Lolololololol

indigenous terminology in north america

it's indigenous peoples' day in the usa! to celebrate i am here to help non-indigenous folks in north america to think about the terminology they use because i know not all of y'all know how the nuances of the many things we're called. in general, when talking about an indigenous person or character and referring to their indigeneity, referring to their specific culture is the best option. i am indigenous, but more specifically i am cree. that said, let's talk about terminology while recognizing that the following list is super simplified to give you a brief overview.

indigenous is an umbrella term that refers to the original inhabitants of a land. it is used to talk about indigenous people worldwide. we use it as a collective term because we share many interests, but we are all different peoples and nations. people who are māori or sámi or ainu are all indigenous, but they're all from very different places and cultures. indigenous as a term unites us, but shouldn't be used to erase our differences.

aboriginal is, like indigenous, an umbrella term that refers to the original inhabitants of a land. aboriginal was a favoured term in canada for many years and is still used by some multi-nation organizations. canada's indigenous peoples' day (‪june 21‬) is also sometimes called aboriginal peoples' day.

native american is a term that refers specifically to indigenous people living in what is currently the contiguous united states of america. people living in alaska or hawaii may prefer the term native hawaiian or native alaskan. if you call someone in canada native american they'll know what you mean, but it's not the preferred term. like indigenous, it is an umbrella term and covers many different tribes/nations. it is a term assigned to indigenous people and adopted by us, but not one we came up with ourselves.

native alaskan is an umbrella term that refers to indigenous people living in what is currently alaska. they are culturally distinct peoples from native american cultures. you may be used to calling native alaskans "esk*mos" and if you are you should stop that right fucking now because esk*mo is a derrogatory term that comes from cree slang. some native alaskan people are inuit (see below), but not all are.

native hawaiian is a term for indigenous hawaiians. this is another umbrella term. native hawaiians were not included in federal programs for native americans until the 70s and some programs still exclude them, as do many discussions about native american issues even though they are also an indigenous group colonized by the usa.

native is an umbrella term used by indigenous people to refer to themselves. in north america, it may be socially acceptable to refer to indigenous people as being native, but ymmv and elsewhere in the world, it carries more racist, colonial baggage than it does here, where it is generally understood as a shortened form of native american.

american indian is a dated term that is still used in some official spaces in the united states. older indigenous people may use this (or the term indian) because they're used to saying it. if you're not indigenous, you should probably say native american or indigenous. amerindian is a portmanteau of this term and similarly isn't really favoured anymore.

indian is a dated term for indigenous people in canada and the united states. it stems from the time of christopher columbus when columbus decided to call us "indian". if you are non-indigenous, do not refer to indigenous people as indian. in canada, it is also a legal designation tied to the indian act that means some indigenous people hold "indian status," which grants them certain rights. some indigenous people in north america have reclaimed the term indian to refer to themselves.

ndn is a slang term we use to refer to ourselves online. if you're non-indigenous then bro. do not. it just stands for indian, you can't!

first nations is a term analogous to native american. it is used in canada to refer to the many indigenous nations south of the arctic circle. as someone who is cree, i'm first nations. it is an umbrella term, but not every indigenous person in canada is first nations. unlike "indian", it is not a legal term.

inuit is the term for indigenous peoples that live in what is currently canada's north. some indigenous people in alaska (and elsewhere) may also identify as inuit because the american/canadian border is a new addition in the grand scope of their histories. inuit are culturally distinct from first nations/native americans. also inuit means "the people" and y'all my inuk friend is so fucking amused every time someone says "the inuit people" because y'all are out here saying "the the people people." not all indigenous people in the north are inuit.

métis is a term for people who are descended from specific communities where indigenous people and non-indigenous settlers intermarried and created their own culture. they are specific, cultural communities within canada with their own culture and language. not everyone with mixed indigenous and settler ancestry is métis. for example, my dad is white and my mom is cree. i am not métis because i don't have any connection to a historic métis community. again, this is not a legal term the way indian is.

redsk*n is a derogatory term for native american/first nations people. the term originates from the genocide of our peoples, tied with the practice of collecting bounties for the scalps (the "red skins" in question) or other body parts of indigenous people in the west. do not use the term. even if you're talking about the football team that recently changed its name, say "the washington team" or something similar. it's a slur. (source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-brief-history-of-the-word-redskin-and-how-it-became-a-source-of-controversy/2016/05/19/062cd618-187f-11e6-9e16-2e5a123aac62_story.html)

esk*mo is another slur. it's an anglicized version of askipiw, a cree word which is more or less saying that inuit eat raw meat (i.e. that is implying they're more akin to animals than people). again, even when you're referring to sports teams that use the term in their name, don't say it. it doesn't matter what some white dude on QI told you, it's not a "more acceptable" umbrella term for northern indigenous peoples. some people might use it to refer to themselves still, but, as with other terminology on this list, if you're not indigenous, don't say it!

Please help us afford our rent and keep my car!

I’ve never posted anything like this before for myself but I’m out of options. My name is Alyssa. I’m an autistic genderqueer Black lesbian and I live with my partner who is an autistic nonbinary lesbian. We are also both disabled and severely mentally ill.

We’ve been struggling so much lately. My hours were cut at work because of COVID and because my employers found out I was gay. My partner is both applying for disability and seeking employment. Since we live in a conservative rural Southern town, we face a lot of discrimination which has massively impacted our financial state.

And it’s gotten progressively worse. I’m struggling to afford basic things like my rent, car note, medications, food, and warm clothes for the winter. I don’t enjoy this. I can’t describe how humiliating it is to have to beg for help like this. But we have no other options right now.

Even if you can’t donate, please reblog… Thank you all so much.

paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/cryptidfriend105 (please ignore my partner’s deadname)

cashapp: $AlyssaKennedy96

venmo: @Alyssa-Kennedy-37

that is what most of the daisy comments say

(also i am elliotly on soundcloud and youtube if u want to stream these there)

Happy Bi Visibility Day everyone 💗💜💙

as i have previously mentioned, i have spent some time on tma twitter, gathering knowledge, appreciating art and memes, sighing copiously at replies, choking at tweet threads, and all around having a horrible but no doubt addicting time. like slow car crash addicting. but anyway.

what i have learned is this! people have vastly differing but aligned opinions about one elias bitchard, such that they seem to fall on a slider scale almost. and so here i present them to you as i have encountered them in the wild (none of which reflect my own opinion, save for the first of them):

i hate his bitch ass but mostly ironically/as a joke because it's fun to hate him and he deserves it for being such an evil stupid bastard and hurting x character(s), but that's about it. it's not super deep mostly i just like dunking on him

i unironically fucking hate his guts if i met him irl i'd rip his throat out with my bare hands. what a disgusting wretch of a man, just listening to him speak gives me hives. everything about him is Gross, don't even talk to me about him i'll go feral

angrier, more rigid subset of the previous: i unironically hate elias bouchard and do not understand how any of you freaks can possibly stand this evil, abusive, digusting barely human being and then further still wanna fuck him/ship other characters with him, he's not sexy and never has been shut the fuck up

he's uninteresting and boring to me and i don't see why y'all love to talk about him so much tbh :/ subpar villain bitch at best, i barely like him as a character let alone a person. find someone more interesting to talk about, there's a whole assortment

hypothetical indifferent neutral space that i've yet to encounter in actuality, this mf is polarizing lmao even at ppl's least interested attitudes towards him

actually no i lied true neutral is not giving a shit about jonah magnus and instead stanning and pondering about the life of the original weedman bouchard, whoever he may have been. rip the poor poor man he probably didn't deserve to have his eyeballs scooped like an ice cream cone

elias is is such an interesting and complex character to me and i enjoy writing/drawing/talking about him because alongside his general reprehensible and horribly evil qualities as a person he's such a powerful and cunning character. but at his core he's really just pathetic old man who's scared to die and is searching for the power to dominate and manipulate others and extend his existence by any means necessary before his clock runs out. and i think that's both horrible and fascinating.

i ironically love elias/am stupid horny for him because i think running after this nasty literally evil man with high maintenance bitch energy is hilarious and certain art of him really just hits sometimes man, idk lol being/fucking an evil mf can be fun (also making the rest of the fandom keyboard smash at our memes is a plus)

i 100% unironically love/am horny for elias because evil bastard man is just sexy sometimes what do you want me to say? have you heard his voice? would you begrudge me my horrible taste in men? elias dickchard never did anything good for anyone but himself ever in his entire life and i love him for it, good on him for conquering the world to swerve on death, what an inspiration, i love him and wish him the best

bizarre yet interesting subset of the previous that i have only encountered one (1) time, but it impressed itself so strongly i must share: i don't care what happens to jon or martin. i mean that, honest. i'm happy for elias, marvelous worlding ending bastard he is. i hope he wins. no i am not joking. some of y'all are here only for the admiral? i'm only here for elias. god bless.

pls tag urself i'm 'mostly i just like dunking on him'

there’s something therapeutic about imagining a broadway-style curtain call at the end of magnus. tim and sasha appear from each side of the stage to wave at the audience, sasha holding not!sasha’s hand. elias and peter bow deeply in unison. michael and helen poke each other playfully with their long fingers and pop in and out of different doors before disappearing. gerry comes onstage in a flurry of papers and brings eric and mary with him. annabelle is lowered onto the stage from a hanging platform like a diva to thunderous applause. simon and mike crew hoot and wave at the audience from a high platform and pop away simultaneously when the spotlight turns off. nikola and jane swing each other in a wild dance that makes the stage shake. gertrude appears alone and does an elegant curtsey. daisy+basira and melanie+georgie appear together, arms linked, and all four do a bow together. finally, after everything has quieted down, jon and martin appear from either side, and as the curtain falls, they join hands.

Yeeeeeessss!!!!

*clears throat* trans rights

Everyone tagged is on Instagram so find them there!!

Transcription:

Page 1: Hey- It’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day! Yeah that’s right, we have today AND next month (Native American Heritage Month) now, get used to it!! Support us in these ways ->

Page 2: Support me! Surprise, I’m Diné! Support me by buying my art, sharing my art, or just liking my content. Also my venmo is @Julie-Fiveash. Gotta pay those grad school bills somehow! More->

Page 3: Find out what indigenous lands you reside on. Native-land.ca has a nifty site dedicated to showing indigenous lands. (I feel like we tell people all the time to “educate yourselves” but seriously, DO IT.) Okay so once you have this ->

Page 4: Support Indigenous communities! You can do this in a variety of ways!

- Donate to local ndn mutual aid funds.

- Donate to Indigenous led businesses, education institutions, elder care programs, and more.

- Ask your local museum/library/archive how they’re representing local tribes (repatriation maybe??)

- Support language revitalization programs.

- Support LGBTQ+ orgs that directly support queer Indigenous folks.

More ->

Page 5: Remember Indigenous Peoples are NOT a monolith. I suggested learning your local Indigenous Peoples because we don’t all practice the same customs or speak the same languages and I’m tired of explaining “no my tribe does NOT just give me free money-“ We have different needs and priorities and we’d appreciate it if you took the extra step supporting us in specific ways. Ways that WE say are most helpful.

Page 6: Ahéhee’ (thank you) for listening! More Indigenous Peeps to support!!

@navajommdr

@sierrabeading

@yakamanche

@keinfoshop

@oxdoxclothing

@jakeskeets

@weedrat666

@piguttuk

@juniperwomxn

@csvanw

@skidskunx

@weshoyot

@moongrrl666

@bucketjones

@riseindigenous

@yiiyah_man

@dineaesthetics

@blackbelteaglescout

@defendoodhamjewed

@indigenousmutualaid

@zunipueblorelief

@indigenous_honeys

@indigenous_fatale

@kinsalehues