that might be overanalyzing it a bit. Sometimes one must simply apply Occam's Razor and assume that things are what they are.

[Gabu]

True, although calling attention to one's ancestry could be argued as implying that it is relevant; otherwise why mention it as opposed to many other things that attention could be called to instead?

These people had no nations, names for the continent on which they resided, or any other sort of widespread form of identification.  I don't see what else you could use to refer to them other than the fact that they were the first to live in the Americas.  They had different names for their tribes, but there are thousands of those, making their use immensely impractical when you wish to refer to the people as a whole.

[dazzleman]

I don't like the term "Native American."  I am a native American, as are most of the people I know.  Use of the term "Native American" for American Indians implies that the rest of us don't belong here.  As with most politically correct term, there is a deliterious message behind the term that I reject, and I therefore don't like the term.

Why does it imply that the rest of us don't belong here?  All it implies is that they were here first, before Europeans came, which is... well, true.  Calling them "Indians", on the other hand, implies either that an entire country in Southeast Asia doesn't exist or that the residents of that country have taken parts of North America.

It's not a perfect term, but they're most certainly not Indians.  They were called "Indians" because the Europeans who initially found the Americas thought they had found India.  If you can find a short term for "guys who we think probably came here across the Bering Strait some ten thousand years ago and then settled down for millenia before Europeans came and found them", then by all means, suggest it.  Calling them "Indians" is simply wrong, however.  No offense, but I have to wonder at those who reject political correctness because, as they declare, they would prefer plain correctness, and yet prefer the term "Indian" to "Native American".

The English language allows a word to have more than one meaning.  The word "Indian" is one such word.  I think 400 years of use to describe the race that predated the Europeans on this continent is sufficient precedent to continue using it.  It has never been, to my knowledge, a derogatory term.

[Max Power]

I use it. It's not PC.

[J. J.]

Can I just refer all other posters (except States Wife) as "you people." 

Personally, I prefer "Amerindian," which is a contraction form of portmanteau.

[PBrunsel]

I prefer to call Native Americans, "extinct."

[J. J.]

I prefer to call Native Americans, "extinct."

Ah, I'm still here.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I don't like the term "Native American."  I am a native American, as are most of the people I know.  Use of the term "Native American" for American Indians implies that the rest of us don't belong here.  As with most politically correct term, there is a deliterious message behind the term that I reject, and I therefore don't like the term.

Then what term should I use that does not refer to a billion people who live thousands of miles away on a completely unreleated subcontinent?

[Frodo]

I don't like the term "Native American."  I am a native American, as are most of the people I know.  Use of the term "Native American" for American Indians implies that the rest of us don't belong here.  As with most politically correct term, there is a deliterious message behind the term that I reject, and I therefore don't like the term.

It seems that in the process of condemning what you term as the political correctness of the Left, you are unwittingly creating your own brand.  You now look down upon the use of such words like 'Native American' just as liberals censure the use of words like 'Negro', 'n', 'redskin', 'dyke', 'broad', and others.  Soon I imagine you will extend this same censorious spirit you now restrict mainly to certain words to works of art, music, and literature.  I am surprised that you do not recognize this irony.   

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Like I pointed out in a thread a few months back, there is just as much right wing political correctness as there is left wing.

[DanielX]

Kinda. However, it's a good idea to call them 'American Indians' or 'Amerindians', or even 'American Aboriginals' because that way they won't be confused with people from India.