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