Your friend was not only being a jerk to you. She is also wrong.distracted_at_work wrote: ↑Mon Aug 14, 2017 11:38 amHello all. Didn't want to start a thread but I'd like some thoughts.
Two weeks ago I was drinking with a good friend and she angrily called me out for referring to Native Americans (Indians, Aboriginals, Indigenous etc) as "Natives" during conversation as I learned to do in school. She was quite incensed that we all must say Indigenous because any other word is offensive......
There is not one single specific term that we're supposed to use for Native Americans, and because they are made up of so many different tribes and cultures and they have assimilated and also developed separately, there probably won't ever be.
A large number of Native Americans have shared that they prefer being called Indians, or American Indians. Often, their top preference is to be called by their "tribe" name - like Lakota, for example. (being called Lakotas, or Lakota people, fore example - and it is even trickier because often they prefer the tribe names very in complicated ways, and these names are in their own languages, and so on. And of course that doesn't work when talking about all of the Native Americans as a whole).
Here's an example, with specific input and reasons from four different American Indians: https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/c ... s-respond/
There are some terms that you shouldn't use, like redskins or savages, or chief. Those kind of terms are, more or less, the Native American version of "niggers", "beaners", or "wet backs". (and I don't believe Natives use these terms themselves). If I understand correctly, this is why there's much more controversy over the Washington Redksins than the Cleveland Indians or the Florida State Seminoles.
When it comes to the other more normal terms like Natives, Native American, Indians, American Indians, ect. those can sometimes be kind of the term "Mexican". They are normal and acceptable, and also they could possibly take on an offensive slant if used in an offensive tone. If someone says, for example "God, what's with these dirty fucking Indians around here?" you're getting into offensive territory.