Note on Terminology

Throughout the book several terms are used interchangeably in referring to

indigenous peoples in a collective sense— tribal nations, tribes, Alaskan

Natives, indigenous nations, and indigenous peoples. But when I refer to

individual indigenous persons, I use only Indian or American Indian. Of all

the terms most used, Indian is easily the most problematic (though some

argue that the term tribe is pejorative and hints strongly of colonialism), and

I use it with some hesitation for two reasons: first, because of its obvious geographical

inaccuracy, and second, because it erroneously generalizes and

completely ignores the cultural diversity evident in the hundreds of distinctive

indigenous nations in North America, each with its own name for itself.

One could thus argue that continued usage of the term attests to surviving

vestiges of colonialism.

Nevertheless, the terms Indian and American Indian remain the most

common appellations used by indigenous and nonindigenous persons and

institutions, and so it is used in the text when no tribal name is specified. I

have, moreover, intentionally avoided using the phrase Native American,

despite that term’s popularity among mainstream academics in recent decades,

since it creates more confusion than the one it purports to replace, as it

can be applied literally to any person born in the Americas. The expressions

Native peoples and Native nations may be less confusing, but these terms

and the intriguing phrase First Nations, which are all popular in Canada and

among some Alaskan indigenous groups, have never quite caught on in the

United States among indigenous nations or policymakers.

What complicates matters, of course, is that there is no single term that

is acceptable by all indigenous people all the time, and even people within

specific native communities sometimes disagree on which name they prefer

(e.g., Navajo or Dine; Chippewa, Ojibwe, or Anishinabe; Iroquois or Haudenosaunee),

and on whether they would rather be identified as tribal communities

(which emphasizes their kinship affiliation) or as national entities

(which, while not discounting kinship ties, tends to place greater emphasis

on an independent political character and a right to engage in diplomatic relations

with other nations or states, like the United States or other polities).

Of course, federal law and policy have vacillated on these terms as well.

But we shall see that despite assimilative efforts, federal lawmakers continue

to recognize the sovereign character of indigenous communities regardless of

whether they are called tribes or nations.

xxii NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY

Timeline of American Indian Peoples,