The phrase "sitting Indian style" always bugged me. I used to wonder if Indians actually sat like that or does everyone eventually sit like that when you're on the ground. Then there's the use of "Indians" instead of "Native American". When I was a kid there was no "Native American" label, just Indian so while that never bothered me it struck me odd that people could be called Indians even though they're not from India. When I heard that they were called Indians because that's where the explorers thought they landed I thought they should have corrected that somewhere down the line when they realized they were wrong. So to make up for it I call people from India Native North Americans.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Things that bug me.
The phrase "sitting Indian style" always bugged me. I used to wonder if Indians actually sat like that or does everyone eventually sit like that when you're on the ground. Then there's the use of "Indians" instead of "Native American". When I was a kid there was no "Native American" label, just Indian so while that never bothered me it struck me odd that people could be called Indians even though they're not from India. When I heard that they were called Indians because that's where the explorers thought they landed I thought they should have corrected that somewhere down the line when they realized they were wrong. So to make up for it I call people from India Native North Americans.
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I'm part Cherokee and part Lakota-Sioux, and I wonder about the whole 'sitting "indian style"' too.
ReplyDeleteI remember the first time I heard the phrase, I was in kindergarten, and completely confused...I knew I had native american blood in me, so when the teacher said to sit "indian style", and saw what she meant, I kept wondering '...is THAT why we always sit like that?? but...why are they making everyone else sit that way too? o.O"
if you ever find out why it's called that, share the info? :P
~Angel
When my oldest kid went to preschool, I learned that sometime in the last fifteen or twenty years, they've gone from calling it "Indian style" to "criss-cross applesauce". Which makes even less sense, but is less litigious, I guess.
ReplyDeleteHuh.. And here I always thought that "Indian-style" was after India Indians, not Native Americans. It does sort of resemble a yoga pose, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteHalf-lotus. India Indians.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I grew up calling it Indian Style and I did assume it refered to Native Americans, but as an adult who practices yoga it actually makes more since in regards to it being equivilent to the half-lotus position.
ReplyDeleteFunny, when I was 5 years old my family drove cross country and I have pleasant memories of playing with Pueblo Indian kids. Dancing and making bread on the clay ovens (or was it mud?). I don't remember doing a lot of sitting at all.
ReplyDeleteMy family is from India and I was born in the United States. I could not entirely incorrectly call myself American Indian, Indian American or perhaps even "Native" American? Whatever! I love screwing with the system :D
ReplyDeletesupposedly... (according to George Carlin anyway)
ReplyDeleteIndia was called Hindustan in those days and Columbus called the people Los In Dios as they were as innocent 'creatures' in the land of Eden