[HN Gopher] Indian Sign Talk (1893)
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       Indian Sign Talk (1893)
        
       Author : tintinnabula
       Score  : 12 points
       Date   : 2023-05-12 05:33 UTC (17 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (publicdomainreview.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (publicdomainreview.org)
        
       | ganarajpr wrote:
       | Why has no one come up with a different name for the Native
       | Americans? I know Columbus confused it to be India and called
       | them Indians - but do we need to persist in his ignorance? To be
       | honest if I had only read the title of this story I would have
       | assumed that it dealt with a sign language invented in India.
       | 
       | I know this is the wrong place to complain about this, but hey,
       | you need to start the conversation somewhere!
        
         | mat_epice wrote:
         | There is no need to come up with a new term, they already
         | exist. You call the group what they want (e.g., Dine'e, tribe
         | name, etc.), or indigenous American if referring to several
         | groups.
         | 
         | You may be shocked to learn that many indigenous groups are
         | perfectly ok being called American Indians, and some don't like
         | the term Native American[1].
         | 
         | [1] https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/faq/did-you-know
        
           | manquer wrote:
           | There is the other side of the equation , Indians have to
           | fine with it too.
           | 
           | I can't speak for all 1.4B, but I find this misappropriation
           | of my identity at best annoying and many times offensive .
           | 
           | Just identifying ethnically in say a form is a complex dance
           | in the US .
           | 
           | - Identify as an Asian is considered inaccurate and also not
           | acceptable for East Asians who already find it difficult
           | enough being grouped as one big AAPI bucket which have vast
           | differences
           | 
           | - Identify as Indian could mean indigenous American or people
           | from my country , so ambiguous.
           | 
           | - Identify as Indian American and have nuanced differences
           | between American Indian understood, that is assuming label is
           | accurate - for residents who are not naturalized citizens it
           | is not and that's most Indians in the US
           | 
           | - Identify as East Indian, that have different interpretation
           | in India and America
           | 
           | It just not our identity it is the swastika, or turbans
           | symbols of my culture are just appropriated to be abused or
           | misunderstood at least our name should be ours ?
        
         | the_third_wave wrote:
         | Who feels the discussion needs to be started? Are you an
         | American Indian? If not, why do you feel the need to speak out
         | for them? They - as in "each and every one of them,
         | individually" as opposed to "one of them claiming to represent
         | all American Indians without having been voted to be such by
         | each and everyone of them" - are perfectly capable of voicing
         | their own opinion on this subject after all. If you are the
         | question still remains: do you speak for all American Indians?
         | I know that there are plenty American Indians who don't have
         | any problems with being called American Indians so you seem to
         | not speak for them at least. I also know that there are many
         | American Indians who are not at all pleased with the way these
         | self-proclaimed representatives keep on succeeding in removing
         | references to their martial history from sports teams since
         | they understand - rightly so in my opinion - that teams did not
         | call themselves "Braves" or "Chiefs" or other such names
         | because they thought American Indians were a bunch of sissies -
         | they took these names because they wanted to catch some of the
         | shine of the reputation for martial prowess American Indians
         | had.
         | 
         | I'm a Dutchman. It has come to my ears that Americans often
         | abuse the term "Dutch" to indicate (perceived) negatives:
         | 
         | - Dutch courage: liquid courage, bravery only due to
         | intoxication
         | 
         | - Dutch treat/Going Dutch: everyone pays their own expenses
         | 
         | - Dutch Uncle: a besserwisser giving "stern but well-meaning"
         | advice
         | 
         | - Double Dutch/High Dutch: unintelligible speech
         | 
         | I could claim to represent all Dutchmen and -women and demand
         | that these terms be replaced with others not referring to my
         | nationality even though _I know this is the wrong place to
         | complain about this, but hey, you need to start the
         | conversation somewhere!_.
         | 
         | I won't do so because a) I don't care and b) I do not represent
         | anyone else but myself.
        
         | quechimba wrote:
         | One time I saw a sign in Iquitos saying "Authentic Indian Food"
         | and I was hoping to get a nice curry but all they had was fried
         | fish and green plantains.
        
       | sandworm101 wrote:
       | >> desired that his book be put to use as a tool to convert
       | Native Americans to Christianity comes from a section entitled "
       | _Receive Jesus Now_ ".
       | 
       | That just about sums up a few centuries of history. I am all for
       | documenting an recording traditions, but I am totally against
       | appropriating traditions for the express purpose of defeating
       | them.
        
         | the_third_wave wrote:
         | In the eyes of most of those who intended to convert people
         | they were doing them a favour since they were convinced that
         | heaven only awaited those who followed their faith. Compare it
         | to vegans who try to convert people to their dietary choices -
         | they may be annoying but they're not evil.
        
         | _a_a_a_ wrote:
         | People change, societies and norms change what once was de
         | rigueur is now rightly held repugnant. Religion back then is
         | very different from religion now, what happened then wouldn't
         | now. No point getting angry at the past.
         | 
         | (atheist)
        
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       (page generated 2023-05-12 23:01 UTC)