Catching up with the new Native lexicon

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THE URBANE INDIAN

With the growing complexity of everyday life in this world, the once solid world of the North American First Nation's member has had to bend to evolve. Over the years, Aboriginal Nations have had to find ways of translating words like AIDS, Internet and satellites, just to name a few, into their own unique tongues. In order to preserve their language, the Inuit are particularly adamant about finding Inuit translations for modern terminology. For instance, a television satellite becomes qangattaqtitausimajug, which tranaslates as "it has been made to fly." And the computer becomes qarasaasiaq, a "little artificial brain."

New phrases and concepts are constantly being created as a way of describing the changing face of being Native in the 21st century. Language, like everything else, evolves. Below are some of the newer First Nations-related terms currently being bandied about in the communities and the cities.

The identity wars:

I came across these at Michigan State University.

"Melanin Police" refers to those who are in a position to assess who looks Native and who doesn't. "Ethnic Fraud" is somebody of mixed blood ancestry who fundamentally embraces their Native heritage, but physically looks more European.

Indiginate/Indigenize

The practice of taking rituals or objects from another culture, usually the dominant one, and giving it an Aboriginal overhaul. It's a form of reverse cultural appropriation. For instance, making spaghetti with a moose bolonese sauce.

More-nig

Again, I came across this term in America, along the eastern seaboard. On a visit to the area, I was inquiring about the local Native population and their proximity. I always like to search out and visit nearby Native communities when I'm on the road. I was given some rough directions but warned not to expect too much. "They're more-nigs." I said that I was unfamiliar with the term. It means they're more "nigger" than Indian. More-nigs.

Once I got over my shock, I understood the historical significance of the word, as offensive as it might be. For hundreds of years, many escaped slaves would seek asylum in Native communities where white men often feared to tread. In such circumstances, a little DNA transfer can be expected. It also seems natural that two of America's most marginalized populations should find comfort and understanding in each other's arms. It's often quite easy to see, more than in Canada, the African-American features on faces at many American powwows.

The new buffalo

This term has sprung from the American Prairies and the Canadian Plains. And of all things, it refers to casinos. For untold millenniums, Native people there relied on the buffalo for their existence. It was so integral to their way of life. Many believe it was the systematic destruction of the buffalo herds that allowed for the conquest of the Lakota and other tribes dependent on the buffalo bounty.

In today's society, casinos are now the cash cow-or better yet, cash buffalo-for many Native communities. For some they have become a source of survival and success in perilous economic times.