Column: Native American or American Indian?

Monday, April 28, 2008  

"When I saw the page proof for today’s Page 1, I was reminded of a recent e-mail exchange I’d had with a reader.

The page proof used the term Indian Country, which recalled the thoughtful e-mail that began that previous correspondence.

“I find it astonishing that you would allow your editors, reporters and writers to use the seriously out-dated term ‘American Indian’ versus ‘Native American,’” he said, referring to a story in mid-April about Nisqually Tribe members teaching tribal songs and dances to public school students.

“We don’t see headlines saying Barack Obama attended a ‘colored’ or ‘Negro’ church,” he continued. “American Indian was considered old and even insulting as far back as the ’80s. A change would help the News Tribune seem more modern and in touch.”

The writer said he has a friend who’s a member of a Northwest tribe. He said that although she wasn’t offended at the term American Indian she thought most members of her tribe would be.

We use the term American Indian for several reasons. One, it’s what the federal government uses (the Bureau of Indian Affairs, for example) and it’s the legal term used in most treaties and contracts.

Two, it’s what The Associated Press Stylebook (the Bible for language usage by most of the news media) uses. The stylebook also allows use of the term Native American when used by a speaker or in the name of an organization. Most all news copy comes to us using American Indian."

Get the Story:
Dave Zeeck: In News Tribune Country, we pay attention to language (The Tacoma News-Tribune 4/28)