Well this weekend's event went off with only minor hitches. Not like in years past when we had problems setting up the tepee village in torrential rains, with the cavalry breathing down our necks, and settlers plying us with smallpox-infested blankets. Our previous woes made running out of staples to post the faux-rawhide signage downright insignificant. For the most part, the attendees treated all my presenters with respect and interest, but a couple of incidents reminded me that we can't change 500 years of history overnight. Here are two examples:
1) One of the presenters was dressed in full traditional tribal regalia. She had on a wing dress, beaded necklaces, mink fur-covered braids, hand woven cornhusk bag, and moccasins. She was talking to a woman and said something about Indian dancing. Upon hearing that, the woman she was talking to reached over and touched her elbow and in a I'm-the-enlightened-White-woman-and-you're-the-simple-savage tone, said, "Don't you mean 'Native American'." My presenter didn't even know how to respond. And when she told me the story, I had to admit, I would have been pretty dumbstruck, too.
and 2) Another presenter was a man doing flintknapping demonstrations, making arrowheads and knife blades with obsidian. He looks very classically Indian, with dark bronze skin and long black braids. Well someone walked up to him, raised her hand, and said, "How." He took it with humor and told me that he thought she was Romanian or something like that given her accent... but STILL!
I'll end with an incident that showed me we are making progress, though. Since the point of setting up the Indian village is to highlight the importance of salmon to tribal cultures in the Pacific Northwest, (and the agency I work does biological and other scientific research for the tribes), there was a tepee devoted to salmon science. We had microscopes, radio tags, preserved specimens, etc. After visiting that tepee, a little girl ran to her parents, yelling, "the Indians are so SMART!"
THAT'S the message I'd been hoping for. (Well, that and that Indians prefer the term "Indian" over "Native American," they hate it when people say "How" to them unless it's in an ironic or satirical tone.) FYI.
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4 comments:
how... or should I say top of the mornin' to ya
In all fairness, the poor white people have been beaten down with PC expectations. "African American" instead of black, or any other term (but if you're black you may use other terms that no one else is allowed) Native American instead of Indian, Little people instead of Midget or dwarf, Latino(a) instead of any term that would actually trace your place of origin....
You have to admit that other "minorities" have ruined this for you. I say this as one of those minorities. (Yes, I am part black, dwarf, and wetback, well ok, only one of those, you pick. It is sad that I have to qualify my comments by saying I am one of these people, so I can say it) Right?
But for someone who looks completely Caucasian, I have to say I didn't know that Indian was the preferred term.
I agree with tracy. As someone with the looked down upon strains of Frog (french), Hun (German) and Honky (English) we can feel totally guilty nowadays by calling someone the "unaccepted" term in relation to their ancestory.
I too didn't know that Indian was the preferred term. In fact I've been told exactly the opposite nearly all my life.
I haven't seen this to be that touchy of a subject. Correcting someone on what they call themselves is just rude in general. PC terms are no substitution for sincere respect. Indian, American Indian, Native American, or the tribe's name (Ute Nation, Nez Perce Tribe, etc) usually all work. Of course, I just call Jeremy a savage.
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