Fwd: Campaign puts respect for Indians on map

[phil cash cash]

thanks alan,

i don't take to issue to what the experts have to say on the origin of
[squaw] nor on the term's original natural expression and meaning in the
speech of the eastern native speakers...or even within CJ as it was spoken
in the NW in the early days.  what i am most concerned about is its more
contemporary usage.  it should be clear by now that the term was widely used
by non-native speakers and spread throughout the Americas as somehow being
"representative" in someway of native speech, and hence representative of
native culture and thought in general.  likewise, associated with the term's
contemporary meaning are a number of one-dimensional traits "believed" to be
applicable to ALL native peoples everywhere.  this kind of uncritical usage
"naturalizes" it and makes it an acceptable expression.  the common refrain
i hear from many Pashten speakers is --"So what's the big deal?"  the
information i have been sharing with this list should answer this question
and let you know that it is a big deal and native peoples in the NW are
taking action to make a change.

the implications of this discussion should be obvious for a number of
reasons.  knowing the history of Chinook Jargon and the social interactions
it fostered across many diverse cultures should make everybody on Chinook-L
quite knowledgable of and appreciative of diverse cultural perpsectives,
particularly native perspectives.   that is the strength of this language
(yes i call it a language) and it is a quite endless and interesting in all
of its uses.

phil cash cash
cayuse/nez perce




>Phil,
>
>Thanks for the pointer to an interesting article. But note that SQUAW
>does *not* come from an Iroquoian anatomical term, but from an Eastern
>Algonquian word for 'woman'. The bogus Iroquoian etymology has been
>thoughtlessly repeated in many media sources, and Ives Goddard of the
>Smithsonian has tried, obviously with only limited success, to squelch
>it.
>
>Alan
>