Native American VS Indian

Growing up as a Native American child, I have attended pow-wows since infancy where I have learned about my tribe's culture and traditions. I am proud to say that I am an enrolled member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi.

However, I can recall being very confused in elementary school when my teachers would talk about "Indians" when actually referring to Native Americans. I remember asking my father why my teachers called us "Indians". He explained to me that when settlers came to America, they thought they were in India. So then when settlers encountered the people that lived there, they referred to them as Indians, thinking this was the correct term.

As an adult, I still do not understand why my people are often still referred to as Indians. In all actuality, I am not INDIAN, I am NATIVE AMERICAN. Native American is a more correct term for the people that were native to America before the settlers arrived here, so that is the label I identify myself with.

I thought that this point was an important one for education majors to discuss because Native Americans are a subject that will be studied in schools. It was very confusing for myself as a child to enter schools, knowing I was Native American, when other people were referring to me as Indian. I knew that Indians were people that originated from India, and that I looked nothing like them. However, my teachers could have avoided this confusion if they had been more aware that "Indian" is not a term that is openly accepted by the Native American community.