Native Americans and Native Canadians don't appreciate being called indians

I shared a school with an Ojibwe reservation and I was a tribal member until they raised the blood quantum so half my friends and half my family are Natives and they don't care. They call themselves Indians. I know quite a few Natives that do care though. I think it comes down to who's saying it.

Ryan, the indigenous peoples of the North American continent DID NOT arrive here from India, nor from the West Indies. It is not fair to be calling them INDIANS simply because an explorer from Italy landed on some islands which he WRONGLY believed to be India approximately 580 years ago. And most of the natives agree with that assessment. Sorry

I was a tribal member of the Ojibwe clan for most of my life and took Ojibwe classes through grade school so I know the history. I'm saying that a lot of my friends and family are Natives and all of them call each other Indian and a lot of them don't care about any of the "Indian" logos. I know plenty of them that do care though but I don't know what the ratio is. Most natives might take offense, but I personally know a lot of natives that don't care.

They shouldn't call themselves indians. IMV, anyway! That name was given to them MISTAKENLY by a European explorer who was sailing for INDIA and wound up on what we know of today as the West Indies. They deserve their own identities, although I am a man of unity. Personally, I call them Native Warriors. because they seem to have been fighting for something in one form or another since they were created! I appreciate and respect what you have said here, though. Thanks for your input :-)

You must not have heard of the Indian Brotherhood.

I know that they are a GANG, and not a very nice gang at that. They are also YOUNG, and don't really care about being called indians because they aren't aware of their ancestors' history. That's just my theory, but I see it as plausible

They're not all young, but the majority of them are, you're right. They do, however, make it a point to study their history and keep traditional religious practices.

And, no, most of them are not very nice. Some aren't all that bad, though. (Yes, I've known some.)

The biggest gang on the LCO reservation was the Latin Kings back in my day. It just came down to who brought in the most drugs I guess.

IBH is pretty wide-spread in Oklahoma... My ex-girlfriend's husband-she-was-getting-a-divorce-from was one.

Relationships are complex, huh?

I grew up with natives here in Canada, working on a reserve right now, youth centre. I certainly do have opinions on the whole matter, good and bad.

Um... Was that meant for me?

You'd be surprised.