Title: Native American vs American Indian: Understanding the Difference
Headings: Should You Use Native American or American Indian? That Depends on Who You Ask
Should You Use Native American or American Indian? That Depends on Who You Ask
Want to know what someone prefers to be called? Ask them.
The preference between using Native American or American Indian is personal.
Some people would rather be identified by their clan.
The U.S. Census uses the term American Indian.
Avoid the term "Indian," if you are non-Indigenous.

Content: The terms American Indian vs Native American vs Indigenous. To learn more, check out these Native American authors for a wealth of perspectives, dip your toe into the world of the #NativeTikTok tag on the popular social app, and see why some celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day every October. The preference between using Native American or American Indian is personal. Both terms are generally acceptable, according to the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), a Smithsonian institution based in both New York and Washington, D.C. "In the United States, Native American has been widely used but is falling out of favor with some groups, and the terms American Indian or Indigenous American are preferred by many Native people," a FAQ on the museum site explains. In its 2019 "Tribal Nations and the United States" report, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) defined Native American as "All Native people of the United States and its trust territories (i.e., American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Chamorros, and American Samoans), as well as persons from Canadian First Nations and Indigenous communities in Mexico and Central and South America who are U.S. residents." "The term Native American grew out of the political movements of the 1960s and '70s and is commonly used in legislation covering the Indigenous people of the lower 48 states and U.S. territories," Kevin Gover, NMAI director and citizen of the Pawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, wrote in a 2017 Washington Post op-ed. " But Native Americans use a range of words to describe themselves, and all are appropriate." Gover goes on to explain that you'll also see people identify as Native, Indian, or Indigenous in the U.S., while in Canada, First Nations and First Peoples are most commonly used. “The consensus, however, is that whenever possible, Native people prefer to be called by their specific tribal name," the NMAI site notes. This content is imported from Instagram.