Wisconsin American Indians:

An Overview

In general, it is best to be as specific as possible when referring to tribes and bands. However, there are some instances where individuals may seek a more general term. Rather than pretending like this won’t happen, it is important to provide some context on what different terms may convey. I have chosen American Indian because it is the name of the division of the DPI and many acquaintances have expressed it is their preferred term, but this by no means represents everyone.

Terminology

Perhaps frustratingly, I am not going to make a blanket statement and say one is more correct than another or can be a safe go-to. In Wisconsin, it seems that American Indian is most common, at least in public-facing circles, but it is best to ask an individual what descriptor they would prefer to be used. If engaging in academic work or if you do not have the ability to ask what the group you are writing/teaching about would prefer, consider choosing a term, but adding an asterisk or preface to recognize the nuance.

American Indian

In recent years, this has become a more popular term. It refers to those living in the contiguous United States, meaning it excludes Alaska and Hawaii

Native American

This term has been decreasing in popularity over recent years. While it includes Alaska, it excludes Hawaii.

First Nations

This is a term more popular in Canada. However, it cannot be said that tribes in Canada are the First Nations and ones in the United States are something else — since these groups had land areas before the colonizers came and split them up, many groups have boundaries that overlap international borders…so Ojibwe would be considered First Nations in Canada, and arbitrarily split through their reservation they suddenly become American Indian or another term?

Indians

This is a hotly debated term. Most connect it with the inaccurate belief Christopher Columbus had that he had arrived in South Asia, but others have suggested that it could refer to the Spanish “in dios,” living with God.

Indigenous (Peoples)

This is a more general term that includes people from all corners of the earth. Being so broad, that means it also is not very specific. It can feel comfortable to use it because of the lack of specificity/words like “American” or “Indian” that can tend to be more charged, but this doesn’t mean it is always the best option. The plurality of peoples is important as it recognizes there are multiple groups represented, not just one monolithic group of people.

Natives

Like Indigenous, this is a broad term, and while it may be used as shorthand by individuals who do identify this way, it can sometimes seem more “flippant” when used by individuals who do not have this identity.

A note on capitalization: In general, the capitalization is preferred, as native American, for example, refers generally to anyone born in the United States. Native Americans are a proper noun group of people distinct from the general population born in the States.

In general, there is a movement away from the term tribe and towards the term Nation.

It is important to refer to Nations using present-tense verbs rather than past tense. This is a reminder both to use present-tense when speaking in general (the Ho-Chunk are rather than the Ho-Chunk were), as well as for schools to create curriculum that necessitates the use of present-tense. A historical background is important, but so is an understanding of contemporary matters. Learn more here.

Thank you to Aaron Bird-Bear for providing context. Listen to his interview to learn more.

Language

Thanks to Wisconsin Talk and www.wisconsinfirstnations.org for the images and maps.

Check out Enwejig, a group at UW-Madison who is “…committed to bringing visibility and linguistic justice to Indigenous languages at UW-Madison. [Their] goal is to honor Indigenous knowledge systems through raising awareness of the importance of Indigenous languages among the UW-Madison community and beyond.”