Language changes. It’s messy. You’ve probably noticed how a word that seemed totally fine ten years ago suddenly feels like a landmine today. When it comes to Native American racial slurs, the conversation isn’t just about being "polite" or "woke." It is about a very specific, often violent history that most of us weren't actually taught in school.
Words have weight.
Honestly, a lot of people get defensive when they’re told a term is offensive. They say, "I’ve used that my whole life!" or "My high school mascot was that!" But the reality is that many of these terms—words like Redskin, Squaw, or even the casual use of Savage—don't just exist in a vacuum. They were used by the government and settlers to dehumanize people while taking their land.
The Ugly History of the R-Word
Let's talk about the big one. For decades, the Washington Commanders were the Washington Redskins. People fought tooth and nail to keep that name, arguing it was about "honor."
But where did the word come from?
Historian Ives Goddard has argued the term might have originated as a neutral way for Native Americans to distinguish themselves from "white" people. However, that’s not how it stayed. By the 19th century, it was used in colonial proclamations. In 1863, the Winona Republican in Minnesota famously printed an announcement stating that "the state reward for dead Indians has been increased to $200 for every redskin sent to Purgatory."
When a word is literally tied to a cash bounty for a person's scalp, it’s hard to argue it’s a term of respect. It’s blood money language.
A 2020 study published in Social Psychological and Personality Science found that these mascots and terms aren't "harmless" traditions. They actually lower the self-esteem of Native youth and increase the level of bias in non-Native people. It’s a psychological feedback loop. You see a caricature, you use the slur, and suddenly, the person behind the word is less than human to you.
Why "Squaw" is Perhaps the Most Misunderstood Term
If you’ve hiked in the Western United States, you’ve likely seen this word on a trail sign or a mountain peak. For a long time, there was this myth that it just meant "wife" or "woman" in an Algonquian language.
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That is partially true, linguistically. But the usage changed into something much darker.
Basically, it became a sexualized slur used by fur traders and settlers to describe Indigenous women as commodities or "lesser" beings. In many Indigenous communities, the word is so offensive it’s treated like the "C-word" in English. It carries a heavy connotation of sexual violence and degradation.
The U.S. Department of the Interior finally took action on this recently. In 2022, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland—the first Native American to lead the department—formally declared "squaw" a derogatory term. This wasn't just a memo; it triggered the renaming of nearly 650 geographic features across federal lands.
It was a massive undertaking.
Imagine having to rename hundreds of mountains and valleys because the name on the map was a slur. That’s the scale of the problem we’re dealing with.
The Casual Slurs You Probably Use Without Thinking
Then there are the "micro" slurs. These are the words that show up in business meetings or casual Friday night hangouts.
- "Low man on the totem pole"
- "Powwow"
- "Spirit animal"
- "Scalp" (as in "we're going to scalp the competition")
Now, are these on the same level as a bounty-era slur? Probably not. But they are part of a broader pattern of "playing Indian." When a manager says, "Let's have a powwow about these Q3 numbers," they are taking a deeply significant, religious, and political gathering and turning it into a synonym for a 15-minute sync-up about spreadsheets.
It’s trivialization.
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Native American activists like Adrienne Keene, who runs the Native Appropriations blog, have spent years explaining why this matters. When you reduce a culture to a costume or a catchphrase, you make it harder for that culture to be taken seriously on actual issues—like water rights, sovereignty, or the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).
The Data Behind the Harm
Let's look at some numbers because people often think this is just about "feelings."
According to research by Dr. Stephanie Fryberg, a member of the Tulalip Tribes and a professor at the University of Michigan, the presence of Native American mascots and associated slurs leads to measurable negative outcomes.
- Lowered Aspirations: Indigenous students exposed to these images reported lower personal "possible selves."
- Increased Stereotyping: Non-Native students exposed to the R-word were more likely to associate Native Americans with negative traits like "aggressive" or "primitive."
- Community Impact: Over 1,500 schools in the U.S. still use some form of Native American imagery or naming, despite the American Psychological Association calling for an immediate end to the practice back in 2005.
It’s a persistent issue. It doesn't just go away because we want it to.
Breaking Down the "Honor" Argument
"But we're honoring them!"
This is the most common defense for using Native American racial slurs in sports or branding. But think about it. If you want to honor a group of people, wouldn't you ask them how they want to be honored?
The majority of major tribal organizations—including the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), which represents over 500 tribes—have been asking for these names and words to be removed since the 1960s.
If you're "honoring" someone who is actively telling you that your "honor" feels like an insult, you’re not honoring them. You’re just talking to yourself.
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How to Navigate This Conversations Without Being a Jerk
So, what do you do if you realize you’ve been using one of these terms? Or if your favorite team still uses one?
First, don't get defensive. It’s okay to have not known. Most of our history books are pretty sanitized. The key is what you do once you do know.
Avoid the "I have a friend who is Native and they don't mind" excuse. Indigenous people aren't a monolith. There are 574 federally recognized tribes in the U.S., each with its own culture and opinion. One person’s "I don't care" doesn't negate the documented historical trauma and the official stance of tribal nations.
Kinda simple, right?
Moving Toward Better Language
We should probably focus on being specific. Instead of "Native American," which is a broad legal category, use the specific tribe if you know it (Cherokee, Diné, Haudenosaunee). Instead of "powwow," use "meeting" or "huddle." Instead of "spirit animal," maybe try "icon," "muse," or just "I really relate to this."
It’s not about being the language police. It’s about accuracy.
Using Native American racial slurs makes you look uninformed. In a professional or social setting, it signals that you’re stuck in a 1950s version of history.
Actionable Steps to Take Today
- Audit your vocabulary: Think about the idioms you use. If it involves "warpath," "circle the wagons," or "indian giver" (which, by the way, originally described the settlers' tendency to break treaties), swap them out for more descriptive, non-racialized language.
- Support Native Creators: If you want to understand the modern Indigenous experience, follow people like Dallas Goldtooth, Matika Wilbur (Project 562), or read authors like Tommy Orange.
- Check the Maps: If you live near a "Squaw Peak" or "Redman Road," look up if there’s a local movement to change it. Local governments are often looking for community input on these renamings.
- Mascot Changes: If your local school still uses a slur for a mascot, look at the resources provided by the NCAI. They have templates and historical data to help school boards understand why a change is necessary.
- Educate, don't berate: If you hear someone use a slur, you don't have to scream. A simple, "Hey, did you know the history of that word? It's actually pretty dark," usually works better than an internet-style takedown.
The goal isn't to erase history. It's to stop repeating the parts of history that were designed to keep people down. Language is the first step in that. Once we change how we talk about people, we change how we treat them. It’s a small shift that makes a massive difference in the real world.
Stop using the R-word. Stop using the S-word. Just treat people like people. It’s not that hard, honestly.
Next Steps for Further Awareness:
Visit the official website of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) to view their current "Ending Era of Harmful Mascots" database. You can also use the Native Land Digital app to identify which specific tribal territories you are currently standing on, which helps provide context for the local history and language of your specific region. Finally, review the Department of the Interior’s list of renamed geographic features to see if locations in your state have recently been updated with culturally appropriate names.