Over the past six years as a museum guide, I have been asked many questions. For every person who asked, I am sure many others just wondered in silence. In this column, I will try to answer some of the more common visitor questions.

Why does the MKIM use the term Indian instead of Native American in its name? For practical purposes, Indian is one word and Native American is two. Therefore Indian takes up less space on our signs. Also, for many of our foreign visitors, the term Native American would simply imply someone who was born in America.

The original inhabitants of this continent simply referred to themselves as "The People," or sometimes descriptive titles like "Wabenaki" (People of the Dawnland) or "Haudenausaunee" (People of the Long-house).

Is Native American more politically correct? There is no simple answer, but wouldn't it be more correct to refer to people by the term they prefer? In a recent survey taken among people who are descended from the pre-Columbian indigenous population of North America, a clear majority chose the term American Indian over Native American or any other term. From personal experience at the museum, I have heard most of the aforementioned people use the term Indian to refer to themselves. Most of the Tribes and Tribal organizations also use the word Indian. Usually only people of European ancestry use the term Native American.

Where did the term Indian come from? Common wisdom has it that Columbus, setting out for India, thought he had found it. Therefore, the people he met were Indians. Some scholars have recently disputed this, finding it hard to believe the best navigator in the world in his day would be so lost as to think he was actually in India. It is probable that he thought he was in the islands west of Asia and not on a "new" continent. He not only sailed back to Europe, but returned twice more - certainly not the actions of a man who was lost and confused. Another theory comes from Columbus' writings, where he describes the people as "un gente que vive en dios" (a people who live in God). Some scholars believe "en dios" evolved into the word Indian.

It is easier to discover the origin of the term Native American - it comes from the U.S. government. Invented for the census, it also includes the natives of the Hawaiian Islands and the Inuit (Eskimos). Neither group are generally considered to be "Native Americans."

In the end, what comes from your mouth is not as important as
what comes from your heart.

Reprinted with permission of
Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum.

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