Regarding Native American vs native American?

Forums: English, Grammar, Esl, Capitalization
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Is it correct to say the "native" in "native American" is sometimes capitalized, depending on the meaning and could someone explain why if this is a true statement?

For instance--

A native American is any person born in America.
A Native American is a person descended from the original indigenous population of the Americas.

I'm a native American, having been born in the United States.
My friend Frank is a Native American, being an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation.

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Type: Question • Score: 17 • Views: 2,997 • Replies: 52

@jayakap,

A native American is anyone who has been born
in America, REGARDLESS of how anyone capitalizes words.
I am a native American because I was born in New York.

If I wish to refer to the Indians,
I simply say so, possibly mentioning which tribe
is involved, e.g. the Apaches or the Navaho.

David

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@jayakap,

You're correct in your analysis, Jayakap.

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@OmSigDAVID,

Then how do you refer to people who were born in India?

1 Reply

@jayakap,

I don't get why anyone would call themselves a native American. What would be an example of a non-native American?

1 Reply

@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

What would be an example of a non-native American?

A person who is a US citizen who was not born in the United States. Check out the etymology of 'native'.

1 Reply

@jayakap,

jayakap wrote:

A native American is any person born in America.
A Native American is a person descended from the original indigenous population of the Americas.

I'm a native American, having been born in the United States.
My friend Frank is a Native American, being an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation.

Your examples are correctly capitalized.

I bet you had no idea you were asking a political question.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

Then how do you refer to people who were born in India?

" . . . the ones in India."

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@contrex,

The etymology of the word is not the same as its definition.

We have the idea of non-native species. The Asian carp that is causing concern in the great lakes is considered to be a non-native species (when in the US) because it didn't evolve naturally in the US ecosystem. All of the fish that are currently swimming around in the northern US were born in the US. They are still considered non-native.

1 Reply

@maxdancona,

You can't equate animals to humans. That is just trying to twist the logic. Word games.

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

So just to make sure we agree on the definition David,

Barack Obama is a native American. But Ted Cruz and John McCain are not.

1 Reply

@Baldimo,

We are discussing the meaning of the word "native". This word is used to describe both humans and animals.

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@maxdancona,

I don't see how native for animals and native for humans is the same. I see them as having 2 different meanings.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

So just to make sure we agree on the definition David,

Barack Obama is a native American. But Ted Cruz and John McCain are not.

I dunno where any of them were born.

1 Reply

When I was in Canada (Vancouver) I'm sure that the Canadians referred to the Native Canadians as First Natives.
Has this gone by the by?

If not, why doesn't the USA adopt the same terminology, as I thought that was a brilliant description.

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@OmSigDAVID,

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. Ted Cruz was born in Canada. John McCain was born in Panama.

So by your definition Barack Obama is a native American, but McCain and Cruz are not, right?

1 Reply

@Lordyaswas,

Actually... I think the term you are looking for is "First Nations". If you use the term "Native Canadian", most Canadians will think you are referring to people who belong to the First Nations (i.e. the descendants of people living here before the Europeans took over).

I know this because there are Native Canadians (i.e. what David refers to as "Indians") in my family.

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@maxdancona,

Sorry, I must have misheard....it was a flying visit.

Still, First Nations sounds great. Something to be proud of.

0 Replies

@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

Actually... I think the term you are looking for is "First Nations". If you use the term "Native Canadian", most Canadians will think you are referring to people who belong to the First Nations (i.e. the descendants of people living here before the Europeans took over).

I know this because there are Native Canadians
(i.e. what David refers to as "Indians") in my family.

In fairness, I cannot accept credit for that reference.
I believe that belongs to Christopher Columbus.
It was in universal use in America when I was born into it.
I came. I heard. I adopted.

David

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The word "Indians" was much better than "native Americans", because the word 'indian' comes from 'indigenous'.
Dictionary-
Indigenous: originating or occurring naturally (in a country, region, etc); native.

"For I am native here and to the manner born"- Hamlet

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Regarding Native American vs native American?

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