Which is the proper term, Native American or Indian?

In the interest of being racially sensitive, I was wondering what the most proper term is to refer to the people who occupied North America before the Europeans arrived. In my grade school where my teachers were always politically correct we studied the “Native Americans”. We have a cabin in the North Woods of Wisconsin on an Ojibwe Reservation. The people in northern Wisconsin, both white and Native American, refer to the Ojibwe people as “Indian”. While there is plenty of prejudice against the Ojibwe in that area it is not over the term, Indian.

So, which term should we use? Slate Magazine had a 2004 article entitled, “Native American v. American Indian”. It was prompted by Bush’s dedication of the National Museum of the American Indian. In this article they report:

“Despite the wave of political correctness in the 1990s, during which "Native American" was often trumpeted as a more sensitive phrase, American Indians remain split on which term is preferable. A 1995 Department of Labor survey found that close to 50 percent of American Indians were perfectly happy with that label, while 37 percent preferred to be known as Native Americans.”

They go on to say that individuals would rather be referred to as being a member of a specific tribe (i.e. Ojibwe, Kiowa, Sioux, etc). This is the most authentic term since there are so many different The one big mistake that should be avoided is that Native Americans should be referred to as “American Indians” not to be confused with Indians from South Asia.

A Cherokee writer and producer of the website All Things Cherokee, recommends:

“In the end, the term you choose to use (as an Indian or non-Indian) is your own personal choice. Very few Indians that I know care either way. The recommended method is to refer to a person by their tribe, if that information is known. The reason is that the Native peoples of North America are incredibly diverse. It would be like referring both a Romanian and an Irishman as European. . . . [W]henever possible an Indian would prefer to be called a Cherokee or a Lakota or whichever tribe they belong to. This shows respect because not only are you sensitive to the fact that the terms Indian, American Indian, and Native American are an over simplification of a diverse ethnicity, but you also show that you listened when they told what tribe they belonged to. 

When you don't know the specific tribe simply use the term which you are most comfortable using. The worst that can happen is that someone might correct you and open the door for a thoughtful debate on the subject of political correctness and its impact on ethnic Identity. What matters in the long run is not which term is used but the intention with which it is used.”

ANSWER: Native American or American Indian, preferably the individual’s specific tribe

http://www.slate.com/id/2107102/

What's in a Name? Indians and Political Correctness


by Christina Berry, All Things Cherokee