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- Newsgroups: alt.native
- Path: sparky!uunet!enterpoop.mit.edu!mintaka.lcs.mit.edu!spdcc!gnosys!gst
- From: Irena Sumi <uni-lj.si!irena.sumi>
- Subject: Re: Question of Nativity
- Message-ID: <382*/G=irena/S=sumi/O=uni-lj/PRMD=ac/ADMD=mail/C=si/@MHS>
- Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 20:42:21 GMT
- Lines: 29
-
- Original-Sender: Irena Sumi <uni-lj.si!irena.sumi>
-
- I believe it was some two years ago that a similar discussion was on
- in this list. Since it was going on at the time I joined in, and have
- given it some thought at the time, perhaps I should now share my view
- with the listers.
-
- While I would not go into the somewhat redundant discussion about
- what Native Americans should be (generically) called (and where they "really"
- came from; issues of this sort are a constant in the fate of almost any
- minortiy and are really of racist inspiration in one way or another), I think
- that it is about time the Natives would begin to systematically encourage
- the use of *real* names of various Native nations and groups. Why
- complying with Apaches, Cheyennes, Iroquois, Navajos, Sioux... that
- are the heritage of europocentric past and that most people worldwide associate
- with Cooperian fiction and Holywood stereotypes?
-
- I simply think that peoples should be referred to by the name they themselves
- use - and that by insisting on Native names in public life, Native Americans
- could bring about more than just a symbolic change in Nonative
- attitudes towards the Natives.
-
- Best greetings,
-
- Irena Sumi
- Institute of Ethnic Studies
- Ljubljana-Slovenia
- irena.sumi@uni-lj.si
-
-