Comments on: Reminder: Racist Mascots are an Industry

By: Culturally Appropriating Native Americans: A “Hands-on Approach to History” » Sociological Images

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:32:11 +0000

[...] posts: racist mascots, Canada’s “indigenous Olympics“, ice skaters dress up like aborigines, indigenous [...]

By: rachel

rachel — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:01:53 +0000

You know, I don’t know. I can’t understand the thought process that the kids and the teachers at that school went through. They really thought that this mascot is acceptable to represent them?

By: rachel

rachel — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:59:08 +0000

@ Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist: I’m sorry that you are deeply offended by Native people calling themselves Indian. We’ve been called Indians and have been calling ourselves Indian for over 400 years now and the word, in the American context in relation to the Indigenous peoples here has no connection to South Asian Indians. There have always been efforts amongst Native people to not use that word any more because of the history it evokes (you know…how we were massacred and experienced genocide and removed and called savages, etc.)and out of respect for South Asian peoples and their cultures. More and more Native people are calling themselves by words in their own language. You are right that we have NO connection to you…the word in the way that we use it no longer has connection to your culture either. It stopped being connected to India when Columbus stepped off of his ship…

By: rachel

rachel — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:48:17 +0000

I’ve never heard any Native person get upset at being called Native. In the context of 19th century anthropologists using the term “the Natives”, maybe it could be considered offensive but Native is a common term throughout the United States at least.

By: Karonia:a

Karonia:a — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:50:55 +0000

The term “Indian” was not by our own choice, it was a label put on us….which stuck for many many years…….here in Canada we are known as “First Nations People” and we also identify ourselves by Kanien’keha:ka, Anishinabe, or what have you…..depending on your nation…and we make it be known and its accepted….

By: Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist

Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:31:55 +0000

that’s me. I’m from India and I’m really offended by the fact Indigenous Americans are called “Indian” when they are NOT from India and have nothing to do with Indian culture.

In general, I call them “Indigenous Americans” or “Native Americans” but I prefer to refer to them by their tribe names, which is more respectful.

By: Jeff Kaufman

Jeff Kaufman — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:58:24 +0000

I was under the impression that calling pre-european people “natives” was highly offensive.

By: Keeley

Keeley — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:30:09 +0000

I’m under the impression that while many Native Americans refer to themselves as Indians, there are a fair number of Indians – in the “from India” sense of the word – who are unhappy with this disenfranchisment of their own identity.

By: Kat

Kat — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:02:25 +0000

There seems to be some kind of anti-”buy-this”-spamfilter on. You can only include a certain number of links with “buy” or “shop” in it (I believe from trial and error, that the limit is 2). So if you replace the # with either a “y” (buycostumes) or a “p” (costume-shop”), it should work. ;)