New Words for the New Year

     One thing we learned again from the first week of this new year is that words matter. The old adage, “Choose your words carefully,” is a reminder that what we say can have serious consequences. In our nation's capital on Wednesday afternoon, January 6, it was the utterance of words that turned peaceful protesters into seditious criminals whose actions led to the deaths of five of our fellow citizens.

     That was an extreme illustration of the power of spoken words. In our courts, witnesses swear to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” and if they instead make false statements, they can be punished for committing perjury. Persons who make false statements about other persons have committed slander; if the statements are in writing, they have committed libel.

     Whether spoken or written, such false statements are punishable, because words are construed as being powerful, of causing consequences. Even beyond the legal context, it is inappropriate to speak some words. For example, swear words, racist words, even sacred words.

     Words are not just words.

     Words matter. Therefore, let's resolve to think critically about the words we use, including when we are speaking of or writing about American Indians. Choosing our words carefully will reinforce the facts that there are a multitude of American Indian tribes; that these federally recognized tribes are nations within the United States; that American Indian reservations are like the territories of other nations; and that American Indian tribes are not cultural, ethnic, racial or minority groups. The words we use either support these facts or undermine them.

     Here are four guidelines regarding words to use when speaking or writing about American Indians:

     1. Pluralize! When referencing more than one person, object or entity, use a plural form, such as “Lakotas.” If you are not sure whether or not to pluralize, just substitute “Jew” for “Lakota” and then follow the same pluralization conventions. For instance, we might be unsure whether to pluralize “Lakota” in this sentence: “There were seven Lakota at the meeting.”  So after doing the substitution, the sentence is: “There were seven Jew at the meeting.” In this case, the proper word is “Jews,” so our initial sentence should be rewritten: “There were seven Lakotas at the meeting.” When referencing one person, object or entity, use a singular form; when referencing more than one, use a plural form.

     2. Use “in” instead of “on” when referring to reservations. American Indian tribes were characterized as “nations” in all treaties with the United States, and as “nations within a nation” by the United States Supreme Court beginning in 1831. When referring to the land of a nation, we use the preposition "in" when describing relationship to it. For instance, “I live in France;” “We are traveling in Japan;” “She will spend the afternoon in Kenya;” and “He is buried in Argentina.” Even when referencing states or counties, we use “in”: “They work in South Dakota;” “We vacationed in Oglala Lakota County.” Yet the typical preposition used when referencing American Indian reservations is “on”: “She lives on the reservation;” “They work on the reservation;” “I will be spending the afternoon on the reservation;” or “He is buried on the reservation.” Be consistent in your choice of prepositions.

     3. Use “citizen” instead of “enrolled member.” American Indian tribes are nations within a nation. The Supreme Court has determined that they are political entities and are not cultural, ethnic, racial or minority groups. Groups have “members;” nations have “citizens.” There are no “enrolled members” of any nation. The United States has citizens. The Oglala Sioux Tribe has citizens. Stop using “enrolled member” when referencing a citizen of a tribe.

     4. Recognize the difference between a “citizen” and a “resident.” These are two fundamentally different categories of persons. For example, there are persons living in the United States who are not U.S. citizens. Likewise, there are persons living in Pine Ridge Reservation who are not Oglala Sioux Tribe citizens. Tribes have “citizens,” whereas reservations have “residents.” Since states ⎯ such as South Dakota ⎯ are not nations, they do not have citizens. Therefore, South Dakota has residents, but does not have citizens.

     So think carefully about the words you choose. They reflect your thinking, but more importantly, your words affect how others think about and react to American Indians.