New York, U.S.A., December 18, 2002: There has always been confusion on how exactly to describe the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Tim Giago, editor and publisher of The Lakota Journal, in a recent article writes that the term Native American as opposed to Indian happened during the age of “political correctness.” It was at the time when African-American, Asian-American and Hispanic-American came into vogue. “For as long as I can remember, we have always referred to ourselves as ‘Indian.’ Many elders will tell you that ‘Indian’ is not a bad word. They do not believe it was a word uttered by Christopher Columbus because he thought he was in India when he landed on the islands of the Western Hemisphere. Rather they attribute it to the Spanish Conquistadors and the padres who accompanied them to a land they dubbed ‘The New World.’ The Spanish padres saw the indigenous people as innocents. They called them Ninos in Dios (Children of God),” writes Mr. Giago. As the words became words of common usage they were shortened to “Indios,” and the word “Indios” soon became “Indian” when repeated by the settlers from other European nations. Referring to this article, the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) would welcome any further information on this interpretation of the origin of “Indian” to refer to indigenous Americans. Readers wishing to offer input may contact “source” above.
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