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Progress in Naming [1]

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Date: 2023-02-26  

Progress in Naming

When I was real small

It was "Injun."

A little older, enough,

To play games outside

It was "Cowboys and Indians ."

Later, when I latched onto

Environmentalism

With a desire to lead

A simpler, more spiritual life,

I turned to the

"Noble Indian."

Growing socially and politically,

I began using, "American Indian."

Which became, "Native American."

Today the tribes tell me to say

"Indigenous" as in

Indigenous Peoples of Sovereign Nations.

–– Which is fine with me.

**

If we happen to meet –

Call me Carl

And what is your name?

If, with luck, we get to know

Each other well,

We can exchange the names

Our friends call us!

The teasing ones

And the true ones.

Carl Scott Harker ©2023

Note: This poem was written after receiving an email from the Native Organizers Alliance about a petition to Congress (House of Representatives) to change the current name of the subcommittee of Indian and Insular Affairs back to “Indigenous Peoples of the United States” subcommittee.

__________________________________________

My latest book of poetry is now available on Amazon, you can find more great poems in here: An Engineer of Words.

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