DCHP-3

Indian

DCHP-2 (Aug 2017)

Spelling variants:
Injin, Injun

1a†n. — Ethnicities, Aboriginal

any descendant of the first peoples of North America.

The term is not limited to Canada and has seen some decline in recent years, partly motivated by the idea that it reflects "Columbus's mistaken idea that he had landed in India in 1492" (COD-2, s.v. "Indian", usage note). Gage-5, s.v. "Indian", considers the term in Canada as "potentially offensive, but is used without offence by many, including Aboriginal people".

Quotations

1576
So that it plainely appeareth that those Indians (which as you haue heard in sundry ages were driuen by tempest vpon the shore of Germanie) came onely through our Northwest passage.
1711
At Lorett which makes ye Little River of Quebeck about Four Leagues From sd Town, is an Indian Town, about fifty men.
1742
What was still as unpardonable as neglecting the Discovery, was his putting the two Northern Indians ashore on Marble Island against their Inclinations . . . in a very bad Boat he got at Churchill, which they did not know how to manage, in an Island 3 Leagues from their supposed Way, the Eskimay Indians, their Enemies, living upon that Coast.
1749
The Indians bring down to the Factory, what is call'd a Musketoe Fan, made of the long black Hair of a Buffalo [i.e., musk-ox], tied to the End of a short Stick, with which you wisk the Musketoes off the Face.
1856
"Difficult to say, monsieur. Perhaps Injins, though I thought there were none here just now. . . ."
1865
"Well, this injun came to my house last spring, and sittin down on the flore, sed, Nee-che giv me sum tobbaccer." "Well, I giv nee chee some tibaccer and he fille his pees pipe and smoked it very peecably like."
1930
To the Editor of The Globe: The term "Indian" is a misnomer for the aboriginal tribes of Canada, who have been misunderstood and trampled upon, ever since the white man's invasion of America.
1962
North American Indians number more than 500,000: 180,000 in Canada, more than half of whom live in B.C., Saskatchewan, and Ontario, and 350,000 in the U.S. . . .
2016
They started planning the largest aboriginal gathering the Maritimes had seen in almost 140 years. It would be held at Woolastook Park, located on the banks of the St. John River outside of Fredericton. It was the mid-1970s and something historic was about to happen. "It was the biggest thing we had ever done and we didn't know what the hell we were doing," says Maggie Paul, laughing. "Kids on the reserve would look at us when we were dressed up and say, 'There go the Indians.'"
1bn. — Law, Ethnicities

a legal designation in the Indian Act (1876) distinguishing Indians from other Aboriginal people; a registered Indian or status Indian.

Type: 4. Culturally Significant — This use of the term Indian is specific to Canada as it relates to definitions laid out in these Acts. Semantic change (Type 3) would also apply, yet Type 4 appears to be stronger, as the role of First Nations in the shaping of Canada is of great and increasing importance.
See also COD-2, which marks (only) this meaning as "Cdn."

Quotations

1867
91. It shall be lawful for the Queen, by and, with the Advice and Authority of Consent of the Senate and House of Commons, to make; Laws for the Peace, Order, and good Government of Canada, in relation to all Matters not coming within the Classes of Subjects by this Act assigned exclusively to the Legislatures of the Provinces; and for greater Certainty, but not so as to restrict the Generality of the foregoing Terms of this Section, it is hereby declared that (notwithstanding anything in this Act) the exclusive Legislative Authority of the Parliament of Canada extends, to all Matters coming within the Classes of Subjects next herein-after enumerated; that is to say,-
1. The Public Debt and Property.
2. The Regulation of Trade and Commerce.
[...]
23. Copyrights.
24. Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians.
25. Naturalization and Aliens.
1965
Those whose names are in a register kept by the federal Indian Affairs Branch are officially Indians; others are not. If your father had Indian status your name goes on the list, but you can apply to have it removed. The Indians have special rights.
1966
An Indian is defined in law as any person registered with the Indian Affairs Branch as an Indian.
2010
A First Nation member's right to treaty payments depends on the precise terms and conditions of your First Nation's treaty. You are entitled to annual treaty payments if you are registered as an Indian and a member of a First Nation that signed a treaty providing for annual treaty payments. You may also be eligible if you have an affiliation with a Treaty First Nation. Treaty annuities are normally paid in cash at Treaty Day events held annually on or off reserve.
2016
In April, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed Metis and non-status Indians are Indians within the meaning of Canadas 1867 Constitution. The ruling, which ends a case thats been before the courts since 1999, extends the federal governments responsibilities to approximately 200,000 Metis and 400,000 non-status aboriginal people who arent affiliated with specific reserves. The ruling, however, was not a direct order to provide certain programs and benefits to Metis and non-status Indians.
2†adj. — Food, often in Indian meal or Indian corn

corn flour.

See DARE, s.v. Indian (B.1b), lists attestations from 1743 and uses of Indian as a noun for corn, from 1641 (B.1a). The latter use has not been found in the Canadian material, which consistently uses Indian corn rather than the shortening Indian, as in "three bushels of Indian".

Quotations

1760
. . . for [affairs] of less importance, they make use of brooches, or necklaces of porcelain, skins, coverings, maize, or Indian corn. . . .
1817
JUST IMPORTED, In the Brig BROTHERS, from Boston, And for Sale by J. & R. Brine, 1000 bags BREAD, 1000 barrels FLOUR, 200 ditto Indian MEAL, 1000 ditto Indian CORN
1842
WHEREAS it is expedient, that the regulations now in force in the different Sections of the Province with regard to packing and Inspection of flour and Indian Meal, should be repealed, and one uniform Law enacted for the whole Province [...].
1888
Indian meal may be used in place of bean meal. Buckwheat meal cooked into porridge and added to whey is reported to have been used with good results.
1914
Three cups Indian meal; 2 cups graham or rye; ½ cup molasses (or more); ¾ cup sour milk; 1 teaspoonful salt; 1 teaspoonful soda; steam 3 hours and brown in over ½ an hour.
1955
Nobody, so far as we are aware, has ever proposed altering the name of the Indian Meal Line, another relief road of a much earlier period. The workers on that road were paid off in Indian meal, as corn flour was called in those days, and molasses.
1987
Indian Meal Pudding
4 cups milk
1 cup molasses
½ cup cold water
1 tbsp. corn meal [...]
2010
The English colonists called ground corn "Indian meal." Modern recipes for Indian pudding are a combination of the native peoples' cornmeal mush and the traditional puddings made by the English colonists.
3adj. — Ethnicities, Aboriginal

pertaining to the First Nations people of Canada.

Type: 4. Culturally Significant — First Nations' contribution to the formation of the nation is increasingly realized by cultural historians and writers more generally. For instance, the east-west development of Canada, often presented as a result of the railway, "had only very late in the day to do with government-led economic initiatives coming out of Ottawa. It was set in place by Indian alliances with the French and the French Canadians in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries" (Saul 1997: 161).
There are many compounds with the element Indian, some of which are listed with DCHP-1 data.
Today, there may be a sense of unease, perhaps a growing sense of unease, about the term Indian among the non-Aboriginal and some Aboriginal populations alike. This unease is usually connected with stereotypical representations and colonial attitudes towards Aboriginal peoples. However, the term is necessarily used in legal contexts, as in "status Indian" (see meaning 1b). The term seems to be avoided by users in favour of Indigenous or First Nation(s) in most contexts today.

Quotations

1771
I looked at my traps down the river, and then proceeded to Lyon Head, where I visited my Indian friends in their snowhouse.
1807
The largest [canoes], however, are used by the North-West Company, for conveying goods into the Indian territory, and bringing down furs.
1821
Since our departure from Point Lake we had boiled the Indian tea-plant . . . which produced a beverage in smell much resembling rhubarb.
1848
The fort (as all establishments in the Indian country, whether small or great, are called) is a large square, I should think about six or seven acres, inclosed within high stockades, and built on the banks of Hayes River, nearly five miles from its mouth.
1852
Old Thomas was a very ambitious man in his way. Though he did not know A from B, he took it into his head that he had received a call from Heaven to convert the heathen in the wilderness; and every Sunday he held a meeting in our loggers' shanty, for the purpose of awakening sinners, and bringing over "Injun pagans" to the true faith. His method of accomplishing this object was very ingenious.
1900
He was at last discovered talking to some of the brown-skinned Indian soldiers, whom he had recognized as among the troops that had accompanied him in that great, grim, terrible march to Candahar.
1924
The Indian encampment and parade was the best ever held in the city, and was one of the features of the exhibition. Decked out in full war paint the Hobbema Indians paraded the streets each day, and gave pow-wows in front of the grandstand. Their camp in the centre of the race track was well worth visiting.
1955
As typically Canadian in flavor and content as the fur trade itself, the writers deal with w wide variety of subjects: history and the makers of history, Indian lore, customs and superstitions, legends, fur traders, archaeology, birds and beasts and, of course, tales of thrilling exploration and mad adventure.
1971
The Indians in Alberta are demanding better schools on reservations with emphasis placed on inherent Indian cultural backgrounds.
1992
''We use 'native' and 'aboriginal' as adjectives to describe ourselves and our activities, but that's it. For example, the Native Council of Canada is not the Canadian Council of Natives. There are dozens of native friendship centres in Canada but there isn't a single 'friendship centre for natives.''' He also wrote that he objected to reading about ''native chiefs'' and ''native reserves.'' ''So, reporters and editors out there,'' he continued, ''pay attention. A chief is a leader of a group of Indians. A reserve is land set aside for Indians. Correct terminology is 'Indian chiefs' and 'Indian reserves.' Got it?'' He also used this sentence, approvingly: ''I am also known as an Indian.''
2008
A contest sponsored by an Indian radio station asked participants to literally bond with their cars to win a new Hyundai i10.
2016
There are many reasons for the large number of non-status Indians - estimated at 700,000 - but let's focus on the archaic treatment Indian women received from the Indian Act (created 1876). It ruled a status woman who married a non-status man forfeited her status, yet a status man who married a non-status woman didn't. In fact, the non-status woman then gained status. All children born to women robbed of their status were labelled as non-status. Bill C-31 passed into law in April 1985 (only 31 years ago) and finally gave women the same rights as men. Yet, much damage had already been done by the gender discrimination, creating generations of non-status Indians.
4†n. — Aboriginal, dated, also derogatory

any of the various indigenous languages spoken by Indians.

Indian languages were severely impacted by the policies that forbid their use in residential schools. Note the derogatory undertones of "speaking Indian" in the 2004 quotation and, especially, the 2015 quotation.
Contemporary best practice is to use the name of the Indian language, e.g. Ojibway, Cree or Blackfoot, rather than the over-general and negative Indian. Some prefer to use the names of these languages in the actual language (e.g. Anishnaabemowin for Ojibway) although this practice is not yet widespread. If one refers to more than one such language, the term Aboriginal languages is appropriate.

Quotations

1717
I send Wm Stewart to be Assistant to my Depty In case he Should doo otherways than well, their not being a Man their as Understandeth one Word of Indian.
1852
Indian, till after he knew your people, never swore -- no bad word in Indian.
1912
"Sounds like Injun languages," says he, "can't you talk white?"
1958
Although [the sisters] are French and the children speak Indian, English is the language of the school.
1998
Some schools, located on reserves, operated as day schools and the students went home to their parents at night. Others had day populations and boarders from farther afield. Some served very scattered populations and were entirely residential; prohibitions against speaking Indian were more common at these, especially where the students came from different tribes historically at war with each other.
2004
As a child attending the Duncan Indian School, Hul'qumi'num linguistic consultant Ruby Peter would sit on the swings and secretly spin tales. "I used to tell the younger kids Indian stories in my language. But we had to keep a look out for the teachers. If they caught me speaking Indian, I'd be punished."
2015
"At the time, I didn't even know I wasn't allowed to talk my language," she says. "I went to talk to a girl and I spoke to her in Mi'kmaq and she told me, 'Shh, you're not allowed to speak Indian, you have to speak English.' Because I went to a residential school, I learned to be ashamed of my language."
5†n. pl. — Games, derogatory, historical

a children' s game in which one group plays Indians and another group their adversaries, often "cowboys". Also known as Cowboys and Indians.

The children's game expresses the stereotypes of the settler and the Aboriginal peoples that affected not only mainstream Canadians but also Aboriginal people (see the 2015 quotation). The game and the way it has been played, with the cowboys being the heroes and the Indians usually the villains, expresses the colonial attitudes and socialization processes of much of Canada's history.

Quotations

1902
He organized the game of "Injuns," some of the boys being set apart as settlers who were to defend the fort . . . the rest to constitute the invading force of savages.
1916
Boys Playing Indian, Shoot Man; Are Arrested While playing "Indians" at Keele street and Lake Shore road yesterday afternoon, Fred Dolan, 91 Denison avenue, and Frank Welch, 75 Euclid avenue, discharged a 22-calibre rifle, the bullet lodging in the hip of John Caskin, 264 Bain avenue [...]
1954
A game of "Indians" an[d] an unfamiliar canoe resulted in death for one of two German immigrants in Lake Ramsay here this afternoon. Provincial police were still dragging for the body of Walter Kreig, 21, an Inco underground worker, who sank after a brief struggle beside the overturned canoe while his companion, John Nagel, 21, swam nearby.
1973
One of the major problems in our family was that my dad never had anything to do with his children. As for guns, I played Cowboys and Indians with my brothers until I was in my early teens and I still love to hunt and shoot.
2001
"I'm playing Indians with Ben," Emily replied complacently, shaking her long brown curls. "I'm an Indian princess. Will you tie this on me Mommy?" She held up the scarf. "No, Mommy will not tie this on you, Emily, it is Mommy's good scarf," Amanda said, snatching the scarf away. "And you are not Indians," she added irritably, "you are Native Americans."
2015
The photo grabbed my attention from the moment I arrived at the Guelph, Ont., home of Thomas King, one of North America's foremost aboriginal authors. King said it was a childhood picture of himself and his brother. Like so many children, they loved to play cowboys and Indians. But no one - not the half-Cherokee brothers nor any of their native friends - wanted to play the Indians.
6n. — especially British Columbia, clothing, informal

a heavy wool sweater with contrasting designs, usually of animals; a Cowichan sweater.

Type: 1. Origin — Sheep and knitting were both introduced to Vancouver Island in the mid-nineteenth century. Indigenous women had long practiced spinning and weaving with mountain goat hair and dog wool. They quickly learned to knit, reportedly from the Sisters of St. Ann who arrived in the Cowichan Valley in 1864. However, patterned knitting likely was introduced by a Shetland woman who began teaching knitting in 1890. The Cowichan knitters adapted these techniques to produce their own characteristic sweaters, which used a thicker wool and Indigenous as well as European designs in contrasting black, cream, and grey.

Quotations

1945
To-day there is scarcely a man, woman or child who does not own his "Indian".
2015
The early sweaters were called "Indian" because Indians knit them not because they had any features that distinguished them from other handknits. The old Coast Salish knitters said they learned how to knit by pulling sweaters apart and copying the construction techniques of settler sweaters. They reproduced whatever they came across.
2016
The Indian who Wore an Indian

References

  • DARE
  • Saul (1997)
  • COD-2
  • Gage-5