Why in the world do people still refer to First-Nations as Indians?

Question

Ok, back in the day it was all fine and dandy to call First-Nation people Indians because of Christopher Columbus' mistake. Nowadays, people should be educated enough to know that Indians are people from India and First-Nations are the people who where in North-America first. Indians(people from India) are now left with no identity to themselves, Asian refers to Orientals and Indian refers to First-Nations; and don't go saying that we can be called Punjabis or Hindus etc. because a lot of us aren't! Somebody please give me an answer besides it's "habit". This may seem like a dumb question, but it's one of my pet peeves.

Additional Details

Right, BTW, I forgot to mention that First-Nations is the Canadian term for Natives, I'm not sure what it is in the States, either way they both get refered to as Indians.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Well, I know "First-Nations" is a Canadian term so I can't really speak to that, but in the United States most "Native Americans" actually refer to and identify themselves as "Indians".

Answer 2

Because Ignorance Is Bliss.

Source(s):

SanManCo128

Answer 3

I don't understand this either. It's politically incorrect. I live in America, and whenever I refer to Native Americans as Native Americans and not Indians, I get odd looks.

Answer 4

Well, when dealing with things onn the governmental level the term AmerInd was used. This means American Indian, as opposed to Indian, a person from India. It worked in the 70's why did we abandon it? Oh, yeah! Because people have to be _________-Americans, now, instead of just Americans. What a stupid societal norm!

Answer 5

I thought they were called native Americans, when did this term come into play.
I can never keep up with the "what we prefer to call ourselves thing" For anyone these days. I mean, Indians, native Americans, now first nations, it was Negros, colored, black now African Americans, Anyone that is of Spanish descent are Hispanics now, except that term is not liked by some Mexican or Puerto Ricans. We are not Really Americans because the USA is not the only country that is in the "Americas" geesh...
this is just in my life time. I'm not meaning anything derogatory here, but Why do they keep changing. all these terms have been used in my lifetime and now if you say some of them, you risk being persecuted. Why is this?

Answer 6

Our society is getting to the point where a racial or ethnic group's name is more likely to confuse the point than clarify what is actually going on and what the true issues are. Call someone by their name and not by something you really know nothing about .

Have you ever talked to a member of an Indian Nation about what is going on today or are you rather trying to correct the wrongs this country committed in the past through semantics?

Answer 7

I don't understand it myself. I always correct people when they call natives "Indians".

Something I noticed is that Jim Prentice's titles in Steven Harper's cabinet are "Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development" and "Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians"... very strange.

Source(s):

http://www.nationalfreepress.ca/Canadian…