This Guest Blog – “Indian Tribe” – was submitted by Jack Withington. Readers are invited to submit comments and/or their blogs. E-mail them to: whammer@petalumanet.org  Be sure to include your name and e-mail address.

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The road to understanding the complexities of what is called the “Indian Tribe”  is mired with political, social, and economic ramifications. In the United States there are 500 Indian/Native American bands, tribes and or nations, while our good neighbor to the north, Canada, is home to 630 Indian/First Nation sovereign entities. What do we call the aforementioned peoples?

There is a big brouhaha going on to force the football team, known as the Washington Redskins to select another name.  Locally, the Tomales High School football team was known as the Tomales Indians until they succumbed to public pressure and became the Tomales Braves. The Leland Stanford Junior University’s team for many years were known as the “Stanford Indians” now they are the ” Stanford Cardinals”.

Meanwhile we have the dilemma of using the politically correct term “Native Americans” or using the term that is emblazoned on casinos through out the United States, “Indian”.   Something to ponder?
Stay tuned for more blogs about “Our River Town.”

 

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