For school this week, we read about Native Americans (sorry for adopting the politically correct term, but it's accurate. And yes, yes, I'm a native American, too, blah blah blah). After looking at the different styles of houses, we made a tipi (as spelled in the history book, but I'm less convinced that it's more accurate) out of newspaper rolls and baby towels. Stuart liked the house, but preferred a weapon, so I made him a spear. Addie wanted one, too.
I made her one, but was compelled to inform them that in that culture, women usually didn't have weapons because they didn't hunt or fight. "What did they do?" Addie asked. I explained that the women made the clothes, cooked the food, and took care of the children.
Stuart grabbed his spear and announced, "I'm an Indian Cyclops!" So much for historical accuracy. He turned to Addie. "Hey, let's go hunt some buffalo. I want some new clothes."
-- SJ
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
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9 comments:
I wonder if "American Indian" is okay to use? That's the term that makes the most sense to me, but I don't know if it's okay.
Well, they're still not Indian, despite years of usage that associates that people with that name. It's like the ultimate nightmare flub: you land on the wrong continent, jump to a ridiculous conclusion, and centuries later people are still aware of your gaffe.
-- SJ
Yeah, I suppose "American Indian" is just DOUBLE wrong: we're the ones who named the place America AND we're the ones who named them Indians, neither of which were the names they used themselves.
Yes, but it's OUR language, so we can call them whatever makes sense to us.
There's a new PC term: First People. We think it was intended as a "nyeah, nyeah, we were here first" kind of thing, but we actually prefer it, because there are no native Americans. Everyone, even the tribes came from elsewhere. So, First People actually makes sense.
Possibly it makes sense, but First People sounds like something out of a bad sci-fi novel. "She wore on her hand the silver and uranium band that signified her rank as one of the First People. These rulers of the Unglumbia planet were know for their great power and little mercy."
-- SJ
hahahaha! I like the comments as much as the post :-)
Of course, we're all still calling the Greeks, Greeks, even though that was only the name of a minor clan that happened to stick. But it isn't confusing like American Indian / East Indian.
Well, that's the thing. If we'd ended up using some name derived from a particular tribe, it at least wouldn't be confused with an already-named people an entire continent away.
DJ, glad to provide you with entertainment. I endeavor to please.
-- SJ
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