[Vision2020] Buffalo:Cruel Joke Relates to Cruel History!

[Tbertruss at aol.com]

Don et. al.

When you say "they" referring to the Nez Perce who wanted to be called 
"Indian," this may refer to some in leadership positions, not to all Nez Perce.  I 
have been very close friends with some Nez Perce, and they did not like being 
referred to as an "Indian," due to the history of this word as an inaccurate 
and imposed naming of the native population by Europeans.  If people chose to 
use a certain questionable word to refer to a racial group, and everyone 
involved thinks it is acceptable, this does not mean the history of the word and what 
this implies is irrelevant.  Some Native Americans, just as well as other 
racial groups, have assimilated the racist views and historical distortions the 
dominant culture here in the USA continues to propagate.

If I think it is OK to be called a "white honky," does this mean the term is 
not derogatory in the broader social, political and historical context?

Ted Moffett
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